Home Technology New Raspberry Pi 4 has specs that bring it even closer to being a full desktop machine

New Raspberry Pi 4 has specs that bring it even closer to being a full desktop machine

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There was a time when Raspberry Pi was simply the domain of hobbyists and tech enthusiasts as its small scale computing power allowed for some small scale development and integration with a variety of different hardware components. With each iteration of the revolutionary hardware though the technology gets closer to becoming a full-scale computer that will no longer just be for tinkering but easily is used for actual computing power.

The latest version of the hardware, as announced by The Raspberry Pi Foundation will see even more updates from the previous 3B version which brings it the closest it has ever been to matching the capabilities of a full-scale PC and will probably only bring further innovation to its utility as it gets improved specs across the board:

Here’s a full list of the Raspberry Pi 4’s improvements over its predecessor, the Raspberry Pi 3 B+:

  • Quad-core 1.5GHz Broadcom CPU, up from 1.4GHz in the previous model.
  • 500MHz VideoCore VI GPU, up from 400MHz previously.
  • A USB Type-C port for power, rather than Micro USB.
  • Two Micro HDMI ports which can power two 4K monitors at 30fps, or a single 4K monitor at 60fps alongside a 1080p display.
  • Two USB 3 ports and two USB 2 ports, up from four USB 2 ports.
  • A Gigabit Ethernet port which is no longer throttled by a USB interface.
  • Bluetooth 5.0 rather than 4.1.
  • Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
  • A microSD storage card with a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 50 Mbps, up from 25 Mbps.
  • A 40 pin GPIO connector with support for three more interfaces; I2C, SPI, and UART.

Those are certainly some impressive specs that could easily see it run a version of Windows 10 or full Chrome OS and connect to screens and devices, essentially becoming a full PC – and that cost, its certainly worth it. For the rest of us who prefer to use Raspberry Pi’s for what they were invented for – the Internet of Things, it will only allow us to do even more – and faster. What’s not to like?

The Raspberry Pi 4 is available starting today with either 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB of RAM for $35 (R525), $45 (R675), and $55 (R825), respectively.

Last Updated: June 25, 2019

22 Comments

  1. For the Emperor!

    June 25, 2019 at 14:56

    I am seriously considering getting into this. But what to use it for? As a developer I need a fun coding hobby but also want it to be useful…

    Reply

    • Guz

      June 25, 2019 at 17:30

      You want to need it xD

      Reply

    • HvR

      June 25, 2019 at 17:30

      As media centre it is still bit underpowered.

      But take a look bunch of cool projects online.

      I have a couple of the small boards I want to use as fully integrated home media center. Pair them with cheaper speaker all around the home from which I can stream music service from my phone to the pi box. Also quite a few very nice home security camera solution or dashcam projects.

      Reply

      • Guz

        June 25, 2019 at 17:30

      • For the Emperor!

        June 25, 2019 at 17:56

        The camera part sounds good…for reasons. Might get a new job next year where Pi is used in “smart” ways, so want to get a head start.

        Reply

        • HvR

          June 25, 2019 at 17:56

          Saw a few places starting to use them commercially; never saw the appeal in them. Hardware to general and too expensive for large scale deployment also you run into a bunch of open source licensing issues with a lot of the drivers making commercial application problematic.

          Reply

    • HvR

      June 25, 2019 at 17:56

      Also take a look at the chinese sites, you get unofficial piboards and other hobbyist boards for next to nothing.

      Colleague pick up a range of boards with cameras modules and motion sensors for less than R200 a boards and got it his whole home and erf “wired” up with a complete security grid integrated to his alarm system and his phone

      Reply

    • Nick Delport

      June 26, 2019 at 15:32

      there is plenty of projects for the pi. been using it for a ton of projects here at work. currently using a few for a video monitoring wall 9×9, ad blocker at home or pabx system, setup steam link on it or music player for the entire house all synced… and like Hammersteyn said, media centre or retro gaming.

      Reply

      • For the Emperor!

        June 26, 2019 at 15:42

        When @disqus_9d4L7lqp4k:disqus mentioned “with cameras modules and motion sensors”, I realized that it is exactly what I wanted to do with it! I have been looking to automate photo taking at the Parkrun, and using a Pi scratched both needs: photos and hobby coding time 🙂

        Reply

  2. Admiral Chief

    June 25, 2019 at 15:10

    But can it run Crysis?

    Reply

  3. Magoo

    June 25, 2019 at 15:21

    Wow. That’s great actually! Excellent pricing for essential computing.

    Reply

    • Guz

      June 25, 2019 at 17:30

      Ya thought it would be way more expensive, considering the specs

      Reply

  4. LegionZA

    June 25, 2019 at 17:07

    Retropie upgrade time, yum

    Reply

  5. Guz

    June 25, 2019 at 17:19

    Thing’s faster than my first desktop O.0

    Reply

  6. Guz

    June 25, 2019 at 17:19

    Thing’s faster than my first desktop O.0

    Reply

    • G8crasha

      June 26, 2019 at 07:20

      True that. My first PC was a Pentium 75 (for those that don’t know, my PC ran at 75Mhz), and a 500Mb HDD. Can’t remember my RAM. I think is was 10Mb or something like that!

      Reply

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