Hi,

 

I've been looking around for an Arm development platform. Banana Pi seems to be about the best value for money. I've been looking around at some TV boxes. However, I see mixed opinions about these being a option. SBCs seem to be almost twice the price of similar spec Arm TV box. Processing power and memory are mostly my priorities. Anything over 4GB seems insanely expensive.

 

I can do SMD soldering work. So modding at TV box is an option.

 

Are there any options for an 8gb Octa core system that isn't going to cost more than a decent PC?

Hi,

 

if you have the choice, do not buy a tvbox.

https://docs.armbian.com/User-Guide_FAQ/#i-have-a-tv-boxtablet-from-insert-random-vendor-can-i-use-armbian-on-it

 

I suggest to look around for anything that comes with Standard Support at least: https://www.armbian.com/download/?device_support=Standard support

On 5/28/2024 at 10:01 PM, Josh.V said:

I've been looking around at some TV boxes.

as an experienced TvBox GUI,
for the sake of your sanity: keep out of TVbox!

 

 

On 5/28/2024 at 10:01 PM, Josh.V said:

I've been looking around for an Arm development platform.

Banana Pi will launch BPI-M5 Pro with Rockchip RK3576

it will be an great Start point.....

 

Have a look at the FriendlyElec NanoPi R6C or other boards using the Rockchip RK3588 if you want an 8-core CPU and 8GB of RAM. It's priced roughly the same as an Intel N100 Mini-PC.

 

If you're a dev, I wouldn't restrict myself to boards with standard support only, since many great boards are community supported. If you stumble over any problem with the board that is Armbian-related, you can also contribute to the code 😄