The Raspberry Pi 5, despite initial doubts about its release, has launched with several notable upgrades. Priced at $60, it boasts improved performance compared to its predecessor and is the first Raspberry Pi to come with in-house silicon. Powered by a 64-bit quad-core Arm Cortex-A76 processor running at 2.4GHz, it offers a two to three times boost in performance. The device also features an 800MHz VideoCore VII graphics chip, providing a significant improvement in graphics performance. Feedback from a reviewer indicates that the Raspberry Pi 5 boots up quickly and loads webpages faster than previous models, although it can get hot.
One of the standout features of the Raspberry Pi 5 is the inclusion of a southbridge component made by the Raspberry Pi Foundation for the first time. This enhances peripheral performance and functionality, resulting in faster transfer speeds to external USB drives and other peripherals. The device also includes two four-lane 1.5Gbps MIPI transceivers, allowing users to connect up to two cameras or displays, and a single-lane PCI Express 2.0 interface, offering support for high-bandwidth peripherals. However, a separate adapter is required to take advantage of this feature.
In terms of ports, 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, along with doubled peak SD card performance in the SDR104 high-speed mode. With these upgrades, the Raspberry Pi 5 becomes even more versatile, suitable for various applications such as an ultra-budget desktop PC, media server, or DIY security system. The device will be available in two RAM options: 4GB for $60 and 8GB for $80.
