The Raspberry Pi dominated the maker scene for a decade. Supply chain problems then brought the high flying to an end. With the Raspberry Pi 5, the Raspberry Pi Foundation is now attempting to break free.
The new Raspberry Pi 5 model is two to three times faster than its predecessors. This article summarizes how the mini computer has proven itself in the first two months and what its downsides are.
In the logic of earlier Raspberry Pi models, this article deals with the 5B model. As there are currently no other models of the Pi 5, I will not use this exact model designation below.
WHAT’S NEW?
Externally, the Raspberry Pi 5 looks like its predecessors. The size of the board is unchanged, as is the 40-pin GPIO strip. The USB ports and the network socket have been swapped compared to model 4B. However, the first visual impression is deceptive. In reality, there are some fundamental innovations.
The most important is the new BCM 2712 SoC (System-on-a-Chip), whose four Cortex-A76 cores are clocked at 2.4GHz. Depending on the application, the Broadcom chip is two to three times as fast as its predecessors. This is an enormous increase in performance, but also comes at the cost of higher power consumption and a heat problem.
In contrast to previous models, the 3.5mm socket for audio cables has been removed—as is now standard on most smartphones. This is particularly regrettable when using the Raspberry Pi as an audio player or internet radio.
There is a new PCIe connector for this purpose.
