Skip to main content

[Rant] Rapberry Pi 3B+ is great but...

Ah the new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. The next in line of fresh new Raspberry Pis. But in my honest opinion, I find the RPis... More to be desired.

Don't get me wrong, the RPis are great for what they can be used for. But there is a strong emphasis (at least in my experience with the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B) on *light*.

On the RPi 2B, I have had troubles with the UI working not smoothly, especially when the web browser is opened. And these are on a Quad-Core SoC on the RPi, effectively affecting the ability to even multitask.
A few issues I can see are stemming from the hardware to begin with...
  1. The RAM is LPDDR2.
    • I could see that sticking to LPDDR2 is a cost saving measure to keep the prices of RPis low (I'd say RPi's price is quite low for a product of it's calibre). However there are boards out there that come with LPDDR3 or even LPDDR4 RAMs that can provide higher clock speeds (but with these come a higher price point).
  2. The Storage is Running off microSD
    • While not the worst choice, there are two problems with using micro SD cards - lower lifespan and slow read/write speeds. There are more choices to provide the RPi with storage space, such as a USB 3.0 drive (I have heard that it can be done on RPi, but never actually tried it), eMMC storage (will drive the price up significantly), or even ports to external storage (also will drive the price up). While again it can be seen as a method of keeping the price low, there are other storage options that would significantly increase performance.
  3. The USB hub is running on USB2.0.
    • I may sound like a spoilt kid (or perhaps "privileged"), but the USB2.0 hub really bummed me out. The speeds are not really satisfactory for today's standards. While yes, it will drive up the price of the board, but it will be a neat feature to have. 4 USB ports on an SBC is a lot of expansion opportunities waiting to be exploit... Uhm explored. With USB3.0, we can have way faster read/write speeds, as well as using an external drive.
  4. The ethernet is running over USB.
    • I'm not complaining with 300MBps throughput, but a dedicated gigabit ethernet controller would be really neat.

Before any of you jump to comment, let me highlight a few things I feel the RPi has done well.
  1. It is cheap cheap cheap!
    • For US$35, it is very cheap for a Single Board Computer with its specifications. For that price we have a dedicated ethernet jack, 4 USB ports, onboard bluetooth and WiFi, as well as the famed GPIO pins. All that for US$35 -- pretty good a deal if you ask me.
  2. The onboard expansions.
    • The RPis are pretty much able to run their own without the need for connecting dongles and expansion cards. The onboard WiFi and Bluetooth gives you wireless connectivity, the USB ports lets you connect your external storage, and the ethernet jack is there when you need it. You just need to hook it up to a power supply and an external display and Bob's your uncle. It beats a lot of modern laptops in I/O ports and connectivity.
  3. The (relatively) small form factor.
    • This makes the RPi a great board to be integrated into projects. With the RPi Zero, it makes it even more possible to do so. From the Gameboy Zero to the ZeroPhone, and the Mycroft AI (RPi 3).
  4. GPIO pins
    • These are the pins that the RPi is so well known for. They can be programmed to do almost anything such as controlling simple machinery, LEDs, and many more other project that the internet is full of.
All in all, I would say that the RPi series are good enough, but it could really do better, albeit with a higher price point. Arguably, a lot of people may not want to spend so much money on an ARM-based SBC that is aimed at small, personal projects, but I really feel that the RPi series could use a little more oomph.

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[Guide] Installing Microsoft Office 2016 on Ubuntu Using WINE

WINE is a compatibility layer that lets Linux users install and run Windows applications. It is not a virtual machine or an emulator. In simple words the compatibility layer translates Windows calls to Linux calls and thus something that can be understood by the underlying Linux system. For GUI folks (like me), PlayOnLinux is a graphical frontend to manage WINE applications. It also helps to automate some processes during the execution of the EXE files through the use of POL Scripts. All along POL  has a script that installs Microsoft Office 2010 to a point where it runs quite smoothly and mostly bug-free. However, future versions of Office have failed to be installed or run properly. As I was playing around with a copy of Microsoft Office 2016, I was able to get Microsoft Office 2016 running "well enough TM " such that it can be used on a day-to-day basis. Here I will outline the steps I have done to accomplish My laptop is running Kubuntu 18.04.3 LTS and has POL 4.2...
Post a Comment
Read more

[Project] Gameboy Zero (Part 1 - Gathering Resources)

If you head over to the sudomod wiki page you can find a list of items needed for you to build a Gameboy Zero from scratch. However, a lot of these items are expensive to me, such as the Adafruit PowerBoost and any other things that have to be shipped either from US or UK. So I started sourcing for my own parts from other places (mainly China) to try to obtain a list of items that are as cheap as possible, but functionally similar to the original parts. Thankfully, the sudomod wiki has an list of alternatives for every item that is needed, and comments if the item has been used in any other GBZ projects with or without success. So after Googling around as well, I have come up with a list of items that I will use instead of those on the GBZ with custom parts wiki. Here is a list of the more important components:- Screen: 3.5'' GearBest Composite screen Charging circuit: Got from eBay, Looks similar to the Banggood PowerBoost Battery: 4 x Lithium-ion cells (14500) Button PCB...
Post a Comment
Read more

[Idea] GameBoy Zero

For starters, let me provide some context - I am a lover of retro gaming. Primarily because I think the current state of the gaming industry is in a mess, to say the least. I remember when I was young I always watched my father play the original Super Mario Bros, Ice Climber, Adventure Island, and many more games on a Famicom (NES) clone. My cousins on the other hand had their childhoods spent buried in their original Gameboys, and to save you the trouble of listening to my life story, here is a list of all consoles that I have actually had the chance to play some games on (not necessarily owning it, up to the 5th generation consoles). Nintendo Famicom (clone) Nintendo Gameboy DMG Sony PlayStation Nintendo 64 (Project64 Emulator on PC) Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP Various Arcade games ( MAME ) Some of the consoles formed most of my fondest memories throughout my childhood. Games like Super Mario 64 (N64), Tumblepop and Joe & Mac (MAME), and Donald Duck Goin' Quacker...
Post a Comment
Read more