Unless you have a true, irreplaceable need for a 16GB model, everyone should just pretend they don't exist.

Most hobby use cases would be fine with the 1GB, 4GB, or even 8GB versions.

I thought we all established long ago that trying to use a Raspberry Pi like a computer or laptop replacement was not a good idea, because every past Rapsberry Pi thread has been inundated with comments encouraging everyone to get a NUC or a used computer instead.

The Raspberry Pi is great if you need what it offers, but at some point the mainstream Raspberry Pi community lost the plot and started treating them like laptop, desktop, or server replacements, which they were never great at. Now that the people who need a desktop or server have re-discovered that they're better off using an actual desktop or an actual server for their purposes, we should get back to treating these like embedded systems boards.

I cannot emphasize this enough: if you actually care about performance, forget about 16GB vs 8GB and switch from using the internal SD card and to an external SSD. I wrote up my experience at https://honeypot.net/2023/03/20/upgrade-your-raspberry.html

Once you've done that, and your max latency has dropped to 0.7% of what it use to be (yes, really, the SD card had 140x higher latency than the SSD on my system), carve out 32GB for swap and call it done. This will give you vastly better throughput on any likely use case that's not purely dependent on RAM size alone.

If I were using this as a portable desktop system, like I am with my uConsole, I'd rather have 4GB of RAM and fast storage than 16GB and the SD card. One of them is fine, just a little sluggish sometimes. The other is pretty nice, until it grinds to a halt for minutes at a time. If `apt upgrade` is your benchmark, SSD >> RAM by a wide margin.

I'm buying up broken screen old Android smartphone instead.

For example I got several broken screen Huawei P20s from 2018, they were 10€ each. 128GB storage with 4GB RAM https://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_p20-9107.php

They boot up, you can install termux and then whatever is your choice of Linux software. I run several copyparty instances for friends and family

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.termux/

https://github.com/9001/copyparty

The only thing I'm not a big fan of is the charging. Non-removable battery, already 8 or so years old, obviously the phone needs power to work. So I'm a bit worried about the fire hazard.

Sure... but... the original $35 RasPi is closer to a modern RasPi Zero 1, which looks like it's selling for $45 - $50 on Amazon.

Modern top-of-the-line RasPis seem more like ARM PCs with fast, efficient multi-core CPUs and GigE. I bought a RasPi 500 at the beginning of the year just to see what it was like and it's my new "email and light web browsing" daily-driver. Though yeah, I probably wouldn't have paid $410 for it.

I bought my original RasPi mostly for the I/O. I wanted to blink some lights, drive some servos. And if I wanted to do that again, I would probably buy a Pico or Zero.

If you need GPIO pins, ESP32 is good enough for lots of use cases. If you just need a small low-power PC, used enterprise thin clients and mini-pc's (google project tinyminimicro) offer more while still idling around 10W or less. Those can be still bought for like 40-100 USD with SSD and 8GB or more RAM included.

I think Raspberry Pi is worth it only for some niche use-cases with current prices.

Presumably the only customers buying Pis right now are companies who use them in their products. There are much better options on the used market for people needing small computers/servers.

I have probably a dozen raspberry pis from the first version through version 3. They all sit in boxes. There is nothing that can't be performed better by an esp32, old laptop, or Intel NUC or whatever the current equivalent is. I've found them to be super unreliable even when using their recommended power sources and moving off SD card. Better off with a real computer or esp32 every time. If you need something small and powerful, an old smart phone is another option. No way I'd ever pay this much for a pi

Raspi 3 with 1GB was the last big one I bought, Zero2W the last one overall.

I moved away from using those small boards as servers, totally not worth the hassle. Better use a Mini or Micro ATX board, that already has everything you need onboard.

And if you want to tinker, there are so many cheap devices that contain surprisingly powerful hardware, like old routers, LTE sticks and old thin clients, to just name a few.

I found quite some interesting devices in the dumpster at work, and now with having cheap AI, it has become easier than ever to hack them.

The disruption to consumer electronics, both PCs and SBCs, will last for several years at minimum

I have been buying and using Raspberry Pi 400 (Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 ARM v8 64-bit SoC running at 1.8 GHz, 4GB LPDDR4-3200 RAM) that goes from $50 to $39 (Microcenter yesterday). One can do a lot with this.

