Computer/Embedded Technology


Raspberry Pi 4 gets a Model B boost

26 June 2019 Computer/Embedded Technology

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a new ‘Model B’ of the Raspberry Pi single-board computer (SBC). This is the first time a choice of memory capacities is being offered, and although local pricing will have to be confirmed with local distributors, the relative pricing in US Dollars is $35 for the 1 GB model, $45 for the 2 GB, and $55 for the 4 GB.

At first glance, the board looks very similar to previous $35 products, all the way back to 2014’s Raspberry Pi 1B+, but a few essential tweaks were made to the form factor to accommodate new features.

The power connector has been upgraded from a USB micro-B to USB-C, supporting an extra 500 mA of current, ensuring a full 1,2 A for downstream USB devices, even under heavy CPU load. To accommodate dual display output within the existing board footprint, the type-A (full-size) HDMI connector has been replaced with a pair of type-D (micro) HDMI connectors.

The gigabit Ethernet magjack has moved from the bottom right to the top right of the board to simplify PCB routing. However, the 4-pin Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) connector remains in the same location, so Raspberry Pi 4 remains compatible with the PoE HAT.

The Ethernet controller on the main SoC (system-on-chip) is connected to an external Broadcom PHY over a dedicated RGMII link, providing full throughput. USB is provided via an external VLI controller, connected over a single PCI Express Gen 2 lane, and providing a total of 4 Gbps of bandwidth, shared between the four ports.

All three connectors on the right-hand side of the board overhang the edge by an additional millimetre, with the aim of simplifying case design. In all other respects, the connector and mounting hole layout remains the same, ensuring compatibility with existing HATs and other accessories.

To support Raspberry Pi 4, the Raspberry Pi Foundation is shipping a radically overhauled operating system, based on the forthcoming Debian 10 Buster release. This brings numerous behind-the-scenes technical improvements, along with an extensively modernised user interface, and updated applications including the Chromium 74 web browser.

For more information contact Electrocomp Express, 0860 10 20 20, [email protected], www.eexpress.co.za



Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Generate waveforms at 10 GS/s
Vepac Electronics Computer/Embedded Technology
New flagship arbitrary waveform generator cards from Spectrum Instrumentation generate waveforms with 2,5 GHz bandwidth and 16-bit vertical resolution.

Read more...
Quad-port 10GBASE-T controller
Rugged Interconnect Technologies Computer/Embedded Technology
he SN4-DJEMBE, available from Rugged Interconnect, is a networking adaptor card for CompactPCI Serial systems, equipped with four individual controllers for 10GBASE-T.

Read more...
HPE policy management platform
Computer/Embedded Technology
Duxbury Networking has announced the availability of the HPE Aruba ClearPass policy management platform, that enables business and personal devices to connect to an organisational level, in compliance with corporate security policies.

Read more...
IoT gateways
Brandwagon Distribution Computer/Embedded Technology
IoT Gateways are hardware and software devices that are responsible for collecting data from connected devices, managing communication between devices and the cloud, and processing and analysing the data before sending it to the cloud for further analysis.

Read more...
1.6T Ethernet IP solution to drive AI and hyperscale data centre chips
Computer/Embedded Technology
As artificial intelligence (AI) workloads continue to grow exponentially, and hyperscale data centres become the backbone of our digital infrastructure, the need for faster and more efficient communication technologies becomes imperative. 1.6T Ethernet will rapidly be replacing 400G and 800G Ethernet as the backbone of hyperscale data centres.

Read more...
Keeping it cool within the edge data centre
Computer/Embedded Technology
The creation of more data brings with it the corresponding need for more compute power and more data centres, which, in turn, can create unique challenges with regards to securing the environment and cooling the IT loads.

Read more...
NEX XON becomes Fortinet partner
NEC XON Computer/Embedded Technology
This designation demonstrates NEC XON’s ability to expertly deploy, operate, and maintain its own end-to-end security solutions, helping organisations to achieve digital acceleration.

Read more...
Online tool for data centre planning and design
Computer/Embedded Technology
Vertiv has unveiled a new tool, Vertiv Modular Designer Lite, designed to transform and simplify the configuration of prefabricated modular (PFM) data centres.

Read more...
Mission computer for HADES
Rugged Interconnect Technologies Computer/Embedded Technology
North Atlantic Industries’ latest product, the SIU34S, has been selected as the mission computer for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program.

Read more...
14th Gen power to boost AI at the edge
Rugged Interconnect Technologies Computer/Embedded Technology
ADLINK’s inclusion of Intel’s 14th generation Core processors into its latest embedded boards and fanless computers is set to boost the AI and graphics capabilities.

Read more...