2019-09-01_Computer_Shopper

ISSUE 379|COMPUTERSHOPPER|SEPTEMBER (^201919)
WITHTHERASPBERRYPi 3Model B+
(Shopper364), the tiny projectcomputer
took abig step forward, increasingin power
and capabilityto the point where we said it
was almost capableof operatingas afull
computer.This year,with the RaspberryPi
4Model B, that dream is realised:you’ve
effectivelygot afull desktop computer
with the footprint of abook of stamps.
Even better,the Pi 4isthe same price as
the old model.
MORE POWER
ThePi4may be thesamesizeasthe Pi 3,
butthere aresomequite majordifferences
to the board. First, on the side you’ll notice
that there are now dual Micro HDMI ports
rather than asingle full-sizeHDMI port.
Althoughthis means you’ll need to use
adaptors, that’s aminor sacrificeto payfor
being able to drive two monitors. Even better,
you can run two 4K displays at once,although
they’ll only run at 30Hz, which makes things
feel alittle jerky. If you turn on the 4K video
mode in the Raspbianoperatingsystem,
you can run one screen at 4K 60Hz, while
runningasecond 1080p screen.
The secondthing that’s differentis that
the Pi 4now has aUSB Type-C power input,
and can be run from a3Apower adaptor
(RaspberryPi sells an official one,but any 3A
adaptor will do the job). This gives that little
bit more power forthe system, in order to run
amore powerfulprocessorand USB3 ports.
The changeof external ports means that
althoughthe Pi 4will fit in many older cases,
the port cut-outs won’t line up.Again, the
upgradesto the Pi 4are well worth any minor
hassle in having to get anew case foryour
computer,and RaspberryPi sells its own case
designedspecificallyforthe Pi 4.
Deckedout in the company’sred and
whitecolours, the neat case looks great and
gives your Pi 4that extra bit of protection.
Youcan also pair it with the official Raspberry
Pi keyboardand mouse,both of which come
in red and whiteplastic. The keyboardis
quitebasic but comfortableenoughto
type on, and has aUSB hub on the rear so
that you can plug in other devices, such as
the simple mouse.
Onboard,RaspberryPi has updated the
processorto aquad-core1.5GHz Broadcom
BCM2711using ARM v8 Cortex-A72 cores.
This is asignificantupgradefrom the
Cortex-A53 cores used on the older Pi 3
Model Band Pi 3Model B+ processors.
There’s now achoice of modelswith
differentlevels of RAM, too: 1GB (£34),
2GB (£44) or 4GB (£54) variants are all
available,with the higher-RAM models
particularlygood formore complicated
projectsor even standarddesktop work.
RunningSysbenchto calculateall of the
prime numbersup to 10,000,the Pi 4
completed the test (using all four cores) in
23.8 seconds,which is about twice as fast as
the originalPi 3, and seven secondsfaster
than the Pi 3Model B+. Bigger differences
are clearer when runningother tests.
Forexample,with the Peacekeeperbrowser
test, the Pi 3Model B+ managedascore of
10, whereasthe Pi 4scored 53.
All of this power means that the Pi 4can
get abit toasty runningat full pelt, showing
The faster processorandquicker networkingturnthe Pi
from ahobbyistboardintoafully fledgeddesktop computer
⬆With afaster processorand awider range of
ports and connections,the RaspberryPi 4provides
desktop computingat an incrediblylow price