Raspberry Pi 5 announced - still tiny, much more powerful

This is my desktop of choice for the last few years. I will update my HTPCs and sell these Pi4s.

Quoting: Arcadius-8606This is my desktop of choice for the last few years. I will update my HTPCs and sell these Pi4s.

What distro are you running to use Pis as a desktop replacement? I'm usually on Arch derivates, but I fear not everything will be readily available, especially from AUR and flathub.


Last edited by const on 29 September 2023 at 8:19 am UTC

Quoting: ElectricPrism

Quoting: KithopYeah no, not after this fiasco: link

Not trusting any of their newer hardware on my home network.

I'm typically on the fence on these kinds of issues.

FTA: " designed in-house in the UK"

IIUC for context it sounds like they must be a UK cop.

The UK is "interesting..." and UK cops are pretty infamous. I really think the UK is parasitized by other governments as their actions typically would appear to advance ulterior party's agendas.

If anyone knows of any similar open hardware where the chips aren't trademark secret blob code let me know -- I'd love to find a winner in this SBC space.

Edit:

Quoting: const

Quoting: ArehandoroI like the update, but I honestly think they'd be better off removing microsd and adding ssd.

Let's hope they have reserved enough bandwith for a SSD expansion module. It makes sense to keep microsd for those who want to run it fanless.

It sounds like their MicroSD is faster, but is it as fast as the Steam Deck? I forgot the tag for the new tech -- I thought it was "II".

I do agree, (at least for me personally,) I would have gladly traded for a m.2 2230. Maybe it's not small enough? The microSD feels like a relic from times past, still I see their thought process in if it's not broke, don't fix it -- because fans are used to it.

But for me personally, as a potential new fan, I'm not drawn to it without being able to have a 2230 really.

I've checked by now and you can easily connect a SSD via PCIe with 500Mb/s bandwith, so it's really a non-issue. MicroSD slots are cheap and I understand keeping it. SSDs take a lot more energy and produce a lot more heat. Expect 3rd parties to boast special cases for SSD usage. If you want to run your Pi as cool as possible, MicroSD is still the way to go.

Quoting: constWhat distro are you running to use Pis as a desktop replacement? I'm usually on Arch derivates, but I fear not everything will be readily available, especially from AUR and flathub.

I use Twister OS! It is to this day the most amazing experience I have with Raspberry Pi as a desktop. I'm on my Raspberry Pi desktop most of time for day to day usage and gaming.

I have a System76 Gazelle laptop that is awesome also running POP OS but if I could I would have a Raspberry Pi laptop and call it a day. I tried Pi-Top and it was horrible.

I have to be anti-mainstream when it comes to tech, so I use other SBC's. I don't tinker constantly; I just have a handful that act as micro servers in the house. I already have an extra that rarely gets used, so no need for another.

It's cool to see the popularity continue.

Quoting: constWhat holds me back is that I bought quite a lot of pis over the years and hardly used them. There are quite a lot of ideas what I want to do with them, but I hardly find energy to do such things these days. Also, some of my old devices crash quite often, even though I use official plugs and solid, expensive cases. With my SteamDeck handling emulation better then they ever could, I don't know why I'd need a pi with such power. Maybe as a secondary PC when I need to boot Windows on my desktop for work or VR... but only after a modern distribution is available.

Same boat. I thought about using one as a first desktop for my kids, but the more I thought about it, the less the idea seemed reasonable. I understand using ARM for educational purposes and general school work, but more stuff, including proprietary software, needs x86. Great tinker boards though!

While the specs of the Pi 5 look good, the power consumption and thermals don't. I wouldn't recommend this for 24x7 operation (I'll stick to my Pi 2 for Pihole) and it looks like active cooling is a must. It thermally throttles under load without cooling - Phoronix showed up to 52% perf gain with active cooling added, which is huge.

The fact that the official Pi 5 case is the first official case to come with a fan says it all - it's a toaster in all but name :-) I'm skipping this one - I got a new 4GB Pi 4 for £35 from eBay several years back and that does me fine (and yes, I even had to get heatsinks and a fan for the Pi 4 with the money I saved because that runs too hot as well!). I think the Pi 3B is the last Pi you can sensibly run 24x7 without extra cooling or high power consumption.


Last edited by rkl on 29 September 2023 at 9:56 pm UTC

Quoting: rklWhile the specs of the Pi 5 look good, the power consumption and thermals don't. I wouldn't recommend this for 24x7 operation (I'll stick to my Pi 2 for Pihole) and it looks like active cooling is a must. It thermally throttles under load without cooling - Phoronix showed up to 52% perf gain with active cooling added, which is huge.

The fact that the official Pi 5 case is the first official case to come with a fan says it all - it's a toaster in all but name :-) I'm skipping this one - I got a new 4GB Pi 4 for £35 from eBay several years back and that does me fine (and yes, I even had to get heatsinks and a fan for the Pi 4 with the money I saved because that runs too hot as well!). I think the Pi 3B is the last Pi you can sensibly run 24x7 without extra cooling or high power consumption.

Does it run at full throttle (so to speak) all the time, though? I wonder if it still uses more than the previous gens at very low workloads.

Also that tiny fan would be *so* annoying if it ran at full speed all the time.

To be honest, I don't want Pi 5 anymore after getting couple of used Lenovo Tiny i5s for less money than I would have to pay for a Pi. Twice as powerful and with a free case, a power supply and a M.2 drive.

Raspberry Pi attracts me as an inexpensive device; I just bought another Zero 2 for my son's 3D printer.

Quoting: 14I have to be anti-mainstream when it comes to tech, so I use other SBC's. I don't tinker constantly; I just have a handful that act as micro servers in the house. I already have an extra that rarely gets used, so no need for another.

It's cool to see the popularity continue.

I also use an ODroid XU4 also but it's on the side of my main rig and mostly there for when I have a lot of family over and I run some Sega Genesis games for some of my older cousins.