Those of you who have worked with previous models of Raspberry Pi know it as an inexpensive, diminutive, highly customizable mini-computer board perfect for DIY/maker projects.  The most recent version, Raspberry Pi 4, does all that and more.  This post will run down the complete specifications for the latest Pi, highlight the most significant new features and how they compare to the previous model.

Specifications

Here’s the full run-down, courtesy of the Raspberry Pi Foundation:

• Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz
• 1GB, 2GB or 4GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM (depending on model)
• 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 2 USB 3.0 ports; 2 USB 2.0 ports.
• Raspberry Pi standard 40 pin GPIO header (fully backwards compatible with previous boards)
• 2 × micro-HDMI ports (up to 4kp60 supported)
• 2-lane MIPI DSI display port
• 2-lane MIPI CSI camera port
• 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port
• H.265 (4kp60 decode), H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
• OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics
• Micro-SD card slot for loading operating system and data storage
• 5V DC via USB-C connector (minimum 3A*)
• 5V DC via GPIO header (minimum 3A*)
• Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled (requires separate PoE HAT)
• Operating temperature: 0 – 50 degrees C ambient

* A good quality 2.5A power supply can be used if downstream USB peripherals consume less than 500mA in total.

As you can see if you’ve used a previous model, the Pi 4 is substantially souped up to enable much more speed so you can run more applications both on- and offline.  Here are some of the biggest upgrades.

Much faster processor

The 1.5GHz quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A72 offers approximately 3x better performance than the Pi 3 Model B+’s ARM Cortex-A53.  This enables processing capacity in the range of basic desktop PCs from within the past few years, making Pi 4 more versatile than ever.

Up to 4X more RAM 

For the first time Raspberry Pi offers customizable memory options, with the Pi 4 available in 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB models (compared to the Pi 3’s 1GB).  Again, this souped up version makes it possible to run things much faster than before, including things that couldn’t be run very well at all on previous models (including game emulators for later generation consoles).  Plus, even the 4GB version is still very affordable, priced at just $55!

4K video-capable GPU 

For enhanced video and gaming capability.

Full-throughput gigabit Ethernet 

The Pi 3’s port had a 300 Mbps bottleneck, but with Pi 4’s full gigabit throughput port, your Ethernet can run 3X faster!

USB 3.0 ports and dual HDMI

Pi 3 sported four USB 2.0 ports, but Pi 4 comes equipped with two of those as well as two upgraded USB 3.0 ports, plus it now comes with not one but two micro-HDMI ports with 4K output, for two simultaneous video outputs if you want some dual-screen action.  Plus, the micro-SD card slot is also twice as fast.

Backward compatibility 

If you are considering upgrading from a previous model, it may come as especially good news that Raspberry Pi has continued their practice of making everything backward compatible, so that practically everything you ran on your earlier Pi and used it to do, you can still run and do with a Pi 4.  

And of course, you can also do much more!  So, if you haven’t upgraded already, what are you waiting for?  Order a Raspberry Pi 4 today!  Vilros has all the kits and accessories you need.