Remembered I had an unopened Pi5-8GB on the shelf.
this post was submitted on 01 Apr 2026
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Jesus who is spending $200+ on a raspberry pi?
I almost bought a RPi and realized I'd get better value at a Dell mini PC. Sure it's significantly bigger than a Pi, but it's still small enough for my use case. I just don't see a good reason to get a Pi anymore. It used to be a cheap hobbyist board. Now it's...something else.
I wanted to upgrade my kids from Pi 4s to Pi 5s, but ended up just getting NUCs instead.
The only thing I can think of is GPIO compatibility these days.
I realised a while ago that it's way cheaper to hunt for second-hand intel NUCs, and the resulting machine is way more powerful... And the RAM and storage is upgradeable, if the NUC didn't come with plenty of storage or RAM already...
Plus x86 compatibility
Basically the only benefit the Pi has is GPIO pins for embedded projects.
Which a $3 ESP32 can handle instead.
Where do you get your ESP32s from? They're $10 each on Amazon
AliExpress. I only use Amazon for stuff like this if I need it within a day or two.
Yup. If you really need GPIO + any real power, either go with an ARM board from AliExpress or do NUC + ESP32 with a serial connection between them.
I've been enjoying tinkering with the Pico. In my experience it's easier to flash than an esp chip.
Pi is also a fraction of the power consumption (meaning also heat dissipation requirements) and physical size.
Low power draw but ridiculous power supply requirements of 5V5A (depending on the model) with a USB-C connector which isnt a thing outside of this specific application meaning they're going to be expensive and hard to source. They should have just done a barrel plug or put an effing voltage regulator on board like Arduinos.
It really needs USB-PD support with an onboard regulator, but of course that would be way too crazy to implement.
Pi's were cool up until the 3b and everything after has just not been good for the form factor. Conveniently, the 3B was about the time they started prioritizing selling volume to commercial customers.
Low power draw but ridiculous power supply requirements of 5V5A (depending on the model) with a USB-C connector which isnt a thing outside of this specific application meaning they’re going to be expensive and hard to source.
That's only for the Pi 5 (the highest end unit), and I'll agree that at that level its hard to justify a Pi over a larger computer. Even for the Pi 5 its not that hard to find those Power Supplies. Most laptops today use power supplies that meet or exceed those specs. You're right that those are more expensive than Pi 4 and below Power Supplies.
They should have just done a barrel plug or put an effing voltage regulator on board like Arduinos.
Again, no defense of Pi 5 from me. However, for everything below Pi 5, HARD PASS on a voltage regulator. I don't want that heat in the tiny Pi case. At the lower power requirements of Pi4 and below USB power is fine.
Most laptops today use power supplies that meet or exceed those specs.
Non those are USB-PD power supplies that increase voltage up to 20V in order to deliver more power. No USB standard that I'm aware of offers 5A at 5V.
As far as heat goes, these devices already need heatsinks and case fans, so the difference seems negligible.
Also, good luck using a Pi5 any further than 3ft from a wall outlet unless you want to rig up your own power supply using some 14/2 Romex with a USB C connector soldered to the end.
As far as heat goes, these devices already need heatsinks and case fans, so the difference seems negligible.
Pi 4 and below don't require active cooling. I want to keep it that way.
Also, good luck using a Pi5
Again, I offer no defense of Pi5. I don't use it and don't recommend it.
My thinkcentre draws power but not that much power. Also, just combine it with an ESP and you get the best of two worlds.
I think the ecosystem has some more benefits besides that. Ready to use case, cooler, camera, display options and lots of resources for putting these things together compared to NUCs/minipcs. I do like how the compute modules are even more flexible with the ability to choose from various carrier boards. Really depends on your use case which makes the most sense.
and you can replicate that nowadays with an RP2040. Hell, the newer Pi models already kinda do that with the RP1 handling GPIO (among other things)
Fucking hell. I want to get off Mr Bones wild ride.
Finally, I see this referenced in the wild
I’m hoping this is just April Fools
It would be an April Fools joke if it were a price drop instead.
You know it's not :(
I would have been in the market for one, but they were already a terrible value proposition.
Meanwhile, Mac Mini prices have held stable at an already good price/performance ratio...
From my understanding Apple has memory contracts locked in for years ahead. This is a benefit they have for being an enormous player in the consumer electronics world. They can keep their memory prices "low" (or at least what Apple normally considers low) because of that.
Other smaller manufacturers don't have that luxury. When their current contracts run out they have to negotiate new ones, and they will be negotiated at the current market rate.
The poor will only get poorer, and the rich will only get richer...