Friday 1 April 2016

X86 Alternatives To The Rasperry Pi

Minnowboard

We look at what other low-powered computers are available right now

Older readers wills no doubt remember IT classes in school back in the day. Long before we had PCs and any sort of decent equipment, there was the BBC Micro and the Acorn. Classes consisted of pretty basic stuff, with nothing too adventurous. Any kids with even a passing knowledge of computing were quickly bored, often knowing more about the subject than the teacher. Yes, not a great deal was learned by those already interested in computers, but it was a start.

How far we’ve come since then. Schools now have decent PCs, the internet, proper programming lessons and much more. Even better, they now have access to the Raspberry Pi.


Quickly becoming a very popular hobbyist piece of kit, the Raspberry Pi, a low-powered computer that’s about the size of a credit card, started out life as an educational tool. Initially designed to teach computer science and programming in school, allowing mass exposure for little cost, it was a clever project that grew in popularity very quickly. The Raspberry Pi units were very cheap and simple enough for anyone to get their start in the subject. It’s been so effective, it’s even heralded as the BBC Micro 2.0 by various parties.

The official units themselves include an ARM CPU, VideoCore GPU, 512MB-1GB RAM, SDHC slot, and a couple of USB ports. Units usually run a variation of Linux, such as Raspbian, or alternatives likes FreeBSD, RISC OS and AROS. The CPU’s speed was originally around 700MHz. Newer variations of the Pi have, of course, improved on this, with multi-core CPUs and more powerful components, but it’s always designed to be a lowpower, cheap system for education.

This limitation hasn’t stopped users from turning the Raspberry Pi into more than a simple educational tool, though, and it’s been used for a range of purposes. The Pi  can be overclocked, which is one of the lessons you can teach with it, and this opens up some new possibilities. Earlier incarnations like the model A and A+ had no built-in networking but could be modded to function on a network (later versions have networking, including wi-fi), and the GPU is more flexible than you may think. This gives this tiny unit a lot of potential for such a cheap and low-end system.

Basically, it’s far more than an educational tool, and it’s been picked up by home computing enthusiasts who wish to experiment with the device to create various projects. People have created retro gaming consoles, Tor routers, music players, digital picture frames and even media servers. It’s a diverse community and one that’s always experimenting.

With such promise behind it, why hasn’t anyone else come up with such a device? The Pi has made it big in education and now has a following of enthusiasts. Surely there’s room for more than one such platform, right? Of course there is, and that’s what we’re here to look at. There are a range of alternatives to the Raspberry Pi, with similar mini-systems designed for various tasks, so if you want to experiment with other devices, we’ve got what you need here.

We’ll be focusing on the x86 alternatives to the ARM-based Pi here, but there are other options too, so don’t be afraid to experiment if neither of these architectures are to your taste.

ARMless


One of the major selling points of the Raspberry Pi is the low cost. Currently, a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B will set you back a mere £35. Regardless of computing power, that’s not much at all for a computer, and the Pi can do quite a lot for such a low price.

When it comes to x86 architecture, which we see used with Intel CPUs, the price is usually an issue. These systems cost more – sometimes a lot more. A Minnowboard, for example, which is a popular x68 alternative we’ll look at later, can cost around £200-350. That’s quite the price hike, and while it houses a more powerful CPU, that’s a lot to ask compared to the Raspberry Pi.

The higher cost is for the extra power and functionality, and these systems can usually run Windows or Windows Server. They’re also more flexible in terms of what can be done with regard to network and data I/O, as well as services.

To give you a simple overview of the difference between the Raspberry Pi and the x86 alternatives, check out the tables below. First up are the variants of the Raspberry Pi, then there are some of the x86 variants.

You can clearly see that a lot of the basic specifications are similar, with the main difference being the choice of hardware, but the actual numbers are close. The CPU is the main difference, of course, and the GPU used is another. In terms of RAM and CPU frequency, both x86 and ARM options have versions that closely match.

Earlier versions of the Raspberry Pi offer less power than most of the x86 options, but the more recent versions address this, featuring quad-core CPUs and offering higher speeds. Where the Pi always comes off worse, however, is the GPU, which hasn’t really changed. Compared to x86 options, some of which offer much better models like ATI’s Radeon, there’s a clear division. Let’s look at these x86 alternatives more closely.

Open Atom


Surely a candidate for the most popular Raspberry Pi alternative, Intel’s open-source Minnowboard is a great hobbyist mini board system. Unlike the Pi, the Minnowboard isn’t so much a cheap-as-chips system, but is instead intended to be more of a bare-bones mini-ITX device. To this end, the board features an Intel Atom (64-bit), usually with on-board graphics, DDR2 RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, PCI Express and SATA-2.

A big difference here is the expansion capability of the Minnowboard. Using special cards called Lures, the system can be grown, and this only adds to the potential of the hobbyist model, with lures that can be customised by users as part of a computing project. The benefit of the x86 architecture gives users the industry standard features to work with and support for all major operating systems, including Windows.