For everything else, either go lower level with ESP32 or higher level with a mini pc.

That's where we are right now.

I have a little Linux box that I've been trying to use more frequently instead of my MacBook. Partially just for fun, partially because I want to decouple a little bit from the Apple ecosystem.

I was having a ton of stability issues: my filesystem would randomly go read-only after a few minutes. After trawling through my system logs, Claude suggested that it was a memory issue. I ran MemTest86 and it bailed out after 10,000 errors.

So now I was very depressed because RAM prices are sky-high and I currently cannot justify spending ~$150---more than what I paid for when I got this box used off of Ebay mind you---to replace the RAM inside.

Then I remembered my wife had an old laptop she hasn't touched in years lying around. I popped it open and, lo and behold, the RAM was compatible! I felt very fortunate that I was able to do that. Thoughts and prayers for all the folks who need memory---I've felt the despair.

You know, a RPi 5 1GB is $77, 4GB is $109, 8GB is $170 and 16GB is $385. None of it makes sense, especially if anyone starts a reballing shop.

I was looking to try out Joel's TrueNAS on ARM this time with a Pi 5, a PoE and NVMe Hat ... I decided against it and ended up getting a good old cheap x86 compact NAS instead.

The pricing is off.

Attaching 16 GB of precious RAM to that cheap weak SoC is, at this point, a waste of resources. The original idea was - cheap SoC + cheap RAM = cheap SBC. The SoC is still cheap and crappy but the RAM is now worth so much more. The pairing no longer makes any practical sense.

A couple years ago, I got a nice low-end N150 mini PC with 16 GiB RAM for like $160.

I miss those days.

Now a slower model like the rpi5 costs more than twice as much.

I’m pleased I bought a pair of them when prices were (in retrospect) “steep but sane”. One is running my radio telescope doing local DSP preprocessing before flooding my network with raw SOAPY packets and then other is on the other end, displaying and tracking and commanding the rotator.

Now it would be a prohibitively expensive luxury. And 128 GB of my Mac Studio??

Maybe in the long run this restriction will do us well, forcing software to stop being so expansive and demanding in terms of memory.

Old lenovo mini computers unless you need something very lightweight.

Not to ruin my source of SBPC replacements, but HPE thin clients can be a good option. The CPU is even weaker than an RPi, generally 2-4GB of RAM, however the peripherals are better, the storage is generally SATA or NVMe so less chance of data corruption, and it's a standard BIOS/UEFI setup that will run most x86 distros no problem. I run Alpine on one as a 3D print server and it handles Klipper/Moonraker/Mainsail without even breaking a sweat. They can be obtained from corporate hardware liquidators from $30-80 depending on the model and specs.

The downside is that it won't just run all the Raspbian images that float around, which is IMO the main selling point of a RasPi: a unified hardware platform that a non-technical user can just burn an image for and go.

And it all started with $32. Also 16GB of RAM is a lot for RPi, IMO.

If I’m going to spend that much for 16 GB, I’m going to hook it up to a more powerful system.

As for the overall situation, I’m determined Micron et al. will never get another dollar of my taxes.

They may have made a lot of money, in the short term. Longer term, they seem to have no idea how much ill will they’ve “purchased” with it.

What do y'all recommend using for embedded products and appliances instead of Raspberry Pis?

The Pi (and the CM in particular) has become a popular base system to build products like touchscreen appliances, control panels, etc. on, because it is (or at least used to be) cheaper than traditional industrial controllers and NUCs. Also Pis can be sourced reliably and in large numbers (probably even decades into the future).

I'm not looking for the usual "buy a used laptop/phone/NUC" recommendation. That stuff makes sense for hobby projects, but it's obviously too janky to build products around.

So what would y'all use? I'm looking for something that supports Linux, is reasonably priced, and available in large volume long-term.

ESP32 devices are still cheap enough but with a less-good ecosystems due to the Pi's popularity. I do plan on picking up a few Pi 2 Ws which are still selling at a MicroCenter near me for $18 with only three bucks of markup just for setting up a Pi-Hole and some other IoT project but yeah, looking at even the Chinese made boards like Raspberry Orange sees prices north of $70 which is just not worth it for something with this capability. At this point, why not just get a refurb'd thin client or mini-pc?

