Author Topic: Stick or microform PCs? (Read 3743 times)

RevDisk · « **on:** June 13, 2016, 02:13:06 PM »

Heyo!

So, I was noodling around the garage over the weekend. It was really annoying to use phone and/or table to look at detailed PDFs or websites while working on various home projects out in the garage. Obviously, like any civilized man, I have a mesh grid of WiFi over the property. I could use a laptop, but most of mine are surplus and the screens are small. Except for my 20.1" screen on my one Dell, but I need to muck about with that to install Linux on it as support for Server 2003 ended. Anyways. I was pondering an All-In-One PC, but they tend to be expensive and poor quality.

Noodling the notion over a bit, I decided to go cheap AND overkill. My two favorite things.

Found a 27" monitor on craigslist for $100 from a gamer upgrading his rig. Score. Cheaper than a 1080p TV that was my second choice. Found a universal articulating gas spring arm mount for the monitor on Amazon for $35. It was well reviewed, can do 360 degrees yaw, up 35 deg and down 50 deg on pitch. Not sure on roll. I have a wireless Logitech K400 already. I plan on mounting on my parts cart.

So, I come to the bit where I'm not actually sure where to go. I'm looking for a stick or extremely small form factor PC with an HDMI port. They make Android PCs that indeed have a male HDMI port which can attach directly to a TV or monitor's HDMI port. I'm looking for something cheap that can do web browsing and open PDFs. Music, music, etc is all secondary. I first thought of another Roku, but mine doesn't have a web browser. Maybe another version does. There's a large number of Android TV boxes, which I'm thinking is the way to go. But there's a lot of them and opinions are all over the place. Looking for cheap, small form factor but can still view web sites, video or PDFs.

Thoughts, suggestions?

Ben · « **Reply #1 on:** June 13, 2016, 02:28:48 PM »

In the Roku size, I was using FitPC boxes for remote data collection stations at the old job. They may not fit the "cheap" part of your criteria unless you can find an older version out there. They'll run both Win and Linux fine, and are designed for harsher environments. Of the three I was running 24/7, there was not a single hardware incident in a 3-5 year timespan. I bought mine barebones and added the SSD and RAM.

RevDisk · « **Reply #2 on:** June 13, 2016, 04:50:30 PM »

Quote from: Ben on June 13, 2016, 02:28:48 PM

In the Roku size, I was using FitPC boxes for remote data collection stations at the old job. They may not fit the "cheap" part of your criteria unless you can find an older version out there. They'll run both Win and Linux fine, and are designed for harsher environments. Of the three I was running 24/7, there was not a single hardware incident in a 3-5 year timespan. I bought mine barebones and added the SSD and RAM.

Bit expensive.

I'm eyeing up some of the following

Amazon Fire TV Stick - $40 - Essentially the Roku of stick PCs. Android but semi crippled, cheap crap hardware.
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-TV-Stick-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B00GDQ0RMG/

GeekBox Open Source Cross TV - $120 - Dual boots Linux and Android, 16GB Samsung eMMC 5.0 which is hella fast. Downside is USB2.0 ports, no USB3.
https://www.amazon.com/GeekBox-Source-MXMIII-Android-HDMI2-0/dp/B01DLLJX1G

MINIX NEO U1, 64-bit Quad-Core - $129.90 - 4K @ 60fps and Android 5.1, gigabit ethernet, bluetooth
https://www.amazon.com/MINIX-U1-64-bit-Quad-Core-Android/dp/B018K36GMY/

Nick1911 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 13, 2016, 04:54:55 PM »

Raspberry Pi 3?

zahc · « **Reply #4 on:** June 13, 2016, 05:03:56 PM »

Chromebox. I think they have a chrome stick now too. Chrome OS is fine for web browsing, videos, and Google docs, but the hardware is tailored for running Linux too so no worries there if you just want the subsidized hardware.

AmbulanceDriver · « **Reply #5 on:** June 13, 2016, 07:06:54 PM »

Quote from: Nick1911 on June 13, 2016, 04:54:55 PM

Raspberry Pi 3?

Nick beat me to it.

birdman · « **Reply #6 on:** June 13, 2016, 07:08:43 PM »

Odroid XU4.
Kicks the Pi's a$$.

RevDisk · « **Reply #7 on:** June 13, 2016, 07:34:08 PM »

Quote from: birdman on June 13, 2016, 07:08:43 PM

Odroid XU4.
Kicks the Pi's a$$.

