The Price Hike of SBCs (Single Board Computers)

In my drawer there's a Raspberry Pi 2, an Orange Pi PC, an ODROID-C2, and a Banana Pi M4 Zero. I bought them years ago, when 30 euros got you a decent board to tinker with. DNS servers, basic Docker, some home automation... they worked without asking too many questions.

Looking at CNX Software's comparison, the Banana Pi BPI-M4 Zero went from $29 to $115. Almost a 300% jump. The Raspberry Pi 5 8GB, from $80 to $175. The Orange Pi 5 Ultra 16GB, from $125 to $309. And so on.

The culprit is RAM prices. AI GPU demand has inflated all chip prices since late 2025. Manufacturers can't compete without RAM, so they end up raising prices or stopping production.

I like those clusters in 10-inch racks. A dozen boards to build a home mini-datacenter. Today that would cost as much as a second-hand server with more power and fewer headaches.

The little gadgets are dead. Or rather: they stopped being the bargain they once were.

Source: CNX Software