We already have with us the new Raspberry Pi 5 development board that after four years and a worldwide pandemic arrives with more powerful hardware.
A development board that as always displays a myriad of options for those who wish to develop their inventions with them. We now have a new Broadcom BCM2712 SoC that offers 2 and 3 times more performance, plus extensive improvements in connectivity and some other cuts.
We have versions with 4 and 8 GB of RAM, in addition to the classic extra components such as the official box, a 27 W USB-C transformer and an active ventilation system
Raspberry Pi 5 Specifications
The new Raspberry Pi 5 includes a Broadcom BCM2712 Quad Core SoC with four ARM Cortex-A76 processors capable of reaching 2.4 GHz. We also have a new VideoCore VII GPU with support for HVEC, OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan, plus HDMI 2.0b output up to 4K@60fps HDR. In terms of RAM the version on offer includes 4/8 GB LPDDR4X, we have a micro SD storage card slot and NVMe connector. As we can see the audio jack has been removed as the most striking point.
This display of power has a price, the consumption is 25 W, the official adapter is 5V 5A and if we want to reach its maximum performance we will need it. If we are going to use it with this level of energy almost necessarily requires an active fan that offers us the brand. Something to keep in mind.
Key characteristic list
- Broadcom BCM2712 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with cryptography extensions, 512KB per-core L2 caches and a 2MB shared L3 cache
- VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
- Dual 4Kp60 HDMI® display output with HDR support
- 4Kp60 HEVC decoder
- LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM (4GB and 8GB SKUs available at launch)
- Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi®
- Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
- microSD card slot, with support for high-speed SDR104 mode
- 2 × USB 3.0 ports, supporting simultaneous 5Gbps operation
- 2 × USB 2.0 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE support (requires separate PoE HAT)
- 2 × 4-lane MIPI camera/display transceivers
- PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for fast peripherals (requires separate M.2 HAT or other adapter)
- 5V/5A DC power via USB-C, with Power Delivery support
- Raspberry Pi standard 40-pin header
- Real-time clock (RTC), powered from external battery
- Power button
Comparison against Android TV-Box and mini PC
As has always happened with all Raspberry Pi boards, the options they offer are innumerable, but it is a product focused on a development use. Keep in mind that it lacks certain features that a home user for multimedia and games may need, many users may find more comfortable an Android TV or even a mini PC.
Points to consider
- No protective case.
- No direct-use controller.
- No DRM for audio/video and streaming apps.
- No default operating system.
- Requires technical knowledge up to a certain level.
- Adding box, power adapter and fan the price skyrockets.
Price and availability
- The Raspberry Pi 5 board will be available from October from $60 for the 4 GB version and for about $80 for the 8 GB RAM version, plus shipping.
