Hi Aruna.
On Wed, 3 Mar 2021 at 21:56, Aruna Hewapathirane via talk
<talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
>
> Hi Mat, many thanks and the more ram it has on board the better. This is strictly
> for my own experimenting and learn by doing stuff. So any Pi will do to start off with I guess.
>
> I am hoping to go down the embedded linux rabbit hole. I have been messing around
> with arduino for a while now and I guess it is now time to move on to something a little
> easier to compile and test a linux kernel on :-)
>
> I am also very interested in seeing if a Pi can replace my ancient desktop. I simply can't
> afford the Pi-4 desktop version with the dual monitor setup so thought I will ask and see if
> anyone has a spare.
>
> On Wed, Mar 3, 2021 at 9:38 PM Matt Price <moptop99@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I might have one, what generation do you need and what's the application?
>>
>> On Wed., Mar. 3, 2021, 9:06 p.m. Aruna Hewapathirane via talk, <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Does anyone have a Raspberry Pi lying around you no longer need ?
>>>
>>> Thanks - Aruna
The Pi 2 and Pi 3 come with 1G of memory, end of story. Don't use a
Pi 1 - there are too many issues and they (some or all, can't
remember) don't have 1G of memory.
I gave what you said some serious thought and decided to run a simulation
and see what we maycome up with.
So I have Virtualbox running Raspberry Pi. I purposely set the system memory
low to 512Mb and guess what ? It booted fine and so far has handled everything
I threw it's way.
Web Browsing and anything to do with the internet is extremely slow but does work.
Everything else is very responsive just click and go. So I am going to try and get
started on a first generation Pi if Mat finds one lying around and I have a gut feeling once
we are running on bare metal and not Virtual box even the internet may speed up :-)
I am attaching a screenshot showing task manager and memory usage which is also fine.
So with just 1Gb I think we should be able to do very useful things.
The only ones with more than 1G
are the recent Pi 4 series - and the ones with more than 1G all cost
more money.
The Pi 4 is also the only series with USB3. They're the
newest and the best and as such, people aren't likely to be giving
them away yet(?).
I was not asking for a latest brand new shiny Pi4 I was asking for a used 'any'
generation but if anyone has a pi 4 will gladly take it :-)
I'm using a Pi 4 with 8G as a secondary desktop, and have been finding
it quite useful. Mind you, I'm not using it for Gimp photo editing -
but I do use it for web browsing (not a lightweight activity) and it
handles that well. I think you would find any of the 1G models
unsatisfactory as a desktop replacement: I wouldn't think about it
until it had 4G RAM, and I'd prefer the 8G.
Giles please try running Virtual box and Raspberry Pi and twiddle with the settings
you may change your mind like I did.
If you want to learn about using a Pi - go to it. But if you want a
desktop replacement ... I'm afraid you need the one you've said you
can't afford. Sorry.
Let me get my hands on one first then we shall see what I am able to make
it do eh ?
Something worth noting is that you need a good USB power supply. Most
USB chargers _don't_ cut it: the Pi will be constantly telling you
it's undervoltage. That's a long conversation of itself, but the main
point is you may have another cost on your hands. And of course
you'll need a microSD card for the OS.
Ah yes I had similar issues with Arduino. The power supply is crucial to proper
operation. Thank you good to know.
--
Giles
https://www.gilesorr.com/
gilesorr@gmail.com