Our local shops have a complete Intel N150 based notebook for $327 and there was an N150 on sale for one day at $150. How does the Raspberry Pi 5 stack up against the cheap Intel option?
For every project, one is better than the other but neither will work for every project. Here are guidelines from real life projects.
Who?
There are times we want a quick cheap second computer for experiments. The Raspberry Pi is our choice when we want to connect electronics through the Pi GPIO pins. For general purpose computing, we look at a wider range of options including used computers and those one day specials. The Intel N150 notebooks are what we see today in shops as the entry level device.
The Intel N150 is the winner for those who currently use Intel or AMD computers with Linux, Windows, or whatever Apple branded their Unix OS as back when Apple used Intel. The Pi 5 requires more work to bring together the equivalent to a N150 notebook. Some of us like the extra work as a way of learning and flexing our brain muscles. We can learn more about computing and operating systems with the Pi approach but that is of no interest if we only want to experiment with spreadsheets or similar applications.
When?
The Pi approach is best if you want to connect to electronics now or any time in the future. You have more options. The N150 can run some software that is not compiled for the ARMv8 based Pi 5. People who need a ready made application may have no choice.
The Pi 5 gives you more expansion options for the future. One of the best Pi 5 features is the dual HDMI sockets. Plug in two HDMI screens of up to 4K. The N150 notebook approach is limited to one 2K screen plus a second HDMI screen of 2K or 4K. The N150 notebook has the advantage of the 2K screen built in but typically only 14" in size, too small for me.
Are you on limited or expensive power? The N150 notebooks have limited options to reduce power usage while the processor is running. In an equivalent Pi 5 setup, you can physically switch off the screen to reduce power while leaving the processor running full power. In extreme situations, you could program a Pi GPIO pin to activate power controls to switch devices on or off. You use the GPIO pins to monitor solar and battery power then activate power using processes during peak power availability or during lowest cost.
Where?
The relative availability and cost of both approaches varies from country to country. I base this article on a beach near Sydney in Australia. The N150 recently flooded shops to replace a previous AMD option as the cheapest general use notebook. Before that, the AMD options had mixed problems and the Intel N100 was mostly sold as a "NUC", not a full featured notebook.
There are enough shops here to generate extreme special offers. Half price sales are rare but they do happen with excess stock. For $150, the N150 is the type of package you would grab and put on the shelf just in case. At $327, I would not buy it unless I had an immediate use. At $327, there is the possibility of a shop offering one at a common 25% discount, $245, to attract attention. There are good second hand options under $200 and there are friends upgrading who might offer you their left over device for $0.
Why?
Benchmarks of an N150 against a Raspberry Pi 5 running at the default Pi 5 speed show the N150 to be about 50% faster. Specific benchmarks hit 100% faster but they are tests of only part of the N150, not the overall processing. At exactly the same configuration and price, the N150 has the advantage. The Pi 5 offers more configuration options. Work out what you need then compare.
The N150 runs standard Windows which means you can run some applications that are Windows only. The N150 can also run Linux, opening up a world of Linux only applications and utility programs plus you can run a range of mainstream services in their native environment.
Everything I use is available in Linux and Linux runs easily on both machines. Some Linux applications are ready made for Intel but require compilation for the AMD based Pi 5. I found only one problem application when using the previous release of the Pi OS based on Debian Linux 12, also known as Bookworm. I have not tested all applications in the current Pi OS based on Debian 13, named Trixie.
The N150 notebooks have 4 GB of RAM with an expensive 8 GB option. The Pi 5 is available with 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB or an expensive 16 GB. I find 4 GB works for most things when running an application or service by itself. 8 GB is needed for multiple use. Some of my work needs 16 GB. I already have a 16 GB notebook for the big stuff. I need only 8 GB for something like a multi use server or 4 GB for a specific use.
The N150 chip is a fixed speed. The Pi 5 can be overclocked if that is something you like to do. I never overclock as the speed gains are too expensive in our hot climate. The extreme cooling requirements make the result noisy and expensive.
