4 GB RAM limit

[Arwen]

One odd thing I have noted is that ARM 64 Linux distros seem to use less memory than a AMD 64 type. It's possible that the ARM 64 instruction set is simply more compact that AMD 64.

In the past, you have been running the default Debian with its 32 bit userland. Are you comparing by any chance a 32 bit ARM userland with a 64 bit x86 userland?

Yes, that may account for it. One thing to note, ARM 64 bit still uses 32 bit instruction sizes, (at least according to Wikipedia).
I was unable to find the size of x64 instructions.

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Aside from the RK35xx series that are still coming out, the current upgraded "RK3399 Pro" SoC has existing products with higher amounts of RAM. For example: https://www.seeedstudio.com/ROCK-PI-N10-...-4381.html

So yeah, more memory and a replacement mainboard in the future with a different SoC is feasible, if not part of the roadmap.

If you read the description of the Rock-PI device more carefully, it separates out 4GB for CPU and 4GB for NPU.
It's not clear if that can be changed.

I did find another RK3399 Pro board with 3GB / 6GB for memory. But, again, it's not clear, though it does not mention a separation for the CPU verses NPU.

[MIchael]

I was just watching a Gary Explains video about the Jetson Xavier NX by Nvidia and and it is sporting 8GB of ram. The cost is kinda high but it's a beast apparently. Click on View Module Specs.

[Vasant]

Linux desktop is not really usable with 4GB memory. Linux desktop is actually quite efficient as long as we are using native applications. Unfortunately the  Linux application ecosystem is very limited forcing us to use  browser based applications. Each page now a days is about 200MB along with  lots of JavaScript  which can bring ARM cpu's to a crawl. Just increasing memory will not fix the problem.

Chromebooks have mitigated this problem by providing ability to run Android applications. Hopefully Pine64 will provide a decent Android build. Android  works much better on ARM platform.

[janat08]

So once the 8gb is out, we're getting it for the pbp, because I don't think that the pinebook ever got the upgrade kit for new years. Does the next batch facelift include the upgrade?

[Phillip Bell]

Is it possible to simply ask questions to tech people without half answers being ...

1) you're too stupid to understand
2) stop complaining
3) answer with a different answer
4) use another (my favorite) technology

Let's encourage questions, it helps everyone understand, more than just the OP.  PLEASE let's stop denigrating the ask.  If you feel like attacking OP, rather than providing information, maybe start with addressing your own personal issues.

Geez.

[xmixahlx]

the specs i have seen for rk339pro are still 4gb max for cpu, npu has separate ram. 4gb/2gb.

[MarylandBill]

Linux desktop is not really usable with 4GB memory. Linux desktop is actually quite efficient as long as we are using native applications. Unfortunately the  Linux application ecosystem is very limited forcing us to use  browser based applications. Each page now a days is about 200MB along with  lots of JavaScript  which can bring ARM cpu's to a crawl. Just increasing memory will not fix the problem.

Chromebooks have mitigated this problem by providing ability to run Android applications. Hopefully Pine64 will provide a decent Android build. Android  works much better on ARM platform.

What exactly do you need to run on your computer that 4 GB is not enough?  Granted, in the ARM world, the ecosystem is a bit more limited, but still basic productivity apps are available, and often, if you are not afraid of the terminal, some very light weight alternative to gui apps.  I certainly grant that many web sites can eat space, but there are ways to mitigate that.  

--
Bill

[jiyong]

I would love to do video editing on the PBP and also play with virtual machines.
There is good progress on accessing the hardware video decoder, but it looks like the hardware video encoder won't be accessible with Linux.

With easy access to Android apps within Linux, things would definitely become better, but 4 GB is a bare minimum when you want to explore more than just browsing and an office suite.

More and more people would love to see something like the PBP for the main stream.
Having to fall back to terminal will not help in that scenario.

[Arwen]

Few budget laptops are suitable for video editing. And by budget, I mean less than $400 US. In some cases it's not just the amount of memory, or speed of CPUs, but the amount or speed of the storage. Plus, the video on many lower priced laptops is not exactly the top speed.

I too would have preferred more memory, so I could experiment more with ARM64 virtual machines. But, for a $200 US laptop, and nothing better that is open source as much as the Pinebook Pro, I can live with it. (And see what the next generation may hold.)

[Vasant]

What exactly do you need to run on your computer that 4 GB is not enough?  Granted, in the ARM world, the ecosystem is a bit more limited, but still basic productivity apps are available, and often, if you are not afraid of the terminal, some very light weight alternative to gui apps.  I certainly grant that many web sites can eat space, but there are ways to mitigate that.  

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Bill

I recently had to use Zoom. Not sure if it was available on my Ubuntu x86 and not having the time  before the call. I installed it on my phone with google play store and every thing worked smoothly with a nice icon on my screen. Later on I downloaded it on Ubuntu X86 and on the terminal did:
sudo apt install zoom-xxx.deb.

This is not user friendly , there is also no icon on  my desktop and I still have to go to the Zoom web page. This is the current state of application support on my latest Ubuntu 64bit installation. As you can see  even Linux X86 is a crap shoot as far as application support is concerned. Linux desktop on ARM is pretty much a dead end.