What do you think is the best Single board Computer in the market?

If you need a real SBC, go with a mini-itx board.  I like Zotac myself, but there are several suppliers.

These boards have everything you need including SATA , 4-64GB mem slots, usually have a PCI and/or PCI-E slot,

some are fanless. Add a Ni-Daq card and labview and take 16 channels of data at 20khz sample rate no problem.

For $150 you can get:

Zotac ZBOX PI320 Quad Core Atom Z3735F Fanless Pico PC with 2GB RAM, 32GB Internal SSD, External 3-in-1 Card Reader, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Windows 10 Home

mini-itx.com - store - ZBOX Pico PCs

On the other end of the spectrum,  If all you need to do is run a couple of servos, then a NXP LPC810 is all you need. $2.50 each

https://learn.adafruit.com/downloads/pdf/getting-started-with-the-lpc810.pdf

The rest of the boards on your list are somewhere in-between, and most of your time will be spent figuring out what toolchain to use for development and programming.

Clear as mud, eh?

Scott

If you need a real SBC, go with a mini-itx board.  I like Zotac myself, but there are several suppliers.

These boards have everything you need including SATA , 4-64GB mem slots, usually have a PCI and/or PCI-E slot,

some are fanless. Add a Ni-Daq card and labview and take 16 channels of data at 20khz sample rate no problem.

For $150 you can get:

Zotac ZBOX PI320 Quad Core Atom Z3735F Fanless Pico PC with 2GB RAM, 32GB Internal SSD, External 3-in-1 Card Reader, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Windows 10 Home

mini-itx.com - store - ZBOX Pico PCs

On the other end of the spectrum,  If all you need to do is run a couple of servos, then a NXP LPC810 is all you need. $2.50 each

https://learn.adafruit.com/downloads/pdf/getting-started-with-the-lpc810.pdf

The rest of the boards on your list are somewhere in-between, and most of your time will be spent figuring out what toolchain to use for development and programming.

Clear as mud, eh?

Scott

Yo Scott!  I hear ya.  I have been assembling Mini-ITX systems for folks since their inception; small is beautiful.  I am still running a Zotac IONITX-F-E (Dual-core Intel Atom 1.6GHz + Nvidia ION graphics) based system as my home file server since it seems a bit sluggish next to my Biostar A68N-5000 based Mini-ITX system.  My favorite Mini-ITX enclosure is *still* the highly efficient Habey EMC-800S (Silver); room for some case fans and tall enough for a souped-up CPU/heatsink/fan if you want some serious performance!

All that aside, I suspect that Gaurav had the new ARM-based SoCs in mind for this poll.  (=:  Not complaining, I love going on a (sine/cosine).

Thanks Scott. I did not know about the Mini-ITX systems before your comment here. I am an electronics Engineering student and new to DIY. I tried searching for mini-ITX systems in local market but it seems that India is not into it yet.

I am now looking at feasibility to import it and try it out. Thanks a lot.

Yes Richard, you are right on the SoCs. I had these in mind as they are good for rugged devices. These all in one boards are stronger than using multiple boards connected to each other. But I did not know about mini-ITX before.

I would love to know more about your fileserver. Sounds like an interesting project to get started on.

cheers!

India is definitely into Mini-ITX.  E.g. http://www.pricedekho.com/motherboard/mini-itx+motherboard-price-list.html

Mini-ITX is simply a is a 17 × 17 cm form factor for motherboards, pioneered by VIA Technology in Taiwan.  Most if not all board manufacturers offer products in this size.

One word of warning about Intel "Cedar Trail" GMA mobos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_GMA) like the Intel ATOM MUD and MUD2 boards: Intel, the graphics supplier, Imagination Technologies (PowerVR), and the various Linux distro communities  do not support Linux on them.  Hence, one has to settle for a buggy form of vanilla VGA graphics.

An example of one of these non-Linux mobos is the "Intel D2700 MUD".

ooh. I've seen these. But these are too large for my applications. I'll go for them at a later time when required.

Thanks a lot. This is the kind of information only experienced users can help us out with.

It would be helpful if you can write an article on selecting the best mini ITX for your application for a noob like me.

You said above that Mini-ITX is too large for your purposes.  Look up.

Most folks at this site would be bored with a blog on selecting the best Mini-ITX as they are understandably into very small footprints (very different from 17 × 17 cm form factor) or they are already experts with more traditional computer assembly.  However, which Mini-ITX (or any other mobo/SBC) you need depends on your purpose.  One type does not fit all.  It is very personal.

There are many DIY guides/forums on-line for DIYers like Tom's Hardware (http://www.tomshardware.com/ ) and AnandTech (AnandTech: Hardware News and Tech Reviews Since 1997 ).

P.S. If you are ever going into a conventional build project such as ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, or Mini-STX and you can specify an application (E.g. one of workstation, file server, or HTPC), then I would be able to make some recommendations for you.

In general:

• File servers typically need wired Ethernet connections, minimal graphics, and probably no audio.  What (eSATA/EIDE/USB) storage will be used?
• Workstations need graphics and audio.  What level of quality is desired for both?
• HTPCs also need graphics and audio.  HDMI to a high definition TV is normally used for Video.  Audio too or will audio pipe into a separate device like a sound system of some sort?

I should stop there.  There are a lot of personal preference and usage questions to answer regardless of the application.

Alternatively - LattePanda