Both options are limited to USB at 5 Gbps. The WiFi and Bluetooth configurations are similar. The N150 is available in several brands and there may be differences in the keyboard or screen quality or battery life or support chips like WiFi.
The Pi 5 has two siblings with keyboards, the Pi 500 with a cheap keyboard similar to the N150 notebooks, and a Pi 500+ with a nice mechanical keyboard using the equivalent of Cherry blue keys with clicky feedback for those who like the noise. My preference is a Cherry red based keyboard or brown keys when red is not available. For many uses, like file servers, the cheapest keyboard is OK as it will be used only for a few minutes during configuration.
This example N150 notebook has one SSD of 128 GB. The Pi 5 range, including the Pi 500+, can arrive preconfigured with 256 GB or you can choose any size you like. The Pi 5 NVMe interface is PCI3 3 but only one lane, not four. There is little difference when reading or typing. You notice a Pi 5 delay with some applications when they do things like make a status snapshot in the background and want to update a hundred files. The N150 would be better than a Pi 5 for an every day use notebook but for frequent use, there are far better options than an N150 notebook.
Way?
Our comparison would be either a Pi 5 or a Pi 500 as the Pi 500 has an equivalent keyboard. The Pi 500+ has a better quality keyboard so is not really a good comparison.
The Pi 500 is almost the same as an 8 GB Pi 5 with the official keyboard. At local prices, the Pi 500 is $20 cheaper than buying a Pi 5 plus the official keyboard. Unfortunately you cannot use the Pi 5 PCIe interface in a Pi 500. Pay the extra $20 to access PCIe then add an NVMe SSD.
The Pi 500+ has a better keyboard than the Pi 500 plus 16 GB and an SSD. The 256 GB SSD can be replaced with what you want. You pay for the 16 GB even if not needed. My main reason for not using the Pi 500+ or an N150 based 14" notebook is the keyboard, only a cramped narrow keyboard, not the 85% wide I prefer. Back to a Pi 5 with my choice of keyboard.
Pi 5 with 4 GB of RAM. $107
Pi 5 power supply. $21
Pi 5 active cooler. $8
Pi 5 PCIe adaptor HAT+. (Allows only 2230 or 2242 size SSDs) $21
NVMe cheapest small capacity 2230 or 2242 size. 256 GB $79
MicroHDMI cable. $10.
Total $246
Raspberry Pi 15.6" screen $177
Raspberry Pi keyboard $49
Raspberry Pi mouse $21
Total $493
Any brand screen 23" $89
Generic keyboard $7
Generic mouse $8
Total with generic $350
Substitute another brand of NVMe adaptor, $15, and buy a 2280 size OEM NVMe SSD in 256 GB, $15, for a further saving of $60, bringing the Pi 5 option down to $290.
Your actual cost with the Raspberry Pi will be different. I have NVMe SSDs left over from upgrades. When I have a Pi project up and running, I can unplug the keyboard, mouse, and screen for use on the next project. I used an official Raspberry Pi microHDMI cable for my first project and keep it as a reference. When I needed another cable, I chose an alternative brand as it was available in a different length. The alternative was cheaper.
For electronics projects, you need breadboards and jumper leads and other stuff. You can do some of the experiments on an N150 notebook using USB adaptors but the cost stacks up and there are problems assembling the right software for each adaptor.
Worth?
Anything using GPIO or equivalent is easiest and cheapest with a Raspberry Pi as you have the widest choice of options and of suppliers for parts. When an N150 machine fits your hardware requirements for now and the future, the N150 saves you time. If not in a rush, you can wait for an N150 on sale.
You can use alternative brands to make a Raspberry Pi based project cheaper but you should start with the official options for your first project. There can be mysterious problems with the other brands. You end up wasting a stack of time finding the differences. Start with the official everything as a reference so there is less to learn the first time around. Your time is too precious to debug an untested microHDMI cable.