Why do you want Pi5 if you can get a smartphone with a screen?

I needed a new hole lab, had a pi 4 before but not enough ram so naturally I go and shop for a new raspberry but their price are absolutely insane.

I know that ram is expensive but it doesn’t nearly explain these pricing.

For less than a raspberry price, I got a full mini pc with 16gb ram, 512gb ssd and it got a much more powerful x64 amd chipset inside.

This company should be out of business.

not all "gb" are created equal. these don't use the ddr5 sticks of current-gen computers but rather lpddr4x from last-gen laptops. think pre-covid hardware.

it is insane to me that the older generation stuff is getting hammered like this as well.

also if you check their website, it is interesting to read their motto:

> Whatever your application and whatever your scale, Raspberry Pi offers cost‑effective, high‑performance computing for businesses and the home.

besides the cm5 and the rp2350 listed in the homepage, looks like the org has shifted primary focus to commercial partners today. a true shame.

About half a year ago, I bought a new Chuwi Minibook X with Intel N150 CPU, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for less than that. AFAIK, it's still available for about the same price, and it seems like a lot more value for the money.

I bought this at launch and didn’t think much. It’s weird seeing price go up as much.

Haven't the Raspberry Pi became a meme since years ago? More expensive hardware for no significant advantages other than the brand, way before the AI hype started.

Look, it's a misallocation of resources for you to own any RAM at all, and you should thank Sam Altman for letting you have some at any price.

make a 128GB version and call it Raspberry Ai

What on earth are these SKUs even targeting? 16GB in a raspi is nuts.

Yeah, this is ridiculous - I am a long term Sailfosh OS user nad of course, when Jolla, the company behind it (of Nokia/Maemo/Meego fame) after fighting of at least 2 bankruptcies over the years finally releases new phone (they were selling SFOS licenses for Sony phones in the meantime) this insanity has to happen, forcing them to make their baby more expensive. :P

I keep thinking that the AI gold rush is not an AI gold rush at all. It is a way to monopolize computing in 2 steps:

1) AI really does require a scaleup in compute power. In other words: you will be upgrading your hardware or use old software (at least if you want to run local or host your own saas)

2) the AI buildout means you can't buy the hardware, you can only rent it "in the cloud", because the AI buildout makes everything too expensive. Including memory, a nonnegotiable component of any computer or server

It only works, of course, if Amazon and Google and Meta and ... keep buying for another 2-3 years but that seems to be exactly what's happening.

Worst of all: monopolies used to at least require investment. But Amazon and Google aren't investing, really. They're still net profitable companies. It's almost insulting.

As a 53 year old, I've been starting to feel like there's a very real chance I will never buy another brand new computer (for personal use), phone or gaming console in my lifetime, which would be very surprising if you told this to me ~2 years ago.

If my computer fails, I have plenty of old components from older systems that I can swap in. I also have quite a few old phones (my primary job over the past decade has been Android development, so I have older test devices that still function fine for my purposes). And consoles are just very optional (and way more costly than I am willing to pay) when they start costing $1500+.

Overall there are some positives from this, I'll be responsible for less e-waste. This is something I always tried to be cognizant of in the first place, but the economics will really force my hand even more.

Of course, things aren't all that great considering we got into this situation due to technology running in large datacenters running on lots of dirty power like methane turbines.

The prices are crazy, but the uncertainty makes the choices even harder. I have my eyes on a Framework laptop 13 for some time. I was considering buying it with less RAM now, and then buying more RAM later. Now what I fear is: by the time RAM prices become reasonable, we might as well be using DDR7. So, even with a custom-built desktop PC or a Framework laptop it would be a pity to have to upgrade everything. On the other hand, it may well be our new reality, so maybe better buying in into 64GB RAM now? Not even sure if my reasoning is correct.

I don't understand? Should they be sold at a lower price when people are still willing to buy at the current higher price?

Surely for such a small device you'd be better off buying used NVMe Optane drives and using them as swap.

Used laptops have always been a better value.

And remember that the original Raspberry Pi sold for just $25!!

