Marketplaces and e-waste recycling centers are practically overflowing with the things: ARM-based streaming TV boxes that run some — usually very outdated and compromised — version of Android. While you can use them for their promised streaming purposes, they’re invariably poorly optimized and often lie about their true hardware specifications. Which leaves the most important question: can you install Linux on these SBCs and use them as a poor man’s Raspberry Pi alternative? The answer, according to [Oleksii’s Tech] on YouTube is ‘sorta’.
But still, all of it implies you can get Linux on that thing in the first place, which is (especially with fake specs) very hard to guess
Sure, if someone puts in the time to sort those, great
But even at 5$ a piece, and if 1/5 work decently with Linux, you are looking at like 45$ / working piece, or even more if someone is refurbing it
For comparison: I can buy a lot of x64 (kinda nice, since arm is not as supported everywhere) thin client with way more ports, changeable memory and everything, for 30$
https://www.ebay.de/itm/306411387131?keyword=fujitsu+thin+client&relatedSearch=true