Maybe if I can find an unused one, still not sure tbh... Or I might go for an alternative SBC from AliExpress and compromise on CPU

I cant personally comment on them since I havent grabbed them yet but these are two Pi clones I was considering:

Radxa Rock 5C and Orange Pi 5

I would do research on them because they are a similar form factor and usually cheaper for more memory… the software will be different.

i'm running qwen3.5:0.8b on my orangepi zero 2w, low token/s but it still runs. I think i paid around £14 for it over a year ago but now the same board is double price. I wouldn't buy a computer right now of any kind. It's a bubble.

Interesting, I have a few Pis laying around, I know they'd be low token use, but debated putting some models on them, whats your setup look like if you don't mind me asking? Is there a specific image or package you're using?

Old Android phones might also be an option, depending on the use case.