This time I have summarized the issues with the Raspberry Pi 5 to see if it is worth buying. Additionally, I will cover some details that were not discussed in previous videos.

Raspberry Pi SoC Process Issues

I checked the official response from Raspberry Pi, and this time the Raspberry Pi 5 uses three brand new chips.

The SoC used is Broadcom BCM2712, which is a 16nm SoC. Compared to the RK3588’s 8nm, the difference is indeed significant. However, the BCM2712’s benchmark scores are not low, with single-core scores slightly exceeding those of the RK3588. I have seen some users even overclock it to 3.0GHz.

Meanwhile, the Raspberry Pi’s RP1 chip is made using TSMC’s 40nm LP process. According to the official statement, the RP1 chip has been under development by Raspberry Pi since 2016, making it the longest, most complex, and most expensive project undertaken by Raspberry Pi, costing 15 million dollars. Due to the long development time, many requirements have changed, and the Raspberry Pi 5 is equipped with the third major version of RP1.

The purpose of this chip is to separate some low-speed interfaces to prevent compatibility issues due to chip changes in the future. High-speed interfaces are directly connected to the chip, while other low-speed interfaces will be allocated through the RP1 chip. Overall, the purpose of this chip is compatibility.

The third chip is the Renesas DA9091 power management chip (PMIC), which is a collaborative design between Raspberry Pi and the Renesas Edinburgh team. The official response did not mention any process issues.

I need to correct an error from a previous video, where I stated that the 3.5mm headphone jack could be externally connected via pin headers. The Raspberry Pi provides a VID (composite video interface), and whether it can output audio is uncertain.

Then we have

The Decoding Issues of Raspberry Pi 5

I was previously unaware of this, but after being reminded by users, I found out that the Raspberry Pi 5 only has one H.265 (HEVC) decoder.

Honestly, this is a bit ridiculous. The official statement says that other codecs can be decoded via software, and tests by foreign users have confirmed this.

In simple terms, it is still not smooth to watch videos in the browser on the Raspberry Pi, and there may still be some issues. I must say that Raspberry Pi is really stingy when it comes to GPU performance. I cannot understand the decision to cut H.264 decoding. I also want to complain about the necessity of having two HDMI ports; it would be better to improve GPU performance instead.

The desktop experience on the Raspberry Pi, especially the browser experience, I can only say is a complete mess. I have always wanted to create a Raspberry Pi laptop or tablet, but when I tried to watch 1080P videos on Bilibili with the Raspberry Pi 4B, I remember it was laggy, let alone 4K. You may wonder what the point of having two HDMI ports is. It might be due to regional issues, as foreign websites tend to be more fluid. The various operations on the Raspberry Pi make me feel that Raspberry Pi users do not need a desktop; a command line is sufficient.

Choosing Power Supply for Raspberry Pi 5

It is certain that the Raspberry Pi can use a 5V3A power supply, as the power supply I received is this specification, and it works fine. However, the official recommendation is to use their 27W PD power supply.

That is a 5V5A specification. However, it is important to note that the PD power supplies we commonly use may not work smoothly and may only negotiate up to 5V3A, as the Raspberry Pi 5 can only operate at 5V and cannot negotiate to higher voltages like 9V or 12V. This could potentially damage the Raspberry Pi. This means that if you want to power the Raspberry Pi 5 conveniently, it is best to use their official power supply. If you want to use your own power supply and achieve 25W, I recommend buying a 5V5A power adapter or a switching power supply.

Choosing Cooling Solutions for Raspberry Pi

It is certain that it can run without a heatsink, but it will throttle after a while. The official tests have shown that without any cooling, it can reach a temperature wall of 85°.

If you add a fan, it can basically keep the chip from hitting the thermal wall, and using the official active cooler can maintain a reasonable temperature for the chip. When it reaches the point where you must use a fan to keep it cool, I can only say that the 16nm process technology is a major contributor to this issue.

Regarding power and cooling, I only see the Raspberry Pi constantly saying spend more, spend more, spend more. With the official power supply and official cooler, you could easily spend 100.

Lastly, there is another question

Why is the Raspberry Pi 5 no longer produced domestically?

It has caused various price increases for Raspberry Pi.

The official response is that Sony UK, located in South Wales, is only a few hours drive from their Cambridge engineering design center, allowing for mutual communication and understanding how to design reliable products and utilize better manufacturing processes.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the strong competitor RK3588, I might not have many opinions about the Raspberry Pi 5; I would just buy it. However, why does one exist when the other is here? The RK3588 has been out for quite some time, and a year has passed. With such a performance report, will consumers really buy it?

With the Raspberry Pi 5’s current production and pricing, I estimate that domestic manufacturers are quite pleased. This is a free opportunity; domestic companies should seize it and quickly build an ecosystem.

Previously, when Raspberry Pi 3 and 4 were released, domestic manufacturers were using RK3399. Although RK3399 seems slightly stronger, everyone still chose the Raspberry Pi 4B at that time, as it was only 200-300 yuan, much cheaper than the RK3399.

But now, the performance is not as good, and I won’t even mention it. However, I believe that in terms of interfaces and various hardware, they are completely lagging behind domestic development boards by a generation.

In fact, the difference between Raspberry Pi 2, 3, and 4 was just a chip, and their winning formula was user adoption and ecosystem. But this ecosystem is built by those who buy it; if the product doesn’t sell, will this ecosystem remain stable?

If you look at previous Raspberry Pi products, you will find that their products are quite standardized, and this time the changes in Raspberry Pi 5 are quite significant.

However, the size and interfaces of the Raspberry Pi itself limit its development. Will Raspberry Pi continue to adhere to these interface sizes? Do they really not want to onboard NVMe SSDs?

The various operations of the Raspberry Pi always remind me of Apple; how similar they are. Both have minimal external changes. Core performance continues to grow, but they are no longer the most powerful. What they can boast about is their software.

Currently, I believe that domestic development boards are unprecedentedly wealthy compared to the Raspberry Pi. Hardware has completely surpassed it; the only issue is that the software ecosystem is slightly lacking. As for the Raspberry Pi, I believe that other than software, it cannot compare to the RK3588 development board.

With the level of competition in domestic development boards, honestly, as long as they put in a little effort in the software ecosystem, there will be no need for Raspberry Pi in China.

However, this makes sense; the Raspberry Pi was originally aimed at the education sector, and all of this is understandable. They may feel that they do not need such hardware.

I got a bit emotional; Raspberry Pi fans, please forgive me. I was actually a Raspberry Pi fan myself, but after the pandemic and the lack of stock, I switched my support to domestic development boards.

Orange Pi 5

https://m.tb.cn/h.5mmpQbW?tk=1CtrWfhigl0

The development board selection website has been restored, and everyone is welcome to visit. Although it is still not very complete, we have already recorded about 400 development boards. If you are interested or have needs, you can check out our selection website. If you have good suggestions, you can also mention them in the group or leave us a message.

Our website’s domain name is: findboard.cn

(We have not yet adapted it for mobile, so if you are accessing from a phone, the experience may not be very satisfactory; it is temporarily recommended to use a desktop browser for access)