I'm starting to collect a nice assortment of Hubitat addon's that require a Linux machine. I love to share more of them but most don't have a spare computer just lying around to load Linux on. So I wanted to ask people with more knowledge about this.
What mini-computer would you suggest as an add-on to Hubitat. Was thinking a good starting point would be around $200.00. Any more an it would be out of most peoples budget.
So what do you think?
The nvidia jetson Orin Nano super is a interesting option and almost in the price range i think. The added ability to support some lightweight AI is a bonus. I just checked microcenter and it is $239 right now.
If you want cheaper maybe a N150 based mini pc with integrated memory.
CWWK has some interesting options if you don't mind getting from them though they are not as cheap as they use to be.
Another option is to look for older intel/amd sff computers that are recycled. They are probably some of the better options right now. My big grip with this idea though is it is often hard to know what you are actually getting for the recycle part depending on where you are getting it from. Got to be care you don't get taken by someone selling older gear under generic SFF name
Allot of new stuff is just priced high with AI taking all the chip production.
Hard to go wrong with a tried and true RPi in terms of cost, availability, and packaging (case/POE) options...
That said, I've been using more N100/N150 intel x86 the past few years than RPi. There are tons of them out there, so no specific brand preference. Used to be able to easily get them <$200, but probably not any more (thanks A.I.!!!!!).
For example, I've used a number of ODROID units, including their H4 line. But the external DDR5 sodimm memory on them is a double edged sword. Was great when memory was cheap, so people could just get what they want. Now it makes the bundle a bit expensive.
I tend to not use rockchip or allwinner based SBC these days - too much hassle with the kernels, etc.
Can't go wrong with one of these - get the version with 4GB RAM. You will need to add an eMMC or external drive.
I've run Armbian on these for a long time. Rock stable and pretty versatile. I currently have one at a remote location running Node-RED, Home Assistant, Homebridge - all under Docker (Portainer). Have had zero issues the entire time it has been in place.
I did whip together an Orange Pi Zero3 + Expansion board 6 months ago or so... So cute! 4GB, storage and expansion board was like $65 at the time. Not sure you can even get the 4GB ram models any more... (you can: Amazon.com: Orange Pi Zero 3 4G Allwinner H618 LPDDR4 Quad Core 64 Bit Single Board Computer, 1.5GHz Support 4K Display WiFi Bluetooth (Zero 3 4G+Extended Board+Supply) : Electronics )
EDIT: Looking at my order history I guess I did an Orange Pi 2w too... Same allwinner CPU. Orange Pi - Orangepi
If only allwinner was a bit easier to do initial setup/bootloader and kernel updates on.... I think both have armbian builds, though, so that makes it a bit easier.
Yup. There are community builds for both.
@bptworld - if you decide to go with any ARM-based SBC (except an RPi), I'd strongly recommend running Armbian on it.
I’ve been down the rpi armbian rabbit hole and found that I’ve been much happier a full blown pc. Currently using a refurbished dell micro pc. I spent a little more than your $200 but it set the limit of what i could and couldn’t do a lot higher.
It's a great idea to complement Hubitat. I use an Intel NUC from 2014-15 and runs on Ubuntu with a GUI (not headless, but I basically use it headless). It has Portainer/Docker for Echo Speaks, Homebridge (over 10 plugins), etc. And has pi-hole. Never runs at more than 15% CPU.
I'd actually like to use it more. Ideas? 
I mainly use my little guys for containers.
zwave js
zigbee2mqtt
mqtt
node-red
openthread border router
uptime kuma
pulse
esphome
tailscale
nodejs pool controller (for pentair pool equipment integration)
That kind of stuff.
Bigger apps I tend to run in full VMs (like Immich and Home assistant) or dedicated computers (LLM/Ollama).
I use an always on M-series mini. Any time i need yet another linux system to futz around with, i just spin up another VM.
I run a Pi4 4G in an Aluminum no fan case. It does the Radius, DNS, DHCP, my Shadowsocks proxy, weewx wx station, iptables, fail2ban, manages my lets encrypt certificates for 3 systems including hubitat, RAM Disk, and can send hubitat a shutdown if the ups is providing backup power. CPU is around 1 to 4%. I have another Pi4 that I am messing around with home assistant with. I have no doubt one could deal with hubitat add ons without breaking a sweat. They are a little light for a GUI workstation so I don't load one. I am accessing its CLI using ssh from putty. They are under you budget.
I'm running a Raspberry Pi 5 in a CanaKit case for Home Assistant. I'm also running Proxmox on a MinisForum UM700 Mini PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 3750H and 64G of RAM. Proxmox is mostly used for testing and quickly spinning up VMs and/or LXCs as needed. My primary Docker containers run on Unraid, which itself runs on a TerraMaster T6-423 with 32G of RAM. For backups, I run an older Synology DS220j NAS. I run Syncthing to sync data from Unraid to the Synology.
Zero3 has 4GB ram, 2W has 1GB.