Yeah, this one is much more capable (almost a mini desktop PC) but it's not a hobby product anymore or targeted at education.

Better value to buy a MacMini.

Actually, I am happy that mess has lead to people finally questioning if a calculator really needs a full browser backend and use 4GB.

I mean, sucks to be a buyer right now but as a developer I like where things are heading :( :)

libre computer SBCs are totally affordable and better products

Use Raspberry Pico!

Honestly if you told me two years ago where hardware prices are now I wouldn't believe you lol. It's insane. Even DDR3 RAM is going bonkers.

It will stop when Raspberry Pi is known for high end gaming PCs.

Multiple theories have spawned regarding the usage, I strongly suspect that they are being used in drones for military purposes, hence the shortage at some point and the prices that are skyrocketing.

If you just want a computer, an Ayn Thor is +$90. It comes with 1TB of UFS 3.1 storage, not one but two fantastic OLED screens, nice joysticks, speakers, and it's much much much faster.

And it runs a fantastic CachyOS (a super tuned Arch) install, called ArmadaOS, https://armadaos.dev/

2026 has been pretty amazing, with the slow work upstreaming Qualcomm support really building. A bunch of really great chipsets have mainline support and actually work. The Thor is a bit behind SM8550, but SM8650 and SM8750 handhelds are also available (just a bit pricier, and non-dual screen yet).

Alas most phones don't have unlockable boot loaders. I'm anti-interested in the sad experience of Android, being unable to read my own files off my device. I really want to be able to read my chrome profile data, for reasons. Absolutely no go.

It will stop when the data center bubble bursts. Right now a small group of companies are borrowing huge amounts of money to corner the market in compute in order to use it for AI. But there's no evidence that real AI revenue (as opposed to more borrowed money) will grow fast enough for them to pay for that debt, or that profit margins will be sufficient to make it worth it over the window they need to start recouping. When that realization hits the lenders and investors and the capital spigot shuts off, prices will crash. I think it will be very similar to a precious metals run-up.

Speaking of, it's been a while since I've seen a jeff geerling submission on HN front page.

Lol, the “$35 SBC!” is gone, at this price, I would rather invest in jetson board or NUC.

RPi Foundation decided who their customers were during and after the pandemic, no doubt thanks to years of community goodwill put into an increasingly uncompetitive product, especially so now. The good thing is the world moved on, there's tons of alternatives, and you really should look elsewhere and also past SBCs for anything with that much RAM.

Thankfully greedy Raspberry PI locked down memory upgrades, so nobody can save money by soldering off market chips.

2032

Raspberry Pi enshittified ages ago. If you want an SBC there are cheaper ones.

You'll be told its the RAM price, but Amazon can deliver qty 1 of an equivalent speed ram (its technically slightly faster than DDR4 but much slower than DDR5) to my door tomorrow morning with sales tax for about $120. No one can explain why the other parts cost about $300. Note that "about $300" will buy you a 24 core Intel Ultra 7, the Amazon model is $350 because its unlocked for overclocking for those who don't think 24 cores at 3.7 GHz is fast enough. I'm sure the RasPi is much faster LOL.

You'll be told its the price of PCBs and chips, but again, the same company can deliver a box of three Xiao brand ESP32 dev boards to my door tomorrow morning for a hair over $20 including tax and shipping and handling.

You'll be told its a temporary supply chain disruption until you remember they've been pulling that scam for some years now, and as long as people fall for it and throw money at them, they'll keep pushing it.

The problem is they sold out to the hardcover textbook manufacturer business model. Take the head of the EE dept out for dinner and box seats at last night's sportsball game, suspiciously the EE department syllabus now says you need to buy it or else, and the seller says now that its a mandatory purchase "will pay anything for an education" in response they will charge "anything" which apparently is $385. See also Boomers and "will pay anything for medical care" well they know that and wait until you see the bill LOL. Also see real estate bubbles.

I don't see why they don't raise the price to that of an Apple Neo laptop. Its the same market and business model, pay what we ask or die uneducated and unemployed under a freeway overpass. Don't you want your kids to learn STEM and be successful? Well that'll be $385. Its the new "World Book Encyclopedia" scam.