rpi 5 is priced in a way where there is basically no reason to get it over a secondhand optiplex with upgradable memory instead

"hello i would like a computer that runs slower, only runs a bespoke linux os, doesn't come with power supply or storage, and where the default storage medium constantly eats itself instead of a business grade computer that doesn't have these issues"

at 50 bucks the earlier is a reasonable proposition

at 400 bucks you either bring an actual product to the table or perish

@charlotte I’ve preferred office PCs forever and they’ve become a real value with these ram prices, but the 1GB Pi 5 is supposed to be $50 so really just seems like we’re getting screwed by the price of ram maybe?

@penny
that pi 5 is so memory limited that you probably do not wish to use it. the 50 bucks is also probably the msrp, not what you actually end up paying for in the store

also yeah ram is a bitch but you can get used optiplexes for like less than 200 bucks with 8GB of memory

@penny and like with the optiplex

if you can’t get it with enough memory right now, you can add memory later

this is impossible on the rpi without BGA soldering experience

@charlotte yeah even my vintage server is 2GB, 1GB is an excruciating amount

still we definitely do save a lot of money getting our stuff in used prebuilt office PCs. I’ve been salvaging every ddr3 machine I can find to stave off the hardware prices. Worked out for me so far too, just had an 8GB stick die in my thinkcentre and ripped replacement ram out of an oversized chromebook I found in the trash :D