Raspberry Pi 2 Arrives At $35, Can Run Windows 10

[ProDigit10]

I left pi, when my $100 smartphone was faster.

 

[bit_user]

Wow those ODROIDS are expensive (starting at $180). Again, unless you're strictly looking at using it for development or must run an ARM processor, you're better off going with a mini-itx system at that point; AMD APU + mini-itx board + memory can easily fit under that budget.

"starting at"? That's the most expensive one, with the 8-core Exynos-5 SoC. The XU3-lite is $99, and the U3 is $69.

Also, if you compare the full system price (including case, PSU, storage, and RAM), it's not easy to beat even the XU3 with a x86. And I'd go with an Intel J1900 over AMD, here. You can currently get an ASRock Q1900M board (with CPU) for $63, shipped. But, like I said, once you configure it, the total adds up quickly.

 

[Vlad Rose]

Wow those ODROIDS are expensive (starting at $180). Again, unless you're strictly looking at using it for development or must run an ARM processor, you're better off going with a mini-itx system at that point; AMD APU + mini-itx board + memory can easily fit under that budget.

"starting at"? That's the most expensive one, with the 8-core Exynos-5 SoC. The XU3-lite is $99, and the U3 is $69.

Also, if you compare the full system price (including case, PSU, storage, and RAM), it's not easy to beat even the XU3 with a x86. And I'd go with an Intel J1900 over AMD, here. You can currently get an ASRock Q1900M board (with CPU) for $63, shipped. But, like I said, once you configure it, the total adds up quickly.

Was just looking at the one you shown. And that doesn't include a case, PSU, or storage either.

 

[bit_user]

Was just looking at the one you shown. And that doesn't include a case, PSU, or storage either.

Actually, on hardkernel.com, they say of the XU3:

Note!! The package includes a XU3 board, a plastic case, an active cooler, micro HDMI cable (as of 2nd of February, 2015) and 5V/4A PSU.

So, we just need to add storage. Let's use 64 GB of eMMC, for $79. Now, you could go smaller, but this will let us spec a comparable PC. Final price: $258.

For the PC: ASRock Q1900M ($62), 2x1 GB DDR3-1333 ($40), mini-ITX case ($38), 64 GB SSD ($48), PSU ($35). Final price: $223. And that's for a pretty low-end system. If I were building it, I know I'd go with a nicer case & PSU, bigger SSD, and more RAM.

My point isn't that the XU3 is cheap. My point is just that it's not easy for PCs to beat that price by a whole lot. Sure, you can do better if you buy used/refurb or scrounge some old parts you might have lying around, but the parts you do buy would probably be better than the bare minimum.

Anyway, it's kind of a pointless argument. Almost nobody using these devices in a developed country is doing so because they can't scrape together a PC that's at least as powerful. I mean, no matter what, you still need a screen, keyboard, and probably a mouse (if not another computer, entirely, and a network switch + cables). I think the majority of their customers are using them for other reasons.

 

[Vlad Rose]

Was just looking at the one you shown. And that doesn't include a case, PSU, or storage either.

Actually, on hardkernel.com, they say of the XU3:

Note!! The package includes a XU3 board, a plastic case, an active cooler, micro HDMI cable (as of 2nd of February, 2015) and 5V/4A PSU.

So, we just need to add storage. Let's use 64 GB of eMMC, for $79. Now, you could go smaller, but this will let us spec a comparable PC. Final price: $258.

For the PC: ASRock Q1900M ($62), 2x1 GB DDR3-1333 ($40), mini-ITX case ($38), 64 GB SSD ($48), PSU ($35). Final price: $223. And that's for a pretty low-end system. If I were building it, I know I'd go with a nicer case & PSU, bigger SSD, and more RAM.

My point isn't that the XU3 is cheap. My point is just that it's not easy for PCs to beat that price by a whole lot. Sure, you can do better if you buy used/refurb or scrounge some old parts you might have lying around, but the parts you do buy would probably be better than the bare minimum.

Anyway, it's kind of a pointless argument. Almost nobody using these devices in a developed country is doing so because they can't scrape together a PC that's at least as powerful. I mean, no matter what, you still need a screen, keyboard, and probably a mouse (if not another computer, entirely, and a network switch + cables). I think the majority of their customers are using them for other reasons.

Very nice about the full kit.

But yeah, I was mainly stating that I was shocked that the ODROID you listed was priced so high to where it's near desktop class in price. Especially compared to the MK809 units and for Pi users that bought them for XBMC and/or emulation.

And you are right that most people 'should' be using these for something outside a desktop replacement or cheap media receiver. We have Beaglebones at work that we use to read car diagnostics.

 

[bit_user]

For anyone still considering the question of ODROID-C1 vs. Pi 2, I found a set of benchmarks of each. There's only a little overlap, but the $35 ODROID-C1 clearly beats the Pi v2 in every case.

http://openbenchmarking.org/result/1502103-KWAR-140722031
http://openbenchmarking.org/result/1502074-SO-ODROIDC1C13

bzip2: C1 is 28% faster
7zip: C1 is 29% faster
OpenSSL: C1 is 55% faster
MP3 Encoding: C1 is 53% faster

This comports quite well with my above estimate of a ~47% advantage to the C1.

And all of those tests are CPU-bound. I'd expect a much bigger difference in any I/O benchmarks.