Essential Guide to Raspberry Pi for Makers

The Raspberry Pi, you must have heard of it, but do you really understand it? Today, we will talk about what a Raspberry Pi computer is and 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.

The Raspberry Pi has all the functions of a computer, so you can use it for most tasks that a desktop computer 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 it.

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

At this time, the high cost-performance ratio of the Raspberry Pi is evident, 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 gradually get used to it, you will definitely love it.

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

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

The Raspberry Pi comes in many models, and we will discuss their features one by one next.

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 is lighter and smaller in 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, a motion-sensing camera, and so on.

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, four USB ports, and a microSD card slot, with lower power consumption.

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

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

Raspberry Pi 2

The Raspberry Pi 2 is the second generation of Pi. This Pi and the B+ version are among the most popular versions.

The Pi 2 is the successor to the B+, featuring a 900MHz quad-core CPU and 1GB of memory. The remaining specifications are consistent with the previous generation.

Its features are listed below:

40-pin GPIO expansion
4x USB 2.0 ports
Audio 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 the more powerful Pi 3 and 4.

Raspberry Pi 3 & 3 B+

The Raspberry Pi 3 is the second new version of the Pi, outperforming the second version in performance and functionality. This version offers some additional features that make using the Pi simpler.

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

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

You can still buy the Raspberry Pi 3B+, which has 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 significant hardware upgrades, making it far superior to its predecessors.

This version features a 1.5GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A72, which is much better than previous generations.

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

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

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
Bluetooth 5.0
Two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports
Support for dual displays with resolutions up to 4K.
VideoCore VI graphics, supporting OpenGL ES 3.x.
Hardware decoding for 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 of all Pis.

This board costs 66 yuan and packs the basic functions of a Pi onto an ultra-small board.

Although this Pi cannot handle a lot of processing work, it is ideal 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’s 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 for such a small board, allowing for some fun projects using WiFi and Bluetooth.

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

END

Author: Mechanical Lion

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

Copyright belongs to the original author. If there is any infringement, please contact to delete.

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