Farooq | فاروق [Master Patata]

So someone in FLOSS #DeltaChat group said #ARM #SBCs are terrible at computation power. And that a #miniPC has much better computation power comparing to something like #RaspberryPi. I had plans for a #homeserver and I wanted to use my #LibreComputer #Alta and utilize its #npu.

Libre Computer boards have really good prices comparing to the performance they provide comparing to other ARM SBCs such as #RPi. However, comparing them with a mini or even #microPC, an old micro PC provides better computation power.

LibreComputer #RenegadeElite features a #Rockchip #rk3399, 4GB DDR4 and costs 76 USD:

https://libre.computer/products/roc-rk3399-pc/

On the other hand, this renewed #HP #EliteDesk is 100 USD and with far better specs:

https://www.amazon.com/HP-EliteDesk-Mini-Desktop-Computer/dp/B08L9NB7RD?rnid=2257851011&th=1

Maybe it's not fair compare a renewed product with a brand new one. But it seems for having a homeserver to #selfhost things, if we factor out power usage, an old mini PC is better than a new ARM SBC.

However, if we also consider power usage, the abovementioned LibreComputer board consumes only 15 W under full load. And the old Ryzen 5 on that HP mini PC has a TDP of 35 W. This affects running cost of your homeserver and also the cost for the #UPS. But for myself, there isn't a big deal between 15W and 35W.

Edit: Comments or advises are very welcome!

Edit2: On second thought, I won't go for second hand or renewed. I want to use them as servers and this means 100% uptime. And I doubt second hand ones will survive, especially given the more power they consume which generates heat. And since my budget for a homeserver is 100 USD, ARM SBCs seem to be the only choice. I can research more though.

#selfhosting #selfhostingjourney #selfhostingchronicles #serverathome #server #tech #technology #geek #geekful #geeks #nerd #nerds #nerdy

May 22, 2025 at 10:06amWeb
Show threadBenjamin Kwiecień 🇵🇸May 22, 2025
@farooqkz For my home server I recently bought a Beelink S13 Pro. I could not have found better specs for the price, probably. You get an Intel N150 (efficient chip) and 16/500GB. It's orders of magnitude more powerful than what I was using before.
Show threadBenjamin Kwiecień 🇵🇸May 22, 2025
@farooqkz (not only that, but it has an empty M.2 slot, I believe)
Show threadFarooq | فاروق [Master Patata]May 22, 2025

@ben

seems like a good choice. However my budget for homeserver itself is in sub 100 range.

edit: just checked the processor. just 6W. nice!

Show threadnikolasdiMay 22, 2025
@farooqkz Support for firmware and software updates on Raspberry pi is a thing to consider as well. Mine is more than 5 years old and has gotten more stable in recent years.
Show threadFarooq | فاروق [Master Patata]May 22, 2025

@nikolasdi

Of course. But I never had an RPi. My first SBC was NanoPi NEO, second LibreComputer Le Potato and third Libre Computer Alta. All of which had full upstream support by both u-boot and Linux.

Everytime I see an interesting SBC, I check online about mainline support of its SoC. And most of the time I find out that the fancy SoC with tons of features hasn't got good software support. And this for the least means you don't use full capability of the bright hardware. But it usually means shooting yourself in the feet by facing different problems with vendor kernels.