In a surprise move, the highly anticipated Raspberry Pi 5 has made its debut, defying initial doubts. The latest iteration of the microcomputer, boasting significant enhancements, is now available, starting at an enticing $60.
Notably, the Raspberry Pi 5 not only promises improved performance over its predecessor but also marks the first time the device incorporates in-house silicon.
At the core of the Raspberry Pi 5 is a robust 64-bit quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor clocked at 2.4GHz, offering a substantial two to three-fold increase in performance compared to the aging Raspberry Pi 4, which was introduced four years ago. Additionally, the device houses an 800MHz VideoCore VII graphics chip, a feature lauded by the Raspberry Pi Foundation for its remarkable graphics performance boost.
The device reveals speedy boot times and swift webpage loading, particularly when compared to older models such as the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. Notably, the device tends to generate significant heat, but Raspberry Pi has addressed this concern by supplying an active cooling component for direct board mounting.
Key features include:
- 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU
- VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
- Dual 4Kp60 HDMI® display output
- 4Kp60 HEVC decoder
- Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi®
- Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
- High-speed microSD card interface with SDR104 mode support
- 2 × USB 3.0 ports, supporting simultaneous 5Gbps operation
- 2 × USB 2.0 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ support (requires separate PoE+ HAT, coming soon)
- 2 × 4-lane MIPI camera/display transceivers
- PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for fast peripherals
- Raspberry Pi standard 40-pin GPIO header
- Real-time clock
- Power button
A noteworthy highlight of the Raspberry Pi 5 is the inclusion of a southbridge component, a critical part of the motherboard responsible for peripheral communication. Developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and dubbed the RP1 southbridge, this component introduces a substantial leap in peripheral performance and functionality. This enhancement translates to faster data transfer speeds to external UAS drives and other peripherals.
Furthermore, the Raspberry Pi 5 introduces two four-lane 1.5Gbps MIPI transceivers for connecting up to two cameras or displays, along with a single-lane PCI Express 2.0 interface, which, though available for the first time, requires a separate adapter like an M.2 HAT for full utilization.
In terms of connectivity, the Raspberry Pi 5 offers dual 4Kp60 HDMI display outputs with HDR support, a microSD slot, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and a 5V DC power connection via USB-C.
Additional features include Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) support, and peak SD card performance that is claimed to be “doubled” with the SDR104 high-speed mode. These enhancements solidify the Raspberry Pi 5 as a versatile choice for various applications, whether it’s serving as an ultra-budget desktop PC, a media server, or a DIY security system.
The Raspberry Pi 5 offers multiple RAM configurations at launch, with the 4GB version priced at $60 and the 8GB version at $80. While this places it slightly above the Raspberry Pi 4 in terms of cost, which is priced at $55 for 4GB of RAM and $75 for 8GB, it still maintains an attractive price point. Interested buyers can expect the Raspberry Pi 5 to be available for purchase before the end of October.
Read: Raspberry Pi: A timeline
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