Have both. Guess I could try installing Android on it and giving it a try. Maybe chromeOS as well. I have two Odroid units and a Pi. And a beaglebone. And couple other dev boards. Never liked the Pi that much actually, but this might be in its comfy zone.

birdman · « **Reply #8 on:** June 13, 2016, 07:47:56 PM »

Quote from: RevDisk on June 13, 2016, 07:34:08 PM

Have both. Guess I could try installing Android on it and giving it a try. Maybe chromeOS as well. I have two Odroid units and a Pi. And a beaglebone. And couple other dev boards. Never liked the Pi that much actually, but this might be in its comfy zone.

There is a specific android build for odroid...it's on their site.

RevDisk · « **Reply #9 on:** June 13, 2016, 10:02:19 PM »

Quote from: birdman on June 13, 2016, 07:47:56 PM

There is a specific android build for odroid...it's on their site.

Ayep. My pi is the Model B (same as my Uzi, heh) and apparently that is lolz-nope for Android as well as XBMC/Kodi. Trying the ODROID next. Bought some spare parts. Honestly probably would have been cheaper to buy one of the Linux/Android boxes above listed. Well, not by much. $35 for the board, $10 for the case, $20 for wifi/bluetooth/sound. Still, it'll be educational whereas buying a pre-made box wouldn't be.

Did indeed snag the 27 inch monitor. Bit more stretched than I'd like resulting in a weird aspect ratio but it'll do. Swivel arm is on the way. Have some cheap speakers that'll do for now.

Btw, been a month ish since I switched to the iStick solely.

GigaBuist · « **Reply #10 on:** June 13, 2016, 10:57:45 PM »

I just snagged this HP all-in-one for work the other day: http://computers.woot.com/offers/hp-proone-600-21-5-intel-i5-aio-desktop-3?ref=cp_cnt_wp_23_6

It arrived today and it feels solid. The base is very heavy and the mount moves around nicely. I've also had good luck with consumer grade HP all-in-ones that were refurbs.

I was going to also suggest a Foxconn Nano PC that you could velcro to the back of the monitor but the cheap one ($99 - $129) don't seem to be made anymore.

TechMan · « **Reply #11 on:** June 14, 2016, 06:57:57 AM »

As an FYI Amazon is really fighting hard against rooted Fire Sticks and Fire TVs.

AJ Dual · « **Reply #12 on:** June 14, 2016, 10:26:14 AM »

Quote from: adively on June 14, 2016, 06:57:57 AM

As an FYI Amazon is really fighting hard against rooted Fire Sticks and Fire TVs.

Amazon needs to fight against the overheat problems. Ours locks up now and again, but not too badly, because we are AC addicts in my house, and our 50" LCD TV is LED backlit.

My parents who need it to be over 90 deg. outside to even consider turning the AC on, and their TV is a bit warmer being an earlier CCFL backlit TV. Theirs locks up every hour or so. I have to go over there and pry off the plastic housing, and thermal epoxy on some heatsinks, and/or parasite off the USB power for a small fan or something.

Ben · « **Reply #13 on:** June 14, 2016, 10:37:50 AM »

Quote from: GigaBuist on June 13, 2016, 10:57:45 PM

I was going to also suggest a Foxconn Nano PC that you could velcro to the back of the monitor but the cheap one ($99 - $129) don't seem to be made anymore.

Thinking more about it if I understand Rev's needs, that could be the ticket. I've used the Foxconn barebones in the past. I'm sure there are other barebones brands out there that are still cheap. Get one of those and put Linux on a stick with persistence in the USB slot, and you would be good to go.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #14 on:** June 14, 2016, 10:39:07 AM »

Quote from: AJ Dual on June 14, 2016, 10:26:14 AM

Amazon needs to fight against the overheat problems. Ours locks up now and again, but not too badly, because we are AC addicts in my house, and our 50" LCD TV is LED backlit.

My parents who need it to be over 90 deg. outside to even consider turning the AC on, and their TV is a bit warmer being an earlier CCFL backlit TV. Theirs locks up every hour or so. I have to go over there and pry off the plastic housing, and thermal epoxy on some heatsinks, and/or parasite off the USB power for a small fan or something.

Is this the FireTV Stick? I have two of them (purchased during great sales, not full price) and haven't experienced any issues. We don't use ours a lot though.

Chris

RevDisk · « **Reply #15 on:** June 14, 2016, 11:22:32 AM »

For non-geeks, here's the sizing chart.

