Support for 2.5" 15mm hd

  • I have a 5TB HD (Seagate ST5000LM000) which I can shuck from its USB enclosure. It's destined to be stuffed full of content and installed in a LibreELEC box for my elderly, technophobic father. I'd prefer to have the simplest possible standalone device (no internet access), all in one if possible. Are there any cheapish barebones boxes on the market (x86 or Raspberry Pi) that can accept a 15mm SATA 2.5" HD?

    Thanks!

  • That depends on your definition of "cheapish", and your worldwide location. A Raspberry Pi 4 (2GB+) set will be some 90-100 euro, a "full" pc box upto 3-4 times that.

    All RPi have built-in CEC support for easy control, x86 PC's will need a separate USB-CEC dongle (40 euro? + shipping) for that. The RPI needs internet access for setting & using the correct date/time, a PC has its CMOS + battery for that. There are separate CMOS time modules for a RPi, but it adds to the cost.

    Perhaps you can find yourself a 2nd hand (not too old) M-ITX board with Intel graphics and a ditto casing so you can add the 2.5" drive internally: better cooling and no need for the enclosure. A PICO psu will ensure further silence.

  • Thanks for the advice! I decided to try out a Raspberry Pi box. Media in external USB enclosure seems to work fine. The RPi I got came with LibreELEC 9.2.6 preinstalled on the SD card, been seeing weird glitches (video tearing, won't download artwork or skins), rather than try to troubleshoot I think I'm going to start fresh with 10RC1 (aka 9.97.1). Fingers crossed!