Thread

1. noahnathan25 · 1790859627 · focus · HN ↗

   You could just use an old second-hand phone for under $60. You’d get a built-in battery, much more RAM, and a screen included. For the output, just use a $3 ESP32 connected over Wi-Fi or USB. Seems like a much better deal for a lot of projects.

   1. wds · 1790869747 · focus · HN ↗

      For a bit more physical space, used laptops have the same and more.

      I run a headless laptop as a server and it works great, and just sips power. It didn't have Ethernet built-in, so I just replaced the WiFi card with one and it worked just fine (and also let me panel mount the connector for a DIY 1U enclosure).

      While I did not get it myself, I recently saw a business laptop I was hawking with 8GB of RAM and a relatively modern CPU sell for less than $50 on eBay. All that was wrong with it was a bad back panel; just some broken plastic which I wouldn't have been using regardless.

      I could see myself running a whole rack of headless laptops in the future. It's more likely than me buying a single new Pi at these prices.

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