Man, I used to love the Raspberry Pi, until you couldn't get them anymore.
Now, I don't see the value in buying a #RaspberryPi starter kit with 8G RAM for $169, when a #Beelink Mini PC with an Intel 4 core processor, 16GB RAM, an M.2 AND a 2.5in. SSD drive bay is the same $169, works with the full sized HDMI cables I already have, and isn't much bigger in size.
People keep telling me Pis still have a purpose, but it's clearly not with home lab and project tinkerers.
I just paid under $300 for a #desktop#miniPC with 9 CORES up to 3.8Ghz, 16GB of RAM, and dual 2.5GbE NICs. It's even got a GPU with video decoding so it can transcode Plex. What a time to #homelab
Looking at #Beelink mini PCs on amazon, but it's so hard to work out what storage some of them have. I'd love something that has room for an extra internal SSD and perhaps two USB3s for external SSDs for backups, but what does this mean?
"Extended option 2 : 2.5 inch 7mm SATA SSD/ HDD, up to 2TB."
I'm sorry, but eat your heart out, Mac mini! This little ryzen7 beast cost $400 and came free next day delivery. Came with 2 diff length HDMI cords, and a mounting bracket.
Plus, bios instructions on the back and even a little pull tab to HELP you open the thing up.
I did a little #casemod to my #beeLink#ryzen#miniPC to add external #antennas so I can pick up my neighbor's #xfinitywifi#hotspot better and I think I did a pretty good job! The clearance for the m.2 slot is pretty tight, but other than that I think it turned out pretty good.
Now to see if I improved the #wifi reception or made it worse 🤞
#Batocera has a pretty slick frontend, but it's really rough around the edges, and when something doesn't work it's hard to figure out what to do about it because it's so weird.