Something small and 2 or 4 GB RAM. Raspberry pi's compute power is good enough for me, I'm not doing anything too intensive.
Is raspberry pi 4 still the best answer?
I am a tinkerer and don't mind tinkering. I typically use Gentoo Linux as main OS. I also don't mind ARM or other architectures. I've been eyeing the RockPro64 as well.
Note that the Pi5 finally exposes PCIe, which introduces the potential for much better IO. technically the CM4 already did that, but that moves the price outside normal Pi prices with the necessary carrier boards to make use of it).
But I agree that for most tasks there are better, more competitively prices SBCs out there. The major reason to pick the Pi is popularity and wide usage/support (which is especially useful for new users IMO).
yeah, it exposes PCIe, i forgot about that. but still a single lane and requiring an additional adapter card and ribbon cable that complicates packaging a bit and adds cost. I dunno, I'm sour on Pi these days since they've spent years screwing over consumers in favor of business customers. I've chosen not to buy their stuff despite the better software support.