Inexpensive HTPC options..? Raspberry Pi4 works but now $$$

[iMigraine]

Have a Raspberry Pi4 4gb running LiberElec Kodi for my downloaded 1080p & 720p videos with great success. However, prices for RbPi4 are still very expensive. Tried using a Libre Le Potoato 2gb but it constantly freezes up during playback. Not sure if it's overheating or just a POS.

Looking at Beelink's N5090 as a possible solution and the ability to run a version of Linux on it too.

If I could get another Raspberry Pi 4 for a reasonable price I would just go that route but it doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon.

[Cowboy T]

Cooling is an issue with Raspberry Pi 4's if you're running them with a good load on 'em. Give the Argon ONE V2 case a try. The entire case becomes a heatsink for the Pi, and it also has a built-in fan. I've had very good results with them.

[iMigraine]

Don't have any issues with the Raspberry Pi, it's the Le Potato that seems problematic.

[billofrights]

I may have a couple of the 4s at my other office, I'll check on Wednesday. Happy to let one go to a calgunner.

[ibanezfoo]

I'm looking into the Orange Pis to replace my Raspberry Pi needs. Havent bought one yet.

At work I've been buying a ton of these little Minix computers for fab shop terminals. They work great. They are meant as HTPCs but they are just normal computers. I was using NUCs before but they got too expensive and nobody ever seems to have them in stock.

https://www.amazon.com/MINIX-J50C-8SE-Pentium-Dual-Band-Ethernet/dp/B09B266PFW/ref=sr_1_3?crid=RBRSXSXMS7CM&keywords=minix&qid=1678798698&sprefix=minix%2Caps%2C217&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.c3015c4a-46bb-44b9-81a4-dc28e6d374b3

They have a number of different models depending on what your needs are. I just bought 15 more last week. I think I have 40 or 50 deployed.

Heres the Orange Pi. Seems to have the same footprint as the Raspberry but superior performance on paper

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN17PWWB/?coliid=I2FND5QYYJLHS0&colid=2BWPBZH65FVO5&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Snuffleupagus]

The Raspberry Pi 3 B can play 720p if you're not firm on the 1080p capability. Right now Adafruit has the Pi 3 in stock.

If you need to track Raspberry Pi availability.

https://rpilocator.com/

[xfer42]

Ive been using $30 4k Firesticks with Kodi, pulling from a linux host via SMB for the last few years. Before that, it was expensive Intel Atom machines.

I use a Windows VM with VPN to download via utorrent, save to Linux NAS, then the movies are available in 3 rooms (Theater, work out room and family room). Kodi runs fine on cheap 4k firesticks and can access windows shares.

[Cowboy T]

The ODroid M1 and N2+ both look pretty good. The N2 appears to have more compute power than the Pi 4 as well, so they're worth a look. Both of them

I'm going to give an ODroid H3+ (x86-64 based) a try. This one takes up to 64GB DDR4 SODIMM's and can have up to six RJ-45 Gig-E interfaces, so it seems to have the makings of a fine firewall box as well as an HPC node.

[ibanezfoo]

The ODroid M1 and N2+ both look pretty good. The N2 appears to have more compute power than the Pi 4 as well, so they're worth a look. Both of them

I'm going to give an ODroid H3+ (x86-64 based) a try. This one takes up to 64GB DDR4 SODIMM's and can have up to six RJ-45 Gig-E interfaces, so it seems to have the makings of a fine firewall box as well as an HPC node.

I used an Odroid as a media center for a while back in the day. Worked pretty good. I had a 3D air mouse with a keyboard for it that worked well overall.

[Cowboy T]

Put together an Odroid H3. The H3+ was out of stock, so I went for the H3. Outfitted it with 64GB DRAM (max) and a 1TB Samsung 970 Evo Plus. Found out that Western Digital NVMe storage doesn't work so well with the Odroid H3, specifically that while you can install the OS onto it, the H3 won't actually boot from it. It boots fine from the Samsung, though, and HardKernel actually recommends the Samsung 970's for this box. Since they're a little under the WD's price, this works out to a $10 cost savings as well.

Wife uses this little box to watch movies. The case is the "Type 2" case, and it runs fanless. So far, so good. Currently runs Debian 11 (Bullseye). It works fine, but I think Kubuntu will be even better for a media-watching station.

Should this continue to work well for the next month, including when I put Kubuntu on it, then I'll go ahead and build a test OpenBSD firewall out of a second one.

[pbsmind]

I use the Beelinks to run a couple 4K displays in the lobby at my work. It's overkill, but their was a software requirement for Windows. Used RPi's to run displays at conferences running Kodi, works great.

Except at the prices now, I'd get a mini workstation off ebay for $40-80.

[Cowboy T]

Update on the Odroid H3. It's been running Kubuntu 22.04 LTS for a few weeks now. Even when watching DRM-encoded movies/TV shows at 1080P, the heatsink only gets warm to the touch. It plays back her videos with aplomb. It doesn't get in her way. It's small enough to VESA-mount to the back of the TV.

The results were such that I went ahead and ordered an Odroid H3+ (that's the "Plus" version), with the additional 4-port network interface card and a "Type 7" case. This case allows for using two 2.5" SATA drives, so I stuck two 1TB Crucial MX500 SSD's in there. This will give me the Trusted (internal), Untrusted (Internet), and up to four DMZ zones if I want them.

While it's not quite as low-power as an ARM SoC like a Raspberry/Orange/Rock Pi, it's still a whole lot lower than, say, an Intel Core or AMD Ryzen. You can power it off of a 15VDC, 4A power supply, which is similar to a laptop's requirements and what Hardkernel recommends. It's physically very small, 4 inches square, so you can fit it almost anywhere, and it's fanless.

I like these little boxes.