Raspberry Pi 4 Model B: What to Buy other than the board — Pi-hole
Finally, the Raspberry Pi 4 is in my hand, but I need more than only the boards.
Disclaimer
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Intro
About a year ago, when I tried to buy a Raspberry Pi 4 for my homelab, I wasn’t able to get one since it was out of stock almost everywhere.
Yesterday, while I researched about Pi-hole, somehow I googled about it and found that I can get Raspberry Pi 4 Model 4 at the computer store around where I live. ( no need to pay any premium nor shipping fee )
Today, I walked to the store during the lunch time and bought three Raspberry Pi 4 Model 4. The original plan was buying one, but bought three.
The two of them will be used to build a internal DNS with Pi-hole and a monitoring platform. The last one will be used for some experimentation.
Only Raspberry Pi 4
I only purchased the Raspberry Pi 4 boards. ( check in Amazon )
To boot up and make them up and running, I still need ( at least ) some more parts to purchase.
- Micro SD card ( or SSD )
- Power Source for Raspberry Pi 4
- Mini HDMI supported cable
Although there was an option that I could buy a bundle that has all required parts to start Raspberry Pi 4, I didn’t buy it because I wasn’t sure about the items in the bundle.
( note: my own final bundle cost with better Micro SD is around $110. The available bundle in Amazon marketplace is around $160. )
The Raspberry Pi 4 8GB bundle in Amazon
The available bundle in Amazon has the all minimum required items.
- Micro SD as storage ( 32GB )
- Power Supply with USB C port
- Mini HDMI supported cable
- And, extra ( heatsink and a fan )
If you more prefer to avoid the hassle to buy them separately, buying the bundle can be a good option. ( check in Amazon )
Scoping the first project
Too many ideas won’t help me and it can even block me moving on the next step.
So, I decided to fully focus on the Pi-hole project. The requirements ( from myself ) are
- Once Pi-hole is up, it shouldn’t be disrupted. It has to be up and running all the time. ( up-time is important ).
- For now, use USB C powered source — don’t use PoE or PoE+ for now.
- No need to use SSD yet. Mostly, Pi-hole doesn’t require too much writing.
- The dev monitor has DVI-I and VGA port, so consider to buy a cable or adapter for the connection.
Which Storage? — Micro SD vs. SSD
The first and easy option can be Micro SD card as a storage.
I found out that SSD can be used as a storage and it can be used as a boot media as well. ( It might take around 3W additional power consumption. )
For the Pi-Hole project, I decided to use Micro SD. It might not be optimal for heavy writing, but since the Pi-hole might not need to write too much to the storage, Micro SD card might be good enough. And also, it is lighter and doesn’t require extra power consumption.
Which Micro SD? — Size and Type
First, I researched about the storage size. I googled around and checked Raspberry Pi Reddit community. And, 32GB is one I chose to use. It should be good enough for the Pi-hole.
And, which brand and type of Micro SD with 32GB?
- SanDisk Ultra — check in Amazon ( around $12 for two )
- SanDisk Extreme — check in Amazon ( around $12 )
- SanDisk Extreme Pro — check in Amazon ( around $12 )
There is a website that did some performance testing for those three Micro SD cards. The higher version ( Ultra < Extreme < Extreme Pro ) has better performance in writing and reading.
Since the price is not that different, I chose SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB
Which Raspberry Pi Case?
I need a case that can hold the Raspberry Pi + Pi-hole.
I thought about buying this UCTRONICS 19" 1U Rackmount ( check in Amazon ).
For the Pi-hole project, it’s not urgent to buy this kind of Raspberry Pi cluster case.
More importantly, based on the ( my own ) requirements for Pi-hole project, the Pi-hole should be simple and isolated as much as possible, so it won’t be disrupted.
I found a bundle that has the items I need ( including the case )
- a transparent case
- USB C power source
- Mini HDMI to HDMI ( even including Mini HDMI to female HDMI as well )
The overall price is $18. It’s reasonable and even cheaper than buying those items individually.
So, I decided to buy this bundle. — check in Amazon
Summary
The all mentioned accessories have been ordered. They will be delivered within next 2–3 days.
Once they are delivered, I will share how I setup the Pi-hole.
NEXT
Disclosures
Some of Amazon links are Amazon affiliate links. I earn commissions from my sponsored links.