The overall capabilities of the Minnowboard are impressive, and for many, it’s by far the superior option, but as we mentioned, it comes at a price, one that’s far higher than the Raspberry Pi, and this is the rub with most x86 options. A big reason the Pi has been so successful is the price, especially for those who want to buy in bulk, such as schools. For this reason, the Minnowboard remains more of an option for the lone hobbyist in the home, and educational use isn’t as widespread.

Not all x86 options are expensive, though. Take the Jaguarboard for example. This Kickstarter-funded product is an x86 single-board system that costs only around $80. It’s still a bit more expensive than the Raspberry Pi, but it’s far less than the Minnowboard.

It features an Intel Atom 1.33GHz CPU (overclocked it can reach 1.83GHz), 1GB RAM and 16GB local eMMC storage. There’s built-in LAN, USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4, two COM ports, SDIO and four GPIO pins.

It’s quite the handy little system and offers plenty of power, with the benefit of the x86 architecture. The cost is far more approachable in terms of the single-board market, and it’s possibly a better option for those considering the Minnowboard, but who find the cost a little high.

Lastly, we have the Gizmo Board 2. Like the Minnowboard, this is a more powerful single-board system, except this falls on AMD’s side of the tracks, featuring a dual-core 1GHz AMD GX210HA CPU and 1GB RAM. Connectivity includes HDMI, USB 2.0, Ethernet and a couple of custom I/O connectors. There’s also a micro-SD slot and mSATA. The design of the board mimics the architecture used in modern games consoles that blend CPU and GPU workload.

The older Gizmo 1 has similar specifications, save for less power, with an older AMD CPU and embedded Radeon G-Series GPU. However, it has a nice extra feature. Accompanying the Gizmo 1 is an add-on board, the Explorer. This is a special device that includes a keypad and LCD designed for testing and prototyping – a major boon for any hobbyist tinkerer.

Both boards are great tools, but sadly they also cost a lot more than the Raspberry Pi. The Gizmo 2 costs around £300, and the first model isn’t much cheaper. Like the Minnowboard, however, the Gizmo does offer more power than the Pi.

Keeping Up


In terms of power and possibilities, it’s clear that the x86 alternatives to the Raspberry Pi are superior, and although the Pi is still the de facto leader in the single-board market, it’s hard to deny this is heavily down to the price. Sure, there are also other concerns, such as ease of use, accessibility and use in education – areas where the Pi arguably wins out – but if the x86 models had a similar price, would this still be the case, or would the public prefer the added power over simplicity? We suspect x86 would take over. Not only does more power deliver more options, but like it or not, x86 is the dominating architecture, so any educational content using it instantly delivers a more relevant experience. It’s always good to learn about other architectures and technologies, of course, but knowing the ins and outs of the most popular is also important.

The crowdfunded Jaguarboard is a clear example of how it’s possible to ship an x86 alternative at a lower cost, and although it’s not as powerful as the Minnow and Gizmo, it’s still very attractive in terms of flexibility, and many would argue it’s better than the Pi, making it a perfectly viable option.

With price so important and projects like the Jaguarboard proving the possibility of shipping a cheaper x86 model, for the architecture to really take off in the single-board market, the price needs to drop – pure and simple. People clearly prefer a cheaper base cost over power if a choice has to be made, and when it comes to these hobbyist boards and for large user bases like education to embrace the x86 option, it’s even more essential the price becomes more reasonable.

Vendors with a stake, such as Intel and AMD need to address this, as those studying computer science are the next generation of developers, and the more experience they have with x86, the better the architecture’s future is. With ARM’s growth in the mobile market, a market that’s exploded over the years, this is even more important, and x86 needs to make more inroads into the smallscale device arena.

Pi Fillings


If you’re reading this and wondering what you can actually do with a Raspberry Pi, or one of the x86 alternatives, here are just a few examples of the kinds of project people have created using the single-board system.

First we have a simple one, and a project made possible by official support. Minecraft is a true phenomenon of a game, entering pop culture in a major way. It’s been ported to many different platforms since its debut on PC and even has a dedicated version for the Raspberry Pi, unsurprisingly called Minecraft: Pi Edition. Fans of the game have used the Raspberry Pi to create a dedicated Minecraft system, with the only use of the board being to play Minecraft. It’s great for kids who are getting to grips with gaming, and Minecraft is one of the best games in terms of educational content, teaching so many things, from general hand-eye coordination and creativity to basic nature and even electrical circuitry.

One Pi user, Terance Eden, took the Pi to a different gaming level by turning it into a retro gaming system. The Raspberry Pi was housed inside an original Xbox controller, and with the system loaded up with the RetroPie emulation program, it functioned as a standalone emulation console, using the Xbox pad as the controller. Nice.

More technical uses include the creation of a dedicated Tor router. This project uses the Pi to create a specialised router that sends all of your traffic through the encrypted Tor network, favoured by users who value their privacy.

Of course, not all single-board system uses are so niche. As they’re actually full systems, they can be turned into standard setups too, such as a home media server, music player or a simple low-end system solely for social media or chat. All that’s needed is a basic knowledge of PC and software installations, and a little bit of elbow grease.