Why I think using Raspberry Pis just make sense

As a new freelancer, one of the first things I had to do was decide the technologies I want to focus on in my work. In this short blog-post, I'm going to explain my choices of hardware, specifically, why I think using Raspberry Pis just make sense.

Specs

This is usually the part where a review compares specifications between different single-board computers. However, I won't do that here. In my opinion, this is not as important as some other reasons, which I will be listing later. But, to not make this section completely empty, let's list some of the specifications of the latest Raspberry Pi 5, which is one of the main parts in my toolbelt (taken from here):

• Broadcom BCM2712 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with cryptography extensions, 512KB per-core L2 caches and a 2MB shared L3 cache
• VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
• Dual 4Kp60 HDMI® display output with HDR support
• 4Kp60 HEVC decoder
• PDDR4X-4267 SDRAM (4GB and 8GB SKUs available at launch)
• Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi®
• Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
• microSD card slot, with support for high-speed SDR104 mode
• 2 × USB 3.0 ports, supporting simultaneous 5Gbps operation
• 2 × USB 2.0 ports
• Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ support (requires separate PoE+ HAT)
• 2 × 4-lane MIPI camera/display transceivers
• PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for fast peripherals (requires separate M.2 HAT or other adapter)
• 5V/5A DC power via USB-C, with Power Delivery support
• Raspberry Pi standard 40-pin header
• Real-time clock (RTC), powered from external battery
• Power button

That's an overwhelming amount of specs, so let's break down the most important pieces of information:

• The processor inside the Pi 5 is a quad-core processor, which for a lot of applications, is perfectly enough. There exist SBCs with more performance, for potentially a smaller price, however, for what the Pi 5 costs, it's perfect.
• It comes in 2 variants, one with 4GB, and one with 8GB of RAM. I prefer working with the 8GB version, because it leaves the possibility open for extending applications, or adding extra purpose to an already-made device, but under cost-constraints, the 4GB version also gets almost everything done as well.
• The I/O on the Pi 5 is almost great. One gigabit Ethernet jack, 2 USB3 ports, both capable of 5Gbps each, 2 USB2 ports, and a Type-C port with PD for supplying power. However, I do have 2 gripes with the I/O:
  • The display outputs. We have 2 micro-HDMI ports available, both of which can output 4k60hz at the same time. This is awesome, but the fact that the connector can be flimsy, and is way easier to break than normal HDMI ports just takes away from it.
  • That Type-C port. While it's great that you can, in theory, use any Type-C charger, it's generally recommended to use a 5V/5A charger. It's only compatible with PD power supplies that are outputting 5 volts, and most chargers only push this much power on higher voltage rails. Unfortunate, but it is what it is.
• Wifi and Bluetooth are present, which makes life way easier, as there's no need for USB adapters, or even for wiring up Ethernet in some cases.
• For the first time in a Raspberry Pi, there's PCIe available! People are still in the early-stages of making cool devices using this, but in my opinion, this is mostly used for NVME SSDs, and Coral TPUs for now.
• The usual SD card slot for main boot volumes is still here, but if we don't want to use that, we can just use a USB stick, or an NVME SSD as well.

Reasons I use the Raspberry Pi 5

Availability

Previously, specifically during the last few years with the Pi 4 and the CM4, there have been many shortage issues. This made everyone more inclined to use other alternatives, as they could often be found in-stock in more places, and in bigger quantities.

However, now with the Pi 5, according to the Pi Foundation, this should not be an issue.

Personally, I get my parts from Mouser.

• They offer free shipping above orders of 50€ (not that important, but a nice touch)
• They have good customer support. (I was able to get a problem with my order sorted within 10 minutes of starting a chat)
• They have a wide selection of different parts, at great prices.
• The ordered parts usually arrive within 2-3 days using the free shipping above 50€.

Support

Raspberry Pis have always been known to be very-well supported not only because of their extensive documentation, but because of the community surrounding them. And because this community uses public forums to ask/answer questions, all of the developers using Pis are able to use this to their advantage.

I first felt the power of community support (or lack thereof) when I was debugging an Orange Pi Zero running Armbian. I was facing an issue with its built-in eMMC, but because almost no-one faced the same issue I have before, I was unable to figure out what was wrong. Eventually I got it, but it took such a long time, that it was just simply not worth it.

Price

When the first Raspberry Pi released, it was aimed to be an easy entry-point for hobbyists into the world of Linux SBCs both in the cost department and by providing excellent documentation, and an active community. While the price has increased, personally, I think the Pis still fulfill this goal.

Think about it. Right now, there are 3 (or 4) main offerings from the Pi foundation.

• For low-cost, low-complexity projects, the Pi Pico and Pico W are good cost-effective solutions.
• For more complicated projects, a Pi Zero or Zero W are great.
• For even more complicated projects that require multiple displays, or heavy processing, the Pi 5 (or even the Pi 4) usually work awesome.

Naturally, the availability and support claims apply to all of the above projects. So, the Pi foundation has not stopped supporting hobbyists or anything; they just moved the "flagship" Pis in the more expensive direction, while keeping the old (but still very much capable) low-end Pis for everyone else.

Conclusion

For now, at least until I find a suitable alternative for Raspberry Pis, with the same sized community and documentation available, I will keep using them in my projects.

If you have a project idea you would like to be explored, feel free to reach out via email: [email protected]