Is it "necessary" to switch from RPI3B to RPI4B?

Hi,
I’m currently running opeHABian on a RPi3B, but I disabled e.g. grafana because it slowed down my system extremely.

Now I think to switch to a RPI4 but ask myself at the same time: Is it necessary/recommended to go for a more powerful Raspberry? What’s your opinion on this topic? What would you do?

Thanks,
Boby

No. Stay.
Unless you want to run Grafana which is a memory hog so there would be a benefit in getting a RPi4 with more RAM.
But try ZRAM first with Grafana enabled (but use this latest as /etc/ztab). May or may not be sufficient.

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Can ZRAM be enabled after openhab has been installed… And would it matter anything when using an SSD?

yes, option 63

it does not make sense to use ZRAM if you have a SSD.

And don’t invade other’s threads please.

The advantage of the PI 4 is you can actually develop right on it versus using a remote VS instance. As well, OpenHAB web pages get served up much quicker and using the UI is much more tolerable than a PI 3B.

If your OH implementation is small or you are not changing it much, you might not notice. Otherwise, for me, its night and day difference.

Huh??

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There is also the OdroidC4:
it’s even faster than the Pi4, cheaper and can use eMMC modules instead of a sd-card. The eMMC interface is a ssd-like interface and provides much higher throughput.

I’d definitely recommend getting one of those since I have been running the predecessor OrdoidC2 since 2016 on the same eMMC card without any problems.

?? You don’t run VS on your OH box so I don’t get that point. Do you mean to make excessive use of the LSP service ?

You probably didn’t optimize your install for memory use, that’s where additional RAM can make for a big difference. But that’s untrue as a general statement.

It’s dangerously wrong to assume eMMC is better than SD so please don’t keep recommending this.
Better go ZRAM.
And under normal usage conditions, no openHAB user will ever need nor take advantage of the bandwidth the interface provides so ultimately there’s no serious real advantage left why to go with an Odroid while you for sure do get all the disadvantages because it just isn’t the mainstream that RPis represent.
But keep general discussion in the appropriate thread(s), please.
.

While I agree that eMMC is not perfect it seems to perform much better, probably because they are not as widespread as sd-cards and thus are not so many “cheap” modules available. ZRAM helps of course.

Even though you state different, I experienced a speedup when migrating from sd-card to emmc and this is the reason I am recommending an alternative to the pi4: the odroid. OP was asking if it’s worth an upgrade and I think so.
Also the C4 is cheaper, faster and uses less energy than the Pi4 and the odroids probably are after the Pis the most used SBCs and have a pretty good user base.
While in your opinion there are still disadvantages to it I on the other hand still think it’s a solid recommendation for an upgrade.

I have one Rpi3B+ (running my main setup). Then I have one Odroid C2, running partly main/test setup. And then I have en Rpi4 running strickly as test setup atm…
(I´ve got two Rpi3B (without +) as well. But atm they´re running something else than openhab.

Both the Rpi3B+ and the Rpi4 are connected to SSD´s (Rpi4 boot from SD card unfortunatly).
Ordoid C2 use eMMC.

If I was to start up today and need to buy new, I wouldnt think twice… Either Odroid C4 or Rpi4. The Rpi3B+ is, in my opnion, to slow and to less memory.
I understand why openhab people would choose Rpi4 for having a finished image just to install on a SD card. But regarding the price and what you get for the money, the Odroid is a better choice today.
And to be honest - things can become too cheap. There is very little difference in price between Rpi3B+, Rpi4 and Odroid C2 (or C4). So why even bother!

Some will claim that a users cant notice the difference… Well, I sure can notice difference between my Rpi3B+, Rpi4 and my Odroid C2. The Rpi4 and Odroid C2 are way faster doing anything than the Rpi3B+. And they dont lack memory.

The whole point is it isn’t about performance. SD vs eMMC vs SSD or other is about reliability, and as both use the same flash chips, they’re equally susceptible to flash wearout, largest threat to your Home Automation, that is.

I don’t question the Odroid being faster (got one myself), but that also isn’t the point.
Yes OH startup is faster, but how often do you actually start ? Does that “more” of CPU switch your lights faster or will it get you any other relevant advantage ?
Yes it’s cheaper (btw only if compared to the 4GB version, but we don’t need 4GB) but it’s more expensive than to keep the current box.
Mind the original question: is it worth or even necessary to upgrade ?

Well… I´m running a Rpi3B+ (mind you, Op is using a 3B, not a B+). I´m using an SSD, no SD card.

