4 awesome mini PCs for DIY hacking projects

Please can you guys get some one with a bit of Electronic knowledge to help you proof read these.

Arduino =/= PC, Arduino is a Micro-controller,the only one that can remotely be called a PC is a Gigabyte Brix, and even then its extremely narrow, the others are whats known as single board computers, what makes these usefull to the hobbyist is the fact that they have GPIO,something the Brix doesnt.

If you want to I can write a 10 best Micro-controller or a 10 Best single board computer article for you that is actually factual, and useful.
 
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A cheap and very versatile "mini PC" for DIY home automation projects is the ESP8266. This is the definition of "DIY".
 
Why no price on the Brix? Is it not yet released?
 
FaSMaN said:
Please can you guys get some one with a bit of Electronic knowledge to help you proof read these.

Arduino =/= PC, Arduino is a Micro-controller,the only one that can remotely be called a PC is a Gigabyte Brix, and even then its extremely narrow, the others are whats known as single board computers, what makes these usefull to the hobbyist is the fact that they have GPIO,something the Brix doesnt.

If you want to I can write a 10 best Micro-controller or a 10 Best single board computer article for you that is actually factual, and useful.
Click to expand...

Agree with you on the arduino, but I disagree on your definition of a PC (meaning personal computer). Firstly, what you would call a PC (being a non single board computer) isn't that accurate considering a lot of computer nowadays are essentially single board computers. Would you say the Macbook isn't a PC because it is a single board computer?
new_macbook_no_batteries.jpg.

In terms of processing power both a Raspberry Pi and Banana Pi far exceed what most people would have called a PC 44 years ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Alto
 
konfab said:
Agree with you on the arduino, but I disagree on your definition of a PC (meaning personal computer). Firstly, what you would call a PC (being a non single board computer) isn't that accurate considering a lot of computer nowadays are essentially single board computers.
Click to expand...

Wikipedia's definition:

A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose electronic computer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. PCs are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or technician.
Click to expand...

It has to be designed and easy enough to use be used by a single person who isn't a technition, by its design Single board computers are meant for those of us who are technically inclined , and in most instances to be used for automation and embedding into singe purpose devices.
 
FaSMaN said:
Please can you guys get some one with a bit of Electronic knowledge to help you proof read these.

Arduino =/= PC, Arduino is a Micro-controller,the only one that can remotely be called a PC is a Gigabyte Brix, and even then its extremely narrow, the others are whats known as single board computers, what makes these usefull to the hobbyist is the fact that they have GPIO,something the Brix doesnt.

If you want to I can write a 10 best Micro-controller or a 10 Best single board computer article for you that is actually factual, and useful.
Click to expand...

Would like to read this article, genuinely. Am currently looking at the Pine64 lineup too. Have some ideas for IoT Micro-controllers and am on the market for some hardware
 
FaSMaN said:
It has to be designed easy enough to use by a single person who isn't a technition, by its design Single board computers are meant for those of us who are technically inclined.
Click to expand...

So you are saying that a computer running Gentoo isn't a PC because is difficult to setup?

What they mean by technician is someone who knows what they are doing with voltages and soldering irons. You need neither to get a Raspberry pi up and going with Raspbian. I would further argue that setting up a Raspberry pi to run an internet browser would be easier for a "non technician" to do than to setup a high performance gaming machine.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/help/noobs-setup/2/
 
@Fasman, no invitation required, just write and send to RPM.
Waiting patiently :)
 
aybbleek said:
Would like to read this article, genuinely. Am currently looking at the Pine64 lineup too. Have some ideas for IoT Micro-controllers and am on the market for some hardware
Click to expand...

The Pine64 is a power house but it has two main drawbacks that normally discourages people, it has a higher current draw, and the community support isnt too great.

What most people are currently using is a Raspberry Pi Zero or a 3 , as a MQTT broker , and ESP8266 dev boards for all the sensors, and IO.

If you have some time I highly recommend having a look at Andres Spiess on youtube he has some fantastic tutorials

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3XBzmAj53Rlu3Byy_GkqG6b-nwEpWku0
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3XBzmAj53Rlu3Byy_GkqG6b-nwEpWku0


Sabre Wulf said:
@Fasman, no invitation required, just write and send to RPM.
Waiting patiently :)
Click to expand...

Perfect will write one up, what format do you guys normally use for submissions, just a word document and you will adapt the format to the website?
 
FaSMaN said:
The Pine64 is a power house but it has two main drawbacks that normally discourages people, it has a higher current draw, and the community support isnt too great.

What most people are currently using is a Raspberry Pi Zero or a 3 , as a MQTT broker , and ESP8266 dev boards for all the sensors, and IO.

If you have some time I highly recommend having a look at Andres Spiess on youtube he has some fantastic tutorials

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3XBzmAj53Rlu3Byy_GkqG6b-nwEpWku0
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3XBzmAj53Rlu3Byy_GkqG6b-nwEpWku0




Perfect will write one up, what format do you guys normally use for submissions, just a word document and you will adapt the format to the website?
Click to expand...

Thanks dude! Looking forward to the article
 
Me too. I consider myself pretty well-informed on this type of thing but would still love to see an in-depth article comparing the pos and negs of each device.

You will add the new ESP32 as well, right?
 
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