A couple of years ago I discovered the Odroid, a single board computer similar to the Raspberry Pi, only powerful. I invested in an Odroid U3 and various accessories. While I never full utilized all that I have available for it, the system has been invaluable over the years. I have run various servers, controlled usb cryptocurrency miners, ambient atmospheric conditions, and as a airplay interface to my stereo. I have since added two more Odroids to my collection.
Odroid XU4
The high performance NAS. Built into the rather spiffy CloudShell case with LCD and SATA interface, this is the most powerful Odroid available at the time of this being published. Octocore running at 2Ghz with 2GB/ram, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, Gigabit Ethernet, a 32GB eMMC card, and some other spiffy technical specs available on the manufacturer website.
Since I was constructing a NAS I opted for the CloudShell case. Set it up running Raspbian with a 120GB internal SSD, and two external 4TB external USB 3.0 drives. From my quad-core desktop over gigabit, to the Odroid’s internal SSD I will achieve 60MB/sec transfer. Previously I used an Raspberry Pi B+ as the NAS server, it was hella slow. This is an amazing upgrade.
Odroid C1+
Purchased with the sole purpose of being a Hifi audio player. I added the C1+ specific Hifi shield, also available from Hardkernel, for audiophile grade audio into my Outlaw (they make good quality stuff for the $$$) preamp. Installed the Volumio audio player distribution. While the distro has some bugs, it is working extremely well for me, possibly the best remotely controllable media player I’ve used on a Linux system. The combination of the two components, the Volumio distro, plus the amps, creates an easy to use interface with a beautiful clear sound.
Odroid U3
The U3 is now at the beginning stages of a new project, a Gentoo installation. In additional to the on-board eMMC, there is an external ssd. This is my primary experimental system.
Why Gentoo?
Gentoo is my preferred Linux distribution. I’m a fan of customization. Due to some of my personality quarks (some might say disabilities), most standard workflows slow me down. I have spent eleven years tweaking and customizing my main Gentoo desktop install and interface. Gentoo allows me to easily setup the system exactly the way I work best.