Stick PCs: $35 ish, thumb sized, tiny but virtually no ports or options. Tend to suck or have heat issues unless very simple useage, usually just male HDMI port
PC on a card : $35 ish, deck of cards sized, plus needs $30 worth of stuff to be useful. Basically slow PCs. Usually has 2-4 USB ports, and female HDMI port
Small box PC : $100 ish, Roku sized, generally has wifi/bluetooth built in, can typically handle slightly more load than single board PCs.
Barebones Mini Computers : $100-200 ish, book sized, Intel Atom usually, usually just need RAM and hard drive. Smallest thing normal people would think as being a PC

All of them is a different point of cost vs capability vs size chart. I was eying up Roku sized small box PC that'd be running Android and/or Linux. Since I had a single board computer, I'll give it a shot. Otherwise, I'll throw the dice and buy either a Roku sized PC or a barebones book sized PC.

Ben, problem is, the barebones book sized PCs got expensive due to lower demand. These days anyways. If I scour the jungles on Chinese electronic manufacturers, I'm sure I'll find something that'll work in that price range.

RevDisk · « **Reply #16 on:** June 14, 2016, 11:33:32 AM »

Crap. I screwed up. Crap, crap, crap, I'm a moron. Intel NUC NUC5CPYH
$127.99 prime, WiFi/Bluetooth, 4x USB3 ports, supports an SSD and a single RAM stick.

i3 version is $300. And a sixth gen i3 is nothing to sneeze at, in terms of real computing power.

Ah well. I'll stick with the ODROID for the moment and then upgrade later if desired. If someone else reads this, Intel NUC or Gigabyte Core is probably the smartest option.

AJ Dual · « **Reply #17 on:** June 14, 2016, 11:59:13 AM »

Quote from: mtnbkr on June 14, 2016, 10:39:07 AM

Is this the FireTV Stick? I have two of them (purchased during great sales, not full price) and haven't experienced any issues. We don't use ours a lot though.

Chris

Yeah, I think it just varies randomly from unit to unit, the airflow behind the TV. Ours rarely gives us trouble, but one time it seems to get really hot is during the initial setup or connection, I think it's doing a lot of processing/downloading during that time.

So my parents house and TV are warmer, and they probably just got a unit on the bad end of the bell curve for heat, but some internet searching seems to indicate it's a common complaint, and the fix from Amazon support so far is to get a replacement unit and cross your fingers, or to cut off the plastic case, or add cooling of some kind.

At the loss-leader prices Amazon sells the Fire Stick, (we got ours and my parent's unit during sales too) I'm not afraid to cut it open. Considering that the "fix" from Amazon so far could very well have the exact same problem.

Ben · « **Reply #18 on:** June 14, 2016, 12:10:53 PM »

Quote from: RevDisk on June 14, 2016, 11:22:32 AM

Ben, problem is, the barebones book sized PCs got expensive due to lower demand. These days anyways. If I scour the jungles on Chinese electronic manufacturers, I'm sure I'll find something that'll work in that price range.

That's a bummer. I guess it's been five or more years since I ran that Foxxconn. I was using it as my internet PC, sharing peripherals with my main PC via KVM. I put I think a 16gb SSD in it with a stick of "surplus" memory from work. It did the job fine for what I was using it for. I thought those nettop sized barebones systems were the bomb back in the day. Too bad to hear they're falling out of favor, but I guess they always were something of a niche.

DustinD · « **Reply #19 on:** June 14, 2016, 01:52:28 PM »

For Fire Sticks, maybe a USB extension cord so you can mount them in a cooler place?

RevDisk · « **Reply #20 on:** June 14, 2016, 07:07:15 PM »

Uhh... It worked.

Like "And they called me MAD MWA HA HA HA" worked.

So, went with ODROID, obviously as I had one. Downloaded the Android image provided from OEM website. Used their provided app to write it to a MicroSD card.

Kodi was pre-installed. And ODROID's app has a checkbox for auto launching Kodi. Heh, awesome. First movie? 2001. The Ape scene around the Monolith seemed appropriate. Picture quality is better than provided by my PC running a couple hundred dollar graphic card a buddy gave me. While it's over gigabit ethernet, no lag or jitter. Kodi was configured in two minutes.

Ten seconds of Googling, one download and literally 4 clicks got me Google Play Store. Currently I'm downloading all of my oh so useful reference apps. Including the app that can use a Bluetooth dongle to do car diagnostics. That alone justified this entire project. My electronic references. Kindle. Chrome. Netflix's own app. A tablet with micro-HDMI to full HDMI would have worked too, though. But most tablets don't have the specs of the ODROID.

And by complete coincidence, I got a $40 Android Fire 7 today. That was more complicated, took five minutes to load Google app store on it and get apps installing.

RevDisk · « **Reply #21 on:** June 20, 2016, 07:16:06 PM »

Not bad for cheaper than a Chromebook

News:

Author Topic: Stick or microform PCs? (Read 3743 times)