I purchased an off the shelf router then ran into the problem where the slightest upgrade means throwing out the whole router and buying something new. I switched to a Raspberry Pi based router and could make any change I like at any time and little cost. More work but more flexibility and I enjoyed learning about the ingredients for a good router. Two changes failed, wasting my time and money. Overall, the resulting router is better and the entertainment time learning from my mistakes was cheaper than visiting the movies, although a Netflix subscription would be cheaper if you only compare the cost per hour and the one wasted bit of hardware.
Some hardware does not work with Linux which means you cannot use the device unless you use an N150 with Windows. Linux hardware support sometimes arrives up to 12 months after the hardware. I found only one long term failure. A superb WiFi adaptor on sale at an excellent price. Linux support was started then abandoned as the Linux kernel developers could not debug weird configuration problems with the WiFi chip in the adaptor. I guess the developers did not have use for the device and none of the financial supporters needed the chip. The cost of that wasted hardware was less than half the cost of the cheapest prepackaged router.
What?
The comparison is an Acer "Aspire Lite" but there are a dozen brands and models with almost exactly the same specifications. The screen size in most is 14". I used a 14" notebook for year and it was eye strain. Not for daily use. Acceptable for a few days of development. I would use a bigger screen for anything longer. You could plug in a second screen for the development phase.
A claimed battery life of "up to 8 hours". For most of the Pi style projects, you only need enough battery to last for a minute while the device saves files. Many projects simply switch off then start again when the power is back on. You need a bigger battery when you use solar during the day and need battery overnight but none of the cheap notebooks can last overnight. The notebook battery is of most use in areas where the power drops for s few seconds every due to switching changes.
The display is a 14" IPS screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200. Perfect for most activity monitoring. things like temperature and water flow. During development, you could have your application on this screen and code development showing a 20" or 30" screen plugged into the HDMI port.
The processor is an Intel Celeron Cel-N150 and there appears to be only one type. The notebooks may have different support chips.
There is 4 GB or 8 GB of RAM. The 4 GB version is the one on sale at the best prices.
There is a 128 GB SSD for storage. The cheapest NVMe SSD in our shops is 256 GB. NVMe SSDs left over from upgrades are often 512 GB. I find 128 GB more than you need for most projects after development but too small for the development phase.
The Intel graphics processor is 50% or 100% faster than the Pi 5 for some things but not for everything.
There is WiFi, Bluetooth 5.2, a couple of USB Type C ports, one USB Type A port, and one HDMI socket. All the USB is limited to the same 5 Gbps as the two USB 3 Type A ports on the Pi 5.
The supplied OS is Windows 11 Home (S Mode) which locks you into a worse operating system than windows 10. You unlock the machine by upgrading to Linux. You can get Linux distributions similar to the Raspberry Pi OS then add the few significant changes.
There is a 1080p Webcam, something you can add to a Pi 5 using USB or you can add better cameras using a range of Raspberry Pi specific designs and cables.
The Acer has a 51watt AC adaptor and the Pi uses a 25 watt AC adaptor. The Pi uses less power so can run with a smaller power supply. The only time you need more is with a big screen plugged in. The Raspberry Pi 15.6" inch screen can run from the Pi 5 with reduced brightness or from a spare mobilephone charger for full brightness.
The Acer weighs 1.2 kg without the power supply. The weight is not important in most projects. You may be reusing big heavy old disks for bulk storage or have a giant battery to run the 20 hours when solar power is not at a peak.
The N150 processor clock speed is 3.6 GHz. People overclock the Pi up to 3.2 GHz. There are few projects where the clock speed is important.
This Acer N150 uses LPDDR5 RAM to beat the Pi 5 on most speed tests. There are N150 notebooks using cheaper RAM so check the fine print before comparing.
The N150 notebook is in a case. I do not include a case for the Pi 5 as working without a case makes GPIO pin access easier. The case depends on the project. After you finish development of a project, you want a case including all your circuitry. An n150 notebook based project will want a case for the notebook plus attached cables and parts.
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