• CMahaff@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I saw this complaint in another post online (paraphrased):

    The screen and use of a Pi seem at odds with each other. The screen is ultra-low power, but there are of course huge drawbacks for usability. Meanwhile the CPU is very powerful, but chews through, comparatively, a lot of power quickly.

    They argued that it would be better to either pair the Pi with a better screen for a more powerful/usable handheld, or go all in on longevity and use some kind of low-power chip to pair with the screen for a terminal that could last for days.

    … I’ve got to say, it’s a fair point. A low power hand-held that could run Linux and run for days would be pretty cool, even if it was underpowered compared to a Pi. No idea what you could use for such a thing though.

    • OppositeOfOxymoron@infosec.pub
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      1 year ago

      Total newb question – don’t these CPUs support multiple clock speeds? You could set it high on install in preparation for compiling a bunch of software, then once you’re done, knock it down to 50% or less of the maximum to add longevity?

      • CMahaff@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Not an expert myself, but I think chips that truly sip power not only have a much lower floor but take even more aggressive actions to reduce power when idle.

        Certainly with the right software tuning you could aggressively throttle the CPU to save power - I’m just not sure how much power it would actually save.

        I did find this really good article on reducing the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W power consumption: https://www.cnx-software.com/2021/12/09/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-power-consumption/