This is how it looks when I start up:

###############################################################################
###############  openHABianPi  ################################################
###############################################################################
##        Ip = 10.4.28.200
##   Release = Raspbian GNU/Linux 9 (stretch)
##    Kernel = Linux 4.19.66-v7+
##  Platform = Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Plus Rev 1.3
##    Uptime = 1 day(s). 0:35:19
## CPU Usage = 12.79% avg over 4 cpu(s) (4 core(s) x 1 socket(s))
##  CPU Load = 1m: 1.24, 5m: 1.35, 15m: 1.40
##    Memory = Free: 0.03GB (4%), Used: 0.91GB (96%), Total: 0.95GB
##      Swap = Free: 0.04GB (44%), Used: 0.05GB (56%), Total: 0.09GB
##      Root = Free: 100.74GB (95%), Used: 4.78GB (5%), Total: 110.02GB
##   Updates = 29 apt updates available.
##  Sessions = 1 session(s)
## Processes = 115 running processes of 32768 maximum processes
###############################################################################

              Welcome to            __  _____    ____  _
            ____  ____  ___  ____  / / / /   |  / __ )(_)___ _____
           / __ \/ __ \/ _ \/ __ \/ /_/ / /| | / __  / / __ `/ __ \
          / /_/ / /_/ /  __/ / / / __  / ___ |/ /_/ / / /_/ / / / /
          \____/ .___/\___/_/ /_/_/ /_/_/  |_/_____/_/\__,_/_/ /_/
              /_/
                  openHAB 2.5.0-1 (Release Build)

One thing which worries me, thats the amount of free memory… 4% of 0.95GB, thats VERY little to play with.

Atm I´m suffering from some very strange issues, which is hard to find unless I have high Linux knowledge, which I dont. So I have to look at things I do understand, and the amount of free memory is the first place which springs to my mind.
If I was using an Rpi4 or Odroid. This would not have been an problem for me, and I would be looking elsewhere to find the reason for my problems. If my problems are due to limited free memory, then an upgrade to Rpi4/Odroid will indeed be necessary .
(My problem right now is, I can not activate any trace logging for a binding. If I do the Rpi will freeze within a few seconds, and I have to switch Rpi off/on to get it up running again. This is not said to try get my problem solved in this thread, but to explain, why I´m focused on the limited free memory. And why it may be necessary to upgrade hardware).

It all depends on how big (how many services etc) the user intend to install. At least thats my way of looking at it. And I may have reach the limit of the Rpi3B+ with my system.

The only reason to switch is if you need more RAM for the services you use. InfluxDB and Grafana are known memory hogs. The RPi4 would be the same as your current platform unless you ordered one with more RAM

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That would be most obvious, I would say. Ordering an Rpi4 with 1Gb would be rather stupid :smiley:

I do.

It has some benefits…

You actually can run VS Code on the PI and develop directly. I have 2 installations and at one site that is remote it works well on the PI 4. Almost impossible on the 3B+

Pi4 was a really nice upgrade for me. Came from Odroid C2. (Pi2 -> Pi3B -> Odroid C2 -> Pi4).
USB3, 4G RAM and the processor makes the experience much nicer, I don’t run grafana or any memory cosuming stuff on my pi, but still. If you have some spare cash it’s for sure a nice upgrade.

Regards. S

When considering upgrading a raspberry pi, I would not only consider another raspberry pi, but also a cheap computer. I did that with mine, and I will never look back. So much more RAM, and no risk of losing data over night because the SD-card failed. Also true GigE makes it a worthwhile NAS.
I followed closely the recommendation here: https://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/Der-optimale-PC-2020-4564302.html#nav_kompakt_pc_a__2
But it does consume more power than a raspberry, but the true costs are not THAT different if you consider a cooling case, external HDD, power supply etc for the raspberry.

Just food for thought

I really doubt that. But it depends on the computer you are using or suggesting…

My main Rpi3B+ has a price of aprox Euro 133, Including SD card (not in use), Rpi case, powersupply, external USB/S-ATA case, and a 128GB SD.

A Rpi4 (4GB) start kit (include case, powersupply and SD card) is arpox Euro 100,-
Add a USB/-Sata case + small 120GB SSD is aprox Euro 33,-
Thats Euro 133,- in all (all taxes included here in Denmark).

Odroid C2/C4 is a little more expencive, but really not that much.

Now go find me another computer at euro 133,- which has nearly the same specifications or better :smiley:

The only issue I see about the Rpi4, is the ability to boot from SSD is still not working. (Thats very bad in my opinion).

Guys, please stay on topic. The OP has been marked as solved.
Please discuss HW options in one of the various threads on this topic such as the ‘best hardware’ one.