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Add to SafariWhen comparing Raspberry Pi Zero vs Intel NUC Kit NUC7i3BNH, the Slant community recommends Raspberry Pi Zero for most people. In the question“What are the best single-board computers?” Raspberry Pi Zero is ranked 4th while Intel NUC Kit NUC7i3BNH is ranked 27th. The most important reason people chose Raspberry Pi Zero is:
Intended to be as cost-effective for younger people to learn basics of IT and Computer Science, Raspberry Pi Zero costs around 5$ while it's W and WH variants costs 10$.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Extremely cheap
Intended to be as cost-effective for younger people to learn basics of IT and Computer Science, Raspberry Pi Zero costs around 5$ while it's W and WH variants costs 10$.
Pro Extremely small size
The Raspberry Pi Zero measures only 6.5cmX3cm and is 0.5cm thick. Making it one of the smallest (if not the smallest) single board computer that can run a desktop OS.
The small size makes it extremely portable and manageable, compared for example to the original Raspberry Pi which often looked clunky and large when strapped on something that would be moving.
Pro The largest and most active community
Raspberry Pi has the largest following of any single-board computer. The amount of guides, tutorials and software available for the Raspberry Pi is unmatched by any other competitor. A regular user has close to no chance to run into a problem that hasn’t been covered already. If a web search doesn’t yield any results, the users on the official forums are very responsive and will usually reply within a day.
Pro It for small
great for small projects
Pro Can easily be powered from any external battery pack
Because of its small size and because of the ARM based processor which is extremely energy efficient, it can be run with any kind of external battery pack, even those that are used to charge phones.
This makes it perfect for portable projects that need to be run even when not close to an energy source.
Pro Has three variants
Raspberry Pi Zero has three variants, the Raspberry Pi Zero W, which has a WiFi card included, the Raspberry Pi Zero WH, which has both the WiFi card and has the GPIO headers pre-soldered, and the original Raspberry Pi Zero.
Pro Can run a full HD display at 60FPS
The GPU that the Pi Zero uses is relatively powerful. In fact, it should be able to run a full HD display at 60FPS without any problems.
Pro Easy to install the official OS
All Raspberry Pi boards run Linux as a default OS, the Debian-based Raspbian specifically. Setting up Raspbian on a Raspberry Pi is a breeze and even someone who has not installed an OS before can easily do it.
By simply following the official documentation, you download the relevant software on the microSD card and boot up the board. After this, you can simply follow the instructions to install the OS.
Pro Based on the same Raspberry Pi Hardware
Zeroes are basically trimmed down versions of their larger Raspberry Pi sisters. Trimming out unecessary I/O ports and connectivity ports were done to make the factor of the Zero smaller. As of 2018, Zeroes are based on the Raspberry Pi 2 hardware.
Pro Has extensive OS support
Unlike its competitors, Zero has extensive OS support from the industry, ranging from Windows 10 IoT core, to Alpine's Raspberry branch.
Pro Fast if the OS is compiled properly
If the kernel is compiled properly (like re4son kernel for Kali linux) it's surprisingly fast.
Pro Comes with appropriate case and mounting hardware for storage drives
While the cost may seem steep compared to other SBC options, seldom are those other options sold with a case that will also house your storage drives and provide adequate cooling for the entire setup.
Pro SATA III port and M.2 NVMe connector with on-board RAID-0/RAID-1 controller
The ability to harness the power of a standard 2.5" SATA III drive and an M.2 NVMe drive with four PCI Express 3.0 lanes means that sequential read rates in excess of 3GB/sec if both are SSDs. Add to that hardware RAID support and it's hard to imagine a more powerful digital storage platform anywhere near this size.
Cons
Con No Ethernet port
The Raspberry Pi Zero has no Ethernet port, which means that the only way to connect to the internet with it is through a WiFi dongle, the built in WiFi from Zero W variants, or a USB Ethernet port.
Con Has only two micro-USB ports
Due to its small size (and price) the Raspberry Pi Zero only has two micro-USB ports, and one of them is for power which leaves only one port for peripherals.
Con No built-in storage
Like its larger Raspberry Pi sisters, Zero does not come with any internal storage and relies heavily on external storage.
Con Needs micro to non-micro converters
Because Zero uses small factor I/Os, you need converters like mini-HDMI to HDMI, mini-USB to USB-A, to work with this device.
Con No built-in Wi-Fi
Raspberry Pi Zero, by default has no WiFi card. This can be circumvented by buying a WiFi dongle or buying the Zero W, which has the WiFi built in.
Con Higher initial costs than most other options
It's clearly not a budget option for building a home NAS, but if you want performance and more importantly, scalability, then you'll reap the benefits of the extra upfront costs many times over as you upgrade the memory, add peripherals via USB-C and put that 7th Generation Core i3 processor to work.
