Rob Morley  wrote:

> On Tue, 18 Jul 2017 14:03:42 +1200
> jamiekg@wizardling.geek.nz (Jamie Kahn Genet) wrote:
>
> > 8 Core? A bump upwards for the RAM? SATA?
> >
> > I'm thinking with a few more cores even at the same spec, and another
> > couple GBs of RAM, I could truly replace most of my desktop computer
> > needs with such a Pi. SATA for bonus points, but I can live with only
> > USB HDs. Right now if I launch Chromium, for example, open a bunch of
> > tabs, I quickly get into trouble with slowness, and crashing.
> >
> > Maybe as a Pi Pro adjunct to the current Pi? Still cheap and as
> > moddable as can be, but maybe $20 more for the above?
> >
> $20 - hahaha
> https://www.inforcecomputing.com/products/single-board-computers-sbc/qualc
> omm-snapdragon-805-inforce-6540-sbc

Okay, maybe not $20 for _ absolutely everything_ I desire, but I
shouldn't have to pay $240 for my imagined 'Pi Pro' twice as good as a
Pi 3. To oversimplify the matter, it seems reasonable to expect such a
device to only be twice the price at worst. As I can already see other
SBCs with 8 cores, more RAM, SATA, etc, for around twice the price of
the Pi 3.

> > Perhaps three lines of Pi computers: Current Zero for minimal
> > computing power needs, standard Pi (current Pi 3) that's great for
> > almost any project needing a wee bit more power, and a Pi Pro for the
> > cheapest possible fully useful desktop that still has all the rest of
> > what makes Pis so fun and useful.
> >
> Part of what makes it useful is you don't particularly care if you blow
> it up, and if you screw up the configuration you can just write a
> fresh SD card - neither of those is compatible with a general purpose
> PC replacement.  Also a more powerful board is going to need more than a
> standard 5V 2A PSU, and probably more than the current passive cooling.

I see more powerful SBCs than the Pi 3 still happily powered by very
cheap power supplies.

And I'm not saying get rid of the Pi 3. But to add a bigger brother for
someone who wants a fuller experience that remains highly affordable and
moddable.

--
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05