Hardware : which ARM mini-pc to replace an x86 server ?
I actually have an x86 server (based on an Intel Atom N330) that consumes around 40W. As ARM based mini-pc offer is growing, I selected some devices that are eligible to replace my x86 server.
I’m not going to replace my actual server with only one Arm mini-pc : I’m more on replacing each OpenVZ container I use by an Arm device. Even with 3 Arm mini-pcs, I will devide by 2 or more the power consumption with at least the same computing power (if not more).
Bellow is a comparison sheet I made, based on my following ideas and expectations:
- I don’t look anything with less than 512 Mb RAM (think about flash storage optimization and native linux file cache mecanism)
- I don’t look anything without an ethernet port (I don’t like wifi for servers, nor usb2ethernet)
- I tried to estimate the approximate computing power to compare against well known x86 processors (but I know that it really depends on real usage…)
- A NAS can only be done with a gigabit ethernet and sata/e-sata port (full hd mkv streaming, big files transfert throught dual channel wifi, etc.)
- Final price should be estimated with delivery cost, local taxes and money (France, Euro)
- Linux support (at least debian or archlinux)
Name | Raspberry Pi model B | Hackberry | CuBox | Ordroid U2 | sheevaplug |
CPU | Arm11 @700 Mhz (Armv6) | Arm Cortex A8 @1200Mhz (Arm v7) | Arm PJ4 @800 Mhz (Arm v7) | Quad core Arm Cortex-A9 @1700 Mhz | Arm9e @1200Mhz (Arm v5) |
Speed compare to | Pentium 2 300Mhz / Via C7 | Atom n230 | ? | core 2 duo @1200Mhz | Pentium 2 300Mhz / Via C7 |
Ram | 512 Mb | 1 Gb | 1 Gb | 2 Gb | 512 Mb |
Network | 10/100 Mbps | 10/100 Mbps + Wifi n | 10/100/1000 Mbps | 10/100 Mbps | 10/100/1000 Mbps |
USB 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
SD / MicroSD | Sdcard | Sdcard | MicroSD | MicroSD | Sdcard |
(Micro) HDMI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Audio (RCA/Jack) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
eSata / Sata | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Others | RCA for video | Composite, Serial | Spdif, microUsb | microUsb | microUsb |
Supported OS | Debian, archlinux, RiscOS | Debian, Android | Debian, archlinux, ubuntu, Android | Android, Ubuntu, Fedora, community Debian | Ubuntu, Debian, Archlinux |
Idea of usage | OpenVPN, Domotic, small web server | Webserver, domotic, OpenVPN | Nas with additional services (search, upnp, etc.) | Strong Webserver | Nas with simple additional services (upnp, etc.), domotic |
Where to Buy | http://www.kubii.fr | https://www.miniand.com | http://www.solid-run.com/ | http://www.hardkernel.com | https://www.globalscaletechnologies.com |
Original price | 37.99€ | $65 | $119 | $89 | $99 |
Full price with Case and power supply | 56.06€ | No case | $119 | $98 | $99 |
Final Full Price | 64.71€ | 99€ | 174€ | 149€ | 144€ |
Here come 2 new challengers (edited on 08.03.2013):
Name | cubieboard | pandaboard |
CPU | Arm Cortex A8 @1000Mhz (Arm v7) | Dual Arm Cortex A9 @1200Mhz (omap 4) |
Speed compare to | Atom n230 | little less than atom z530 |
Ram | 1 Gb | 1 Gb |
Network | 10/100 Mbps | 10/100 Mbps |
USB 2 | 2 | 2 |
SD / MicroSD | MicroSd | Sdcard |
(Micro) HDMI | Yes | Yes |
Audio (RCA/Jack) | Yes | Yes |
eSata / Sata | Yes | No |
Others | microUsb, 1 IR | microUsb |
Supported OS | Ubuntu, debian, android | Ubuntu, debian, android |
Idea of usage | webserver, domoticr | good webserver |
Where to Buy | http://www.aliexpress.com | http://tigal.com |
Original price | $49.9 | 149€ |
Full price with Case and power supply | $72.9 | 200€ |
Final Full Price | 85€ | 211€ |
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