advice requested for purchase

[Ikke]

Hello everyone, 

Since I'm totally new to single board computers I have read a lot on the internet, but still have some questions.  Based on the specs, the Pine SBC seems the most interesting to me.  However I've read several posts about long and/or difficult shippings and on top of that the official website informs the potential buyers the shipping time is somewhere between 3 and 9 weeks or even longer.  Therefore I'm worried about this. 

At this point I'm hesitating between purchasing an 'old' Pine A64+ at a local reseller just around the corner or purchasing the 'new' Pine 64 - LTS through the webstore.  This brings me to the question I would like to ask to the forum members: Is it worth waiting an undefined time to get the 'new' LTS-version or should the 'old' A64+ be good enough to be used as simple file server ?  (only a few and small files between max 10 PC's)

Thanks in advance for your replies. 

Kind regards. 

PS: Sorry for my English. I'm dutch.

[Luke]

The original Pine A64 + will do fine as a fileserver. The only real difference between the original and LTS is the RAM configuration and power input. The one thing I would suggest however, is looking at the Rock64 for this purpose instead - not in the least because there is an OMV image available for it out-of-the-box AND it has USB 3.0. 

Hope this helps.

[Ikke]

The original Pine A64 + will do fine as a fileserver. The only real difference between the original and LTS is the RAM configuration and power input. The one thing I would suggest however, is looking at the Rock64 for this purpose instead - not in the least because there is an OMV image available for it out-of-the-box AND it has USB 3.0. 

Hope this helps.

Dear Luke, 

Thanks for your quick reply. I'm not that technical. Is the mentioned OMV easy to set up ? The Rock64 looks to me like the big brother of the A64+. Should I take the 4 Gb RAM version or will the 2 Gb version be sufficent ? 
I found a YouTube video about the Rock64 telling me that the USB 3.0 was still in a very early stage and could not be trusted yet. Can you confirm correct functioning of the USB 3.0 port ? 
However my worries about shipping remain with this choice. Is there a way to find out what the actual shipping time (to Belgium) would be if I would place and order today ? 

Thanks in advance. 

Kind Regards.

[Luke]

The original Pine A64 + will do fine as a fileserver. The only real difference between the original and LTS is the RAM configuration and power input. The one thing I would suggest however, is looking at the Rock64 for this purpose instead - not in the least because there is an OMV image available for it out-of-the-box AND it has USB 3.0. 

Hope this helps.

Dear Luke, 

Thanks for your quick reply. I'm not that technical. Is the mentioned OMV easy to set up ? The Rock64 looks to me like the big brother of the A64+. Should I take the 4 Gb RAM version or will the 2 Gb version be sufficent ? 
I found a YouTube video about the Rock64 telling me that the USB 3.0 was still in a very early stage and could not be trusted yet. Can you confirm correct functioning of the USB 3.0 port ? 
However my worries about shipping remain with this choice. Is there a way to find out what the actual shipping time (to Belgium) would be if I would place and order today ? 

Thanks in advance. 

Kind Regards.

Should I take the 4 Gb RAM version or will the 2 Gb version be sufficent ? 

2Gb will be sufficient, but I would go with the 4Gb - these things are so cheap after all. 

USB 3.0 was still in a very early stage and could not be trusted yet. Can you confirm correct functioning of the USB 3.0 port ? 

Some youtubers really do not know what they are talking about. That said, perhaps the video was from much earlier - I don't know, since you didn't provide a link. 
In any case, USB 3.0 works just fine. 

actual shipping time (to Belgium)

Not really. If you need it for a specific time than, at least in the UK, you can buy the Rock64 from other sources (at a higher price).

[Ikke]

The original Pine A64 + will do fine as a fileserver. The only real difference between the original and LTS is the RAM configuration and power input. The one thing I would suggest however, is looking at the Rock64 for this purpose instead - not in the least because there is an OMV image available for it out-of-the-box AND it has USB 3.0. 

Hope this helps.

Dear Luke, 

Thanks for your quick reply. I'm not that technical. Is the mentioned OMV easy to set up ? The Rock64 looks to me like the big brother of the A64+. Should I take the 4 Gb RAM version or will the 2 Gb version be sufficent ? 
I found a YouTube video about the Rock64 telling me that the USB 3.0 was still in a very early stage and could not be trusted yet. Can you confirm correct functioning of the USB 3.0 port ? 
However my worries about shipping remain with this choice. Is there a way to find out what the actual shipping time (to Belgium) would be if I would place and order today ? 

Thanks in advance. 

Kind Regards.

Should I take the 4 Gb RAM version or will the 2 Gb version be sufficent ? 

2Gb will be sufficient, but I would go with the 4Gb - these things are so cheap after all. 

USB 3.0 was still in a very early stage and could not be trusted yet. Can you confirm correct functioning of the USB 3.0 port ? 

Some youtubers really do not know what they are talking about. That said, perhaps the video was from much earlier - I don't know, since you didn't provide a link. 
In any case, USB 3.0 works just fine. 

actual shipping time (to Belgium)

Not really. If you need it for a specific time than, at least in the UK, you can buy the Rock64 from other sources (at a higher price).

Dear Luke,

Thanks for all the info. After a little search I could retrieve the URL of the mentioned YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLpy0OOXRl8

Today I discovered the rock64 doesn't have RTC. Since I prefer not to run the single board pc 24/7 it should be able start up automatically through RTC or WoL. Unfortunately, neither of them is supported by the Rock64.

Based on the reasons below I have decided not to take the risk of purchasing through the webshop (I will be visiting a local reseller next weekend.):
- The Rock64 doesn't have RTC nor supports WoL.
- I would like to use the board in a short period of time and I have no idea what the shipping time would be.
- The pine A64+ should do for the job.

However, I would really like to thank you for the quick replies and for the given advice. This is much appreciated.

Kind regards.

[Luke]

No worries. I will just point out that the next iteration of Rock64 - out soon - will have RTC.
Best of luck with!