Mini desktop machine for Haiku?

Feedback Hardware
1

I am thinking about decomissioning my old-old laptop and buy a mini pc instead. Sadly the hw support topic doesnt list the explicit NUC model, so here is my question:

Do somebody know any supported mini-pc for Haiku?
My requiments:

  • HDMI or something i can convert to HDMI
  • working audio out
  • working LAN
  • cheap, it doesnt need to be new or latest-greatest.

Other things arent relevant, maybe supported WLAN or a replaceable module, but this is secondary.
A small, silent computer wit either no LEDs or switchable LEDs would be nice extra, but i can mask/desolder them.

Thanks for every input!

2

I think jessicah and BGA run Haiku on NUCs, you can ask them?

3

Lenovo x140e A4-5000 might be an option, it has a red power LED in the lenovo logo you can’t see it when the lid is closed and it isn’t bright, also has a green LED in the lid that indicates wifi connection not terribly bright just an indicator. Has HDMI and LAN, audio out works, has a Radeon HD GPU, quad core, supports 8GB ram a cheap $45 SSD goes a long way in this PC. 11.6in LCD 720p. Comfortable to me keyboard, has a track point and a small touchpad not it can hang the pointer input if you mess with it during boot. Wifi doesn’t come up on warm reboot sometimes, always works on cold boot with the intel module. Working wifi FRU is FRU 04W3814 … get a cheap one from china, I had better luck with those actually than one from the USA which ended up being the seller sending me the wrong FRU. They cost about $80 on ebay for an A grade one, $45 for a 480GB SSD + $10 on a wifi upgrade and you’d be set.

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4

Thanks, but i need a mini-pc, not a mini laptop.

5

Will do, thanks!

6

Eh, depeinding on your needs there isn’t much difference… a laptop basically has a UPS built in and isn’t much larger if at all. You’re typical NUC isn’t any more expandible either.

There isn’t anything wrong with using a laptop as a desktop either… though perhaps you are looking for something a bit faster than this lol.

7

But i already have way too many laptops…

8

The Compulab Fitlet2 may be a nice choice, but I have not tried if Haiku runs on it.

9

I’m not sure what your budget is for a Haiku compatible Mini-PC, but I do have several Mini-PCs that I have tried Haiku on that do work and are similar to what you are looking for.

Currently, I have three Mini-PCs, An Intel NUC, LattePanda Alpha and a UDOO Bolt V8 and I have tried all of them and they all work with Haiku. I have some of the specs that should be of interest below and with Haiku support:

Spec Intel NUC (NUCi3BNK) LattePanda Alpha UDOO Bolt V3/V8
CPU Intel Core i3 (Dual Core) Intel Core M3 (Dual Core) AMD Ryzen Embedded (Dual Core or Quad Core)
GPU Intel HD Graphics 620 Intel HD Graphics 615 AMD Radeon Vega Graphics
RAM Comes without RAM, separate purchase (up to 32GB) 8 GB LPDDR3 Soldered RAM 4GB (upgrade-able up to 32GB RAM)
Audio Out Yes Yes Yes
HDD Comes without HDD, supports M.2, NVMe and SATA 32 GB eMMC, M.2, NVMe 32 GB eMMC, M.2, NVMe, SATA
HDMI Yes Yes Yes (x2)
USB USB 2 (x1) and 3 (x3) USB 3 (x3) USB 3 (x2)
LAN Yes (ipro1000 Gigabit) Yes (RealTech Gigabit) Yes (RealTech Gigabit)
WIFI Built-in (idualwifi7260) Built-in (idualwifi720) Not built in (Replaceable Wifi Card via M.2 slot)
Size Comparison Small Smallest Smaller
LEDs Ring LED (Can be turned off) Power LED Power LED
Fans Yes Yes Yes
Price 304.00 € 365.96 € 308,80 € (V3), 389,40 € (V8)

Another mention is the Up Board but I have not included that in the list as I don’t have one to test Haiku with. But I think it is worth having a look at if the prices here are too expensive.

However, if I had to choose one, I would get the Udoo Bolt V3 due to its NUC like form-factor, customization options (replaceable Wifi, more storage options, serial port) and lastly the GPU (At least on Linux) is more capable for 3D intensive operations compared with the Intel HD Graphics.

Sources:
NUC - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01N4EOJNG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
LattePanda Alpha - https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1728.html
Udoo Bolt - https://www.udoo.org/udoo-bolt/
Upboard - https://up-shop.org/

3 Likes
10

I have haiku working on a 700MHz neoware thin client with a VIA Eden

11

Thanks, it is a nice list!
In the meantime - as the idea came in the middle of the night - i tought a bit about it, and just noticed i have a fully supported Haiku laptop, i can just attach my external screen to it, close the lid and enjoy the show. And it is much cheaper than something new. I will test this idea first, and if it doesn’t works as ok as i imagine, i will return to the mini-pc idea.
Thanks however!

12

Heh, sounds like a plan… I was a bit surprised when you said you had laptops laying around and then wanted a NUC, yeah it’d be neater under the TV but if functionality and saving money are a priority… laptop it is! A NUC for the most part is just a laptop without a screen and keyboard anyway…

13

Yeah, but Haiku still not really support dual screen configs, and i still want to use my external screen. This is why i not tought about the laptop first.

14

Yeah that makes sense…

15

Well, I find this helpful. I’d love to have a mini computer that fully runs Haiku (my current one is missing Ethernet).

The UDOO Bolt looks interesting, but they don’t seem to sell it on their shop page.

16

You can look at the UDOO X86 II.
You get a quad-core CPU, 8GB RAM, 32GB storage, Intel HD graphics, Gigabit Ethernet, Audio HD: ALC 283CG.

You get 1x HDMI and 2x miniDP++ connectors. So, multi-monitor possible with three monitors (intel_extreme driver limitations enduring).

If you have nice dual 2K monitors, this seems like a kick@ss mini-me Haiku desktop solution… :star_struck:

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17

Provided everything works correctly.

What I have now, a Kodlix N42D, works great, except that the Ethernet and Wi-Fi don’t work. In theory, they both should. I’d rather spend a bit more money on something that other people have confirmed worked rather than spending less and finding out I’m in the same boat I’m currently in.

For what it’s worth, Ethernet (I don’t care about the Wi-Fi as much) also doesn’t work in… whichever BSD Haiku gets the network drivers from.

But, yeah, if someone could confirm the X86 II works with Haiku, I’d snap it right up.

18

Do you use UEFI or BIOS?
My wlan card doesnt works if i boot in UEFI, so if you boot with UEFI, this could be a reason. If so, test it in legacy mode.

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19

Looks good. I got only 1 but nice normal fullHD screen.

20

That’s a good question. Mostly I use EUFI, but I need to have CSM enabled for the Ethernet adapter to even show up. I’ve changed so much in the BIOS that I no longer remember if I tried a legacy boot. I’ll give it a shot when I get home today.