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Understanding the Complete Raspberry Pi Series: A Comprehensive Guide

Those who have recently entered the Raspberry Pi world must be familiar with the Raspberry Pi 4B series, but may not know much about the earlier series.

In today’s article, we will take a more systematic look at what this very cool little computer is and briefly introduce what you can do with it.

This article covers all current iterations of the Pi and their characteristics. Each version is slightly different, and one version may be more suitable for your needs than another!

Basic Knowledge of Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a small computer about the size of a credit card.

This board has a processor, memory, and standard hardware ports, just like most computers do.

The Raspberry Pi has all the functions of a computer, so you can use it to do most tasks that desktop computers can do, such as document editing, playing HD videos, gaming, programming, and more.

However, the processing power of the Raspberry Pi is not as strong as that of a desktop computer, but because it is much cheaper, it is a small computer that you can tinker with freely. If you accidentally break one, it won’t cost you a fortune to replace.

In daily life, many tasks do not require a high-performance computer to accomplish.

This is where the high cost-performance ratio of the Raspberry Pi comes into play, such as running as a home NAS (Network Attached Storage), web server, media center, TorrentBox, etc.

Operating System

The main operating system for the Raspberry Pi is Raspbian, which is based on Debian. This is a Linux distribution, and if you are used to using Windows computers, you may find it a bit different, but I believe that once you get used to it, you will love it.

Although Raspbian is the primary supported operating system, other operating systems can also be installed. Available operating systems include Ubuntu Mate, Ubuntu Core, OSMC, RISC OS, Windows 10 IoT, and more.

If you are looking for Raspberry Pi projects, you can check our community, where there are many cool Raspberry Pi projects.

There are many models of Raspberry Pi, and we will discuss their characteristics one by one.

Raspberry Pi A+

The Raspberry Pi A+ is a lower-spec and cost version of the Pi. This version has only one USB port, lower power consumption, no Ethernet port, and only 256MB of memory. The latest version has 512MB of memory.

This version of the Pi is more suitable for projects that do not require significant processing power and has a lighter weight and smaller size.

You can do many things with this board, such as robotics, remote-controlled planes, remote-controlled cars, and embedded projects.

For example, it can serve as the brain of a robot, a touchscreen car dashboard, or a motion-sensing camera.

Raspberry Pi B+ and B

The Raspberry Pi B+ and B are older versions of the Pi, which have now been replaced by the Pi 2.

The B+ version uses a single-core CPU, has four USB ports, and a microSD card slot, with lower power consumption.

This model improved upon the previous B model, which only had two USB ports, had higher power consumption, and a full-sized SD card slot.

The B+ model is still available for purchase, but it will gradually be replaced by better Pi versions.

Raspberry Pi 2

The Raspberry Pi 2 is the second generation of the Pi. This Pi, along with the B+ version, is one of the most popular versions.

The Pi 2 is a replacement for the B+, featuring a 900MHz quad-core CPU and 1GB of memory. The other specifications remain consistent with the previous generation.

Here are its features:

40-pin GPIO expansion
4x USB 2.0 ports
Stereo output and composite video port
HDMI port
CSI (Camera Serial Interface) and DSI (Display Serial Interface) ports.
Micro SD card slot
Micro USB power

This version of the Pi has now been replaced by more powerful Pi 3 and 4 models.

Raspberry Pi 3 & 3 B+

The Raspberry Pi 3 is the second new version of the Pi, surpassing the second version in performance and functionality. This version provides additional features that make using the Pi easier.

This version of the Pi features a new CPU with a clock speed of 1.2GHz and is 64-bit, but only 32-bit operating systems can be installed on the Pi 3.

The Pi 3 also has onboard Wi-Fi (802.11n) and Bluetooth 4.1, along with more USB ports. These new features allow us to do some cool things.

The other parts of the board remain largely unchanged.

Here are the new features:

Broadcom BCM2387 chipset
1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU
Integrated 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.1

The Raspberry Pi 3B+ is still available for purchase, with some minor upgrades, but not as many as the new Raspberry Pi 4.

Raspberry Pi 4

The Raspberry Pi 4 is the latest version in the Raspberry Pi family and is the best board to date. It has undergone numerous hardware upgrades, making it far superior to its predecessors.

This version features a 1.5GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A72, which is a significant improvement over previous products.

This Raspberry Pi also offers multiple memory options, such as the classic 1GB version, as well as 2GB, 4GB, and the newer 8GB versions.

More improvements make this board highly attractive to enthusiasts and regular users alike. The 4GB version makes it a very viable desktop computer alternative.

Here are all the new features of the Raspberry Pi 4.

1.5GHz quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A72 CPU (about 3 times the performance).
1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4 SDRAM.
Full Gigabit Ethernet
Dual-band 802.11ac wireless network
Bluetooth 5.0
Two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports
Support for dual displays up to 4K resolution.
VideoCore VI graphics, supporting OpenGL ES 3.x.
Hardware decoding of 4Kp60 HEVC video
Fully compatible with earlier Raspberry Pi products

Raspberry Pi Zero and Zero W

The Raspberry Pi Zero is currently the smallest and cheapest Pi available.

This board is priced at 66 yuan and packs the basic functions of a Pi into an ultra-small board.

Although this Pi cannot handle a lot of processing tasks, it is very suitable for embedded projects. It is also very suitable for projects that do not require a lot of processing power or memory, just like the Pi A+.

Here is a summary of the Zero’s features:

1GHz, single-core CPU
512MB memory
Mini HDMI
Micro USB port
Micro USB power
Micro SD card slot
40-pin header compatible with HAT
Reset header

The Raspberry Pi Zero W has wireless capabilities, which is very convenient on such a small board, allowing for some interesting projects using WiFi and Bluetooth.

Now you can still get the Raspberry Pi 3B+, which has some minor upgrades, but not as many as the new Raspberry Pi 4.

Raspberry Pi 400 and Raspberry Pi Pico

Of course, in addition to the classic models mentioned above, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has also released two new products.

▼ Raspberry Pi Pico

▼ Raspberry Pi 400

I hope this article helps everyone understand what the Raspberry Pi is, what you can do with it, and which Raspberry Pi is more suitable for you.

If you have any thoughts or corrections regarding the article, please feel free to leave a comment below!

Original link: https://www.labno3.com/2021/02/25/what-is-a-raspberry-pi-computer/

Image sources are from the internet, please delete if infringing

This article has been partially edited, please be sure to indicate the source if reprinted

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Understanding the Complete Raspberry Pi Series: A Comprehensive Guide

Basic Knowledge of Raspberry Pi

Operating System

Raspberry Pi A+

Raspberry Pi B+ and B

Raspberry Pi 2

Raspberry Pi 3 & 3 B+

Raspberry Pi 4

Raspberry Pi Zero and Zero W

Raspberry Pi 400 and Raspberry Pi Pico

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Five Unique Uses of Raspberry Pi

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