Raspberry Pi 3B+ - watching everyone falling over themselves.

[aargee]

Sort of sadly hilarious seeing all the online store fronts falling over themselves trying to sell the up-spec'ed (really?) 'plus' version hoping everyone jumps on the 'must buy the latest' bandwagon.
Emails coming in left, right and centre from online shops.

Looking like an 'Apple play on human nature' type event.

[Brumby]

Haven't checked - but what are the spec differences?

[floobydust]

It doesn't seem like much of an update.

Dual-band 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2 and the CPU has a metal lid for heat and upped to 1.4GHz
Meh, it's still using (shared) USB2.0 to Ethernet controller, and PoE needs a HAT pcb.
If it had more SDRAM, USB3.0 and didn't keep sliding off my table it would be good

[bitwelder]

I was watching the short video/presentation where Eben Upton (Raspberry CEO) was 'interviewing' the principal hardware engineer (on Element14 YT channel) and I noticed how much time they spent talking about the fact that the radio module comes now in a canned and more importantly pre-certified form.

Together with other other features like ability to boot from network (i.e. without any SD card or USB stick), and the PoE capability, it seems to me that they worked to make the B+ more geared for some kind of production/industrial environment, quite on a different side than the original educational/hobbyist market.

[bitseeker]

Yeah, I'm not sure what all the hype is about. It's good that they continue to move the Pi forward, but the B+ is not a huge improvement. I guess USB 3.x and independent Ethernet won't be until RPi4 or something (or Ethernet is on the way out since the Wi-Fi is faster). PoE is nice, but it's not onboard.

[Maxlor]

I don't know why you guys seem so dismissive of it. It is faster in nearly every way (20% faster CPU that might be easier to cool too, 3 times faster Ethernet, 3 times faster WiFi now that you can use 5GHz, 3 times faster Bluetooth), potentiantially cheaper to integrate (precertified wireless, PoE supporting jack – meaning if you do add PoE, you don't need a second jack for it. Jacks are expensive!), and still they didn't raise the price. It's a winner imo!

[coppice]

I don't know why you guys seem so dismissive of it. It is faster in nearly every way (20% faster CPU that might be easier to cool too, 3 times faster Ethernet, 3 times faster WiFi now that you can use 5GHz, 3 times faster Bluetooth), potentiantially cheaper to integrate (precertified wireless, PoE supporting jack – meaning if you do add PoE, you don't need a second jack for it. Jacks are expensive!), and still they didn't raise the price. It's a winner imo!

I don't think anyone is dismissive of the product. Its a perfectly reasonable respin. Its the BS surrounding the product that is humorous.

[brabus]

Pros:
FCC/CE certified. Not bad.

Cons:
I need a proper power jack, with 5...12V input capability - a cheap buck converter onboard will suffice.

Let's face it, Micro USB is one of the worst connectors out there.

[Circuitsquirrel]

I still haven't done anything with the Raspberry Pi 2, 3 or Beaglebone Black that I have laying around...

[bitseeker]

I don't know why you guys seem so dismissive of it. It is faster in nearly every way (20% faster CPU that might be easier to cool too, 3 times faster Ethernet, 3 times faster WiFi now that you can use 5GHz, 3 times faster Bluetooth), potentiantially cheaper to integrate (precertified wireless, PoE supporting jack – meaning if you do add PoE, you don't need a second jack for it. Jacks are expensive!), and still they didn't raise the price. It's a winner imo!

I don't think anyone is dismissive of the product. Its a perfectly reasonable respin. Its the BS surrounding the product that is humorous.

Correct. Not dismissive of the product. It's evolving, which is a good thing.

[thm_w]

I don't know why you guys seem so dismissive of it. It is faster in nearly every way (20% faster CPU that might be easier to cool too, 3 times faster Ethernet, 3 times faster WiFi now that you can use 5GHz, 3 times faster Bluetooth), potentiantially cheaper to integrate (precertified wireless, PoE supporting jack – meaning if you do add PoE, you don't need a second jack for it. Jacks are expensive!), and still they didn't raise the price. It's a winner imo!

Looks like 15-40% faster for processing:
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/raspberry-pi-3-model-b-review-hands-on-with-the-new-board/

POE is really nice, but looks like you can get this which I guarantee will be cheaper than their POE hat:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Cdycam-IEEE-802-3af-Micro-USB-Active-PoE-Splitter-Power-Over-Ethernet-48V-to-5V-2/32841790680.html

[aargee]

Yes, really I think the ‘Pi’ has done great things - I have a few (thanks to TopLoser  ) - two running Octoprint for 3D printing, another doing Pi-hole, etc
I was commenting on the commercial places seemingly trying to make this a sought after item, although there has been a bit more level headed talk coming from reviewers in the last day...

