Raspberry Pi 5 will be available in october in two versions depending on RAM memory capacity and will be greatly improved in terms of performance or connectivity compared to the Raspberry 4.
In case you don’t know this type of product, say that it is the new version of the single motherboard computer (SBC) developed by the British foundation of the same name. Although the initial objective of its launch was to promote computer science education to schoolchildren, its low cost and enormous flexibility have turned it into a tremendously popular for use in countless projects.
After selling 45 million units in its first decade in the market, it is the absolute leader in its segment. And it has encouraged other manufacturers to develop their own solutions. Most are similar, others practically identical and the rest with superior features or different hardware architecture, but essentially maintaining their form factor.
Raspberry Pi 5, more and better
The Foundation has chosen to include a new SoC, much more powerful than that of the Pi 4. It is a Broadcom BCM2712 based on a 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A76 running at 2.4 GHz and including 4 MB of cache. The GPU has also been upgraded to VideoCore VII, which supports APIs such as OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan 1.2.
In addition to the increased performance, the SoC includes a new I/O chip designed by Raspberry Pi engineers: the RP1. This dedicated chip acts as a South Bridge and handles most of the data input/output, including the GPIO and USB pins, taking the load off the main processor. The result is that the Raspberry Pi 5 can work up to three times faster than a Pi 4.
While the board has the same dimensions as its predecessors, the Pi 5 packs a surprising number of additional features into a few Specifications which we can summarize in:
- Arm Cortex-A76 64-bit quad-core 2.4GHz CPU.
- VideoCore VII GPU, compatible with OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2.
- Dual 4Kp60 HDMI display output.
- HEVC 4Kp60 decoder.
- Dual band Wi-Fi 5.
- Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
- High-speed microSD card interface supports SDR mode.
- 2 USB 3.0 ports, supporting 5Gbps simultaneous operation.
- 2 USB 2.0 ports.
- Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ support.
- 2 × 4 lane MIPI display/camera transceivers.
- PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for fast peripherals.
- Standard 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO connector.
- Real time clock.
- Power button.
Versions and prices
Support for the product is another highlight as it will extend until 2035. The Raspberry Pi 4 will also remain in production for an undetermined amount of time. The Foundation says they hope to manufacture one million units before Christmas, while maintaining production of the rest of the solutions they market.
Raspberry Pi 5 will be available in October in two versions depending on memory capacity and with the following prices:
- 4GB RAM: $60
- 8GB RAM: $80
They are 5 dollars more than the official launch of the Pi 4. But their improvements in performance and connectivity are relevant. Raspberry ensures to continue leading the single motherboard computer (SBC) segment for many years to come.
