Just thought I would throw this out there…
A lot more compute for the same $$$…
You just have to port a few things over…
Just thought I would throw this out there…
A lot more compute for the same $$$…
You just have to port a few things over…
I like that this one has WiFi antenna plugs.
But seeing this big heatsink makes me think that we could need a fan in the electronic box …
I agree about the WiFi antennas. All the forum activity around “WiFi connected-ness” makes this a compelling value add.
As for heat (and power) a quick (very) search showed that the RazPi had a TDP (thermal design power) of ~2w to 5w and the AtomicPi of ~4w to 15w.
I think augmented case cooling may be needed, but this also may be a feature that is at a “it’s time has come” point. Running a case cooling fan is pretty low power draw, especially if it is thermally controlled - no need to have it run on a cool day/night or when idle.
The old ARM v.s. x86 stouche . . that huge heatsink with ribbed fins turns me right off.
Is there any evidence that the RPi 3B lacks “compute” ?
Does that device even run Raspbian
?
( had my rant; I feel better now )
Haha! I gave up on the ARM/x86/WinTel/Mac fanboy/PC/Mac/Linux/Unix evangelizing/demonizing so long ago… (You must be as old as I am )
At this point in the game, it boils down to compute, cost and TDP…
I agree that a big heat-sink means a big TDP. What surprised me was that the TDP was not that much more…
As for the RazPi not having enough compute, i think two things: 1) It seems to have enough right now. It does everything with ease and is very cost-effective. 2) this is a question to throw at the FB Dev team (for any future visions) and back at us (for any future visions).
A couple-few things that jumped out at me were a) the cost - just about the same, b) the WiFi (as @Ascend pointed out), has the ability to add external, movable antenna, c) more Mem!
The Raspberry Pi 3 B+ is a very respectable platform . . here it is running 64 bit Linux (Ubuntu 18.04.2 LTS)
All 4 CPUs available . . no heatsink and running Docker and a little Node.js app
I agree: “Raspberry Pi 3 B+ is a very respectable platform."
I never said it was not. The fine folks at FarmBot made a solid choice in base platform.
What I did say was:
“Not to say RazPi ain’t cool but have you ever thought about the atomic pi…”
And…
“A lot more compute for the same $$$…”
I was just tossing the idea out there for thought.
Instead of showing the Raspberry Pi running Docker on Linux 64 w/Node, which it looks to do very well., would it not make more sense to:
1). Talk about need. You started this earlier when you said “Is there any evidence that the RPi 3B lacks “compute” ? It seems this is the discussion to have. Right now, all seems well. But what will FarmBot 2.0 or 3.0 need for compute? What if FBOS expands to fill the compute capabilities?
2). If we want to go down the road of performance, we should compare each on equal footing. Lacking an Atomic Pi, I cant do this. But maybe Tom’s HW or the like will, soon. I would be very interested to know how they do, side by side. Especially with TDP, compute and versatility (How easy to go between the two (The “Fear of Porting”))
Also, I mentioned the Atomic Pi because it we a the bright shiny thing off to the left. I am sure there are other devices out there that may be worth talking about. What will Raspberry Pi 4 look like? 5?..
Thoughts?
Tony, your retorts and questions are right on target !
The main reason behind my post was to highlight the very tardy (?conservative) approach by the Raspbian community which means we’re (Farmbot OS
) is still running ARMv7 (32bit) software.
(Oh, and also, the cost of the “brains of the Farmbot” hardware is < 1.5% of a FarmBot !!)
The “<1.5%” data point is kind of a mind-blower, huh?
To think that the functionality, complexity & versatility that the FB Team leveraged and exploited for that cost puts the ROI up in the sky (moon? stars?)…
Now, to continue the discussion…
What could FB do, given more compute, speed, mem, bits and, unfortunately a bit more heat & power?
Well, for starters, the SW team (Rick, I think) would get even less sleep. New FBOS? (Moving to x86 & actually using 64bit would be an effort)…
Btw - light searches point to folks speculating that RazPi 4 will use the A55…