[Red Squirrel]

For any situation that you require a Linux based computer for a simple dedicated task, you can't beat the Pi as far as price, power usage and size.  Even the performance is actually quite good for the price.    The gpio stuff is just a bonus.

I'd love to see the ethernet and usb become dedicated though.

[floobydust]

I think it's two years now since the Pi Zero Wireless and Pi 3 came out.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation seems to be doing huge work getting computing science into classrooms and schools.

I have to grumble that as a UK charity, with £18m revenue (2016) and huge support from organizations like google, Arm, Microsoft, European Space Agency, Oracle Intel, Adobe, Samsung etc. for millions £ ...
that they haven't rolled out a new SOC, taken the Pi to the next level instead of this refresh. They certainly have the cash.

"In 2016 Eben Upton, the co-creator of the multi-million selling $35 Raspberry Pi, said there was little more power that could be wrung from the tiny computer without a major overhaul."

[Ian.M]

Cons:
I need a proper power jack, with 5...12V input capability - a cheap buck converter onboard will suffice.

Let's face it, Micro USB is one of the worst connectors out there.

I mostly agree, though an on-board buck would push the cost up and probably increase early mortality due to numpties using unsuitable PSUs.

You aren't *supposed* to put more than 2A through a Micro-B or AB USB connector (see USB.org power delivery standards).   The Raspberry Pi Foundation already recommends a 2.5A PSU for a Pi 3B or 3B+.  The 3B+ on-board power consumption has been measured at 610mA with a high CPU load - see https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=208110

That doesn't include power to optional off-board peripherals - up to 500mA each to four USB devices, plus whatever active HDMI accessories, Camera module etc. take, so its already likely to be overloaded by 'power'  users.   

Future Pi's are crying out for a power connector that can handle 15W reliably - whether that's 3A @5V, or a more reasonable 1.9A at 9V to 0.9A at 18V feeding an on-board buck converter.   Possibly add a 4 pin PC style fan connector fed from the buck input voltage, with PWM control and tacho feedback without using up GPIO port pins, as thermal management is becoming increasingly problematic as the SoC clock speed goes up and richer on-board peripherals are added.

The POE hat connector is a step in the right direction (and is probably the best way to feed a 3B+ if you are integrating it into anything serious) as at least its an 0.1" pitch square pin header, which if you use good quality gold plated female contacts, should be good for up to 3A DC onto the board, however they cheap-skated it by not using a six pin header with two grounds and two +5V pins in parallel to derate it enough for long-term reliability.

[Karel]

Most people here seem to forget the most important property (apart from the low price) of the rpi: software support.
Most single board computers and system on chips suck because they are stuck with older versions of the Linux kernel and
libraries and they lack repositories with additional software and many times they are slow with security patches.

For most people, the software ecosytem is much more important than the hardware specs and raw speed.
Even more, the amount of online assistance for the rpi is huge.

So, for most people, the rpi is the safest bet. So far it has the best support in terms of software,
assistance, long term availability, libraries and package availability, and the big community.

Despite the simpler/slower hardware, nothing beats the rpi.

[llkiwi2006]

Most people here seem to forget the most important property (apart from the low price) of the rpi: software support.
Most single board computers and system on chips suck because they are stuck with older versions of the Linux kernel and
libraries and they lack repositories with additional software and many times they are slow with security patches.

For most people, the software ecosytem is much more important than the hardware specs and raw speed.
Even more, the amount of online assistance for the rpi is huge.

So, for most people, the rpi is the safest bet. So far it has the best support in terms of software,
assistance, long term availability, libraries and package availability, and the big community.

Despite the simpler/slower hardware, nothing beats the rpi.

Yes I agree, for a hobbyist most of the time the requirements are simple. A raspberry pi Just Works^TM, has good support from the community, and is cheap, so why not use it?

[Karel]

Yes I agree, for a hobbyist ...

Also for lot's of professionals (don't forget the industrial version: compute module https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/compute-module-3/).
Most companies don't have the resources to provide and backport system updates and security patches for multiple years.
And the professional long term support for most sbc's and soc's is a joke...

[frozenfrogz]

A raspberry pi Just Works^TM, has good support from the community, and is cheap, so why not use it?

Exactly that There are a lot of very usable builds (Kali Linux ftw!).
Other SBCs like for example the Beagle Bone Black can be a p.i.t.a. to get up and running in comparison.