Hello.
I'm not an absolute begginer with pi, but not an advanced user either.
I have a problem: I want to use wireguard. I installed it on a pi3 B+ I have with pivpn over Raspbian lite 32 bit. It works fine, I use it with one client and it's perfect. The thing is I want to use it with 3-4 clients and I'm not sure the Pi3 will be enough. I also read online about issues with microsd on the raspberry, so I want to avoid using the microsd as a boot device.
I have 2 questions:
1. if I use a ssd connected to the pi3 b+ via USB as boot device, will this improve stability and speed over time? Is booting from usb ssd a better solution than microsd for the pi 3 b+
2. If I want to upgrade, I have two alternatives:
a. buy a Pi5 4 GB, a M.2 HAT, a cooler and a nvme ssd to boot from.
b. buy a refurbished dell wyse 5070 with celeron J4105, 256 GB ssd and 8 GB ram
The costs are almost the same (`100 USD, maybe the pi setup is a little bit pricier). For me, the good and the bad are this:
Dell Wyse- pros: better as performance (CPU, RAM, SSD), silent cooling
cons: bigger device, bigger power consumption
Raspberry pi5 4GB- pros: smaller device, uses less power, brand new
cons: a little bit more expensive, has active cooling (not silent, needs some interventions from time to time, for cleaning), I don't think I can get a case for that setup (PI5 + m.2 HAT).
Which one of the two would you choose? I don't intend to use the device for anything else. Perhaps a pihole, but later.
Thank you!
I'm not an absolute begginer with pi, but not an advanced user either.
I have a problem: I want to use wireguard. I installed it on a pi3 B+ I have with pivpn over Raspbian lite 32 bit. It works fine, I use it with one client and it's perfect. The thing is I want to use it with 3-4 clients and I'm not sure the Pi3 will be enough. I also read online about issues with microsd on the raspberry, so I want to avoid using the microsd as a boot device.
I have 2 questions:
1. if I use a ssd connected to the pi3 b+ via USB as boot device, will this improve stability and speed over time? Is booting from usb ssd a better solution than microsd for the pi 3 b+
2. If I want to upgrade, I have two alternatives:
a. buy a Pi5 4 GB, a M.2 HAT, a cooler and a nvme ssd to boot from.
b. buy a refurbished dell wyse 5070 with celeron J4105, 256 GB ssd and 8 GB ram
The costs are almost the same (`100 USD, maybe the pi setup is a little bit pricier). For me, the good and the bad are this:
Dell Wyse- pros: better as performance (CPU, RAM, SSD), silent cooling
cons: bigger device, bigger power consumption
Raspberry pi5 4GB- pros: smaller device, uses less power, brand new
cons: a little bit more expensive, has active cooling (not silent, needs some interventions from time to time, for cleaning), I don't think I can get a case for that setup (PI5 + m.2 HAT).
Which one of the two would you choose? I don't intend to use the device for anything else. Perhaps a pihole, but later.
Thank you!
Statistics: Posted by iondmm — Sat Jul 05, 2025 9:10 am