Question raspberry or a similar board computer for working through remote desktop on a remote linux machine

[thosecars82]

Hello

Which raspberry would you recommend me to buy with the only purpose of having a light weight device to be able to carry it anywhere and work online through a remote desktop connection to a remote Linux computer?

The idea is using the raspberry, along with a light weight operating system such as a light weigh linux distribution and a remote desktop program such as Remmina, wherever I might find an external monitor available with HDMI/VGA port, an external usb keyboard and Wireless/WIFI internet connection.

The brand is not important. Any other brand different from Raspberry meeting the mentioned requirements might also work.

Thanks

 

[Cj-tech]

Hello

Which raspberry would you recommend me to buy with the only purpose of having a light weight device to be able to carry it anywhere and work online through a remote desktop connection to a remote Linux computer?

The idea is using the raspberry, along with a light weight operating system such as a light weigh linux distribution and a remote desktop program such as Remmina, wherever I might find an external monitor available with HDMI/VGA port, an external usb keyboard and Wireless/WIFI internet connection.

The brand is not important. Any other brand different from Raspberry meeting the mentioned requirements might also work.

Thanks

I think the Raspberry Pi 4 should be the minimum that you want for a smooth experience. I have the Pi 0 and it’s limited graphics capabilities make it difficult to use for any GUI applications. My thoughts are the Raspberry Pi 400 with the built-in keyboard would probably be the best option for your situation.

 

[OldSurferDude]

An RPi now costs about $135. You'll have to get an SD card, power supply, case, display, mouse, and keyboard, That'll be nearly $200.

From time to time I see these really cheap laptops for around $100, 1 or 2GB RAM 32GB flash drive, 10" touch screen, keyboard, touchpad. Here's one for $145

 

[Cj-tech]

An RPi now costs about $135. You'll have to get an SD card, power supply, case, display, mouse, and keyboard, That'll be nearly $200.

From time to time I see these really cheap laptops for around $100, 1 or 2GB RAM 32GB flash drive, 10" touch screen, keyboard, touchpad. Here's one for $145

The problem with that is Windows is a heavy operating system and requires more than 3GB of RAM to run well. In comparison, 4GB on a RPI running a lightweight OS would be much more efficient. Not to mention, those are cheap for a reason and probably not trustworthy. I’d only buy a name brand laptop and you could only find one of those for less than $100 used. Personally, I’d never buy a used laptop because it’s impossible to know what it’s been used for.

 

[OldSurferDude]

@Cj-tech you're right that windows requires a lot of resources. Mostly I run mine (2GB/32GB) with my USB oscilloscope. When I'm working with my remote sensors, I use VNC. Sometimes I have to update the firmware in my remote Arduino sensors which will require the Arduino IDE. All of these functions work adequately, though it does bog down when I'm running everything at once..

The biggest downside is that it does not have USB boot so I can't run linux on it and if I could the drivers for it would be limited. Secondly, the forced windows updates take a really long time.

"Trustworthy" I'm not sure what you mean. Many products from China have (truly) spyware: cell phones, security cameras, etc. The windows laptops, I'm not so sure. Linux laptops, probably. If you're talking about quality. I've had mine for at least 5 years and the only problem is the battery, but I run it plugged in. The laptops not made in China are very, very expensive, The others are cheap Chinese laptops, no matter whose brand is put on it. I've had a couple of HP laptops fail within the warranty period. It's a crap shoot no matter what.

Used laptops? Do a RAM test (done from BIOS), hard drive test (F3 or h2testw ... can take days), and if it's all ok put linux (which runs VNC well) on it. It might fail tomorrow or in 10 years, but that's true of all laptops. I have three "refurbished" desktops I got on Amazon for under $100 and they're working great.

For @thosecars82 needs, lightweight and remote access, compelling counter arguments, @Cj-tech , but overkill for this usage.

OSD

 

[Cj-tech]

@Cj-tech you're right that windows requires a lot of resources. Mostly I run mine (2GB/32GB) with my USB oscilloscope. When I'm working with my remote sensors, I use VNC. Sometimes I have to update the firmware in my remote Arduino sensors which will require the Arduino IDE. All of these functions work adequately, though it does bog down when I'm running everything at once..

The biggest downside is that it does not have USB boot so I can't run linux on it and if I could the drivers for it would be limited. Secondly, the forced windows updates take a really long time.

"Trustworthy" I'm not sure what you mean. Many products from China have (truly) spyware: cell phones, security cameras, etc. The windows laptops, I'm not so sure. Linux laptops, probably. If you're talking about quality. I've had mine for at least 5 years and the only problem is the battery, but I run it plugged in. The laptops not made in China are very, very expensive, The others are cheap Chinese laptops, no matter whose brand is put on it. I've had a couple of HP laptops fail within the warranty period. It's a crap shoot no matter what.

Used laptops? Do a RAM test (done from BIOS), hard drive test (F3 or h2testw ... can take days), and if it's all ok put linux (which runs VNC well) on it. It might fail tomorrow or in 10 years, but that's true of all laptops. I have three "refurbished" desktops I got on Amazon for under $100 and they're working great.

For @thosecars82 needs, lightweight and remote access, compelling counter arguments, @Cj-tech , but overkill for this usage.

OSD

There is a difference between used and refurbished. Finding a used laptop for $100 is questionable… You’ve got no guarantees and most people don’t sell things that work perfectly fine. On the other hand a good “refurbished” unit would be difficult to find for less than $100. I see your point with the cheap laptop but it doesn’t seem as reliable long term and lacks the ability to change hardware. When I said trustworthy, I meant reliability… Cheap boards, plastics, screens, etc.

From my perspective, the benefits of a RPI is brand new hardware, more capabilities and compatibility, a variety of software, and Linux.