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Comment by cpach | Hacker News Reader

What are some good x86-64 alternatives to the Raspberry Pi? Asking since I’m quite out-of-date in my hardware knowledge. I guess what I want is low energy consumption, ~8 GB RAM (or more) and enough CPU to run a bunch of Docker containers. And a price tag that’s not higher than the Pi.

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I don't think you're going to find anything as cheap as a single Pi, but you should be able to find something cheaper than the Turing Pi 2 ($200?), 4 of its CM4 adapters ($40 total), and 4 Raspberry Pi CM4s ($140 total): $380ish.

One option is to buy a used Intel NUC on eBay. I bought one for $235 (with RAM, SSD, and case) a couple years ago that satisfies all that.

I haven't looked into a lot of the other x86-64 SBCs. I really liked the ODROID-H2+ but it's discontinued due to supply chain problems. I'm hoping an ODROID-H3 or something will come out next year.

I'm told there's an "thin client" class of computers. Ebay may have a few used variants that get close to your target cost, look for the HP t620 / t630 / t640 series for examples but I am also getting hits searching for used enterprise network thin clients, with prices in the ~$45+ range. I'm considering something like this if at some point I decide to upgrade from my RPi 4, which is currently RAM limited.

ServeTheHome did a one-liter PC series they called Project Tiny Mini Micro, that features small units that hit everything you ask for except cost (buying used might avert the ~$250-$800 price tags I see)

Some of the modern Atom CPUs might fit the bill.

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