In a previous article, I examined the Pi 500 and installed NoTouch OS, Stratodesk’s secure thin client operating system, on the Pi 500 in under five minutes.

The Pi 500 is cool because it is a full-sized keyboard integrated with a powerful Raspberry Pi 5-based computer for only $90. Although it has a low price, it doesn’t lack power as it has a 2.4 GHz quad-core ARM processor, advanced GPU, and 8 GB of RAM.

In this article, I will use it to connect to a remote desktop and SaaS applications to see how well they perform on this low-cost device running NoTouch OS.

Using the Pi Thin Client with an RDP Connection

As mentioned above, the thrust of this article is how well a sub $100 thin client running NoTouch performs. One of the more interesting EUC use cases I have seen recently is engineers and media creators using thin clients to access expensive workstation PCs cloistered away in environment-controlled and secure locations. I will use the Pi 500 and a Windows 10 2h22 virtual machine (VM) running locally to replicate this, connecting to it using RDP.

After logging in to Stratodesk, I brought up the system information and verified that I was running the ARM 64-bit version of NoTouch OS, which had 8 GB of RAM.

I then created an RDP connection in NoTouch OS and connected it to the VM.

One of the first tests I do when checking a desktop’s performance is streaming a video and monitoring the system’s performance. As the Pi 500 does not have a built-in speaker, I plugged in my Jabar USB headset, which Stratodesk immediately recognized and passed through to the remote desktop.

At 1080p, the video was grainy, but the audio was clear. The CPU usage on the Pi was at 110%, as reported by top. Top is a common Linux performance tool; it can report more than 100% CPU usage because it accounts for each logical CPU core separately. As the Pi has four CPU cores, the maximum total CPU usage can be 400%, with each core contributing up to 100%.

PRO TIP: if you get choppy or jittery audio in NoTouch OS, set the PulseAudio|Timer-based Scheduling (tsched) to On. (Thanks, Rich)

I further tested the system by playing a 1080p video stored locally. The video played smoothly, and the audio was clear. The CPU usage was even higher, at 150%.

I then brought up multiple Office 365 documents. The response was good; I could work and switch between Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents without issues. The CPU usage on the Pi was less than 10% while I was working with them.

Dual Monitor

Workers often find it more productive to use dual monitors, so I connected a second 2K monitor to the Pi 500. Stratodesk instantly recognized the second monitor, which was available to me on the VM’s desktop.

I could work with Office 365 documents on both screens without any issues.

SaaS Applications

As many people use SaaS applications, I was curious if I could bypass the virtual desktop altogether and use Stratodesk’s built-in Chromium browser to work with Office 365 documents. After logging into Office 365, I brought up a Word document and a PowerPoint slide deck and worked with them without issues.

I was impressed with how well Office 365 worked and the videos played using Stratodesk’s built-in Chromium browser.

A Greener Alternative

Over the time I worked with the Pi 500, I found that it could handle the workload of a task worker without any issues. But it is always nice to get a second opinion. Fortunately, while I was writing this article, Rob Knight, Director of Losingthewires Ltd. in England, reached out to me to tell me that he also was running Stratodesk on a Pi 500 and even included a picture showing his Raspberry Pi 500 running Stratodesk accessing a Cloud PC to deliver Windows apps.

He said that besides accessing his remote desktop, he uses NoTouch OS’s built-in Chromium browser to access Enterprise and other SaaS and streaming applications. He found the Pi 500’s responsiveness more than adequate for his needs, regardless of whether he accessed his remote desktop or streaming applications.

He likes the Pi 500’s dual 4K 60 Hz monitor support and its support for Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi. He has found that when coupled with Stratodesk, it is much more cost-effective than Microsoft Link while being more flexible, as it supports Citrix, AVD, Windows 365, and browser-based SaaS.

He pointed out some things that hadn’t occurred to me, including that the Pi 500 was designed and manufactured in the UK instead of China, where working conditions and wages cannot be guaranteed to meet minimum standards.

Sustainability is crucial to him and the companies he works with, which take steps/processes to reduce environmental impact. One of the concerns that the Pi addresses is that it was designed and manufactured in the UK, where environmental regulations, etc., are more stringent than in China. Pi is increasing the use of renewables, monitoring and lowering impacts such as carbon reduction and reduced energy and water use during manufacturing. For UK & European organizations, shipping distances are lower, so there is less CO2 and associated pollution from shipping from the Far East.

The Pi 500 will be supported until 2034, long after other devices have been retired, resulting in less waste.

Finally, he pointed out that the Raspberry Pi 5/500 running NoTouch OS consumes no more than 15 watts, usually 8 to 10 watts, meaning a significant reduction in power use compared to a PC it might replace, which could be 100 watts or more.

He notes that while virtual desktops and streaming applications still consume significant power, data centers increasingly rely on renewable energy sources. This shift is expected to gradually reduce dependence on fossil fuel-generated electricity. Additionally, the economies of scale across servers will likely make running a cloud PC more efficient than individual solutions.

VDi/Cloud PCs and SaaS can extend the lifespan of the endpoint devices used to access them. If an end user requires a more powerful PC, you can increase the resources allocated to their VDi/Cloud PC desktop while keeping the Raspberry Pi 500 unchanged. Similarly, an OS upgrade can be performed at the VDi/Cloud PC instead of upgrading physical machines.

My Final Thoughts

After spending a few weeks looking at and working with a Raspberry PI 500 running NoTouch, I agree with Rob Knight that it is a solid product capable of supporting workers in a variety of fields. I found that it could drive two 2K monitors without any issues. I love the idea of a portable computer with a keyboard, which I find more comfortable than a laptop keyboard.

The Pi 500 running Stratodesk should be considered a shortlist for companies that need a low-cost, energy-efficient, portable, thin client.