A 64-bit Raspberry Pi with 8GB of RAM and USB boot
Conclusions
Many applications for the Raspberry Pi do not require a large amount of memory, so an upgrade to the 8GB Raspberry Pi 4 is not a must-have. However, those who want to use the Raspberry Pi as a replacement for a desktop computer will be pleased with the memory expansion. The Foundation only charges a moderate price for doubling the RAM capacity (4GB, $55/£54/EUR58; 8GB, $75/£73/EUR78).
What is far more important is the current developments that are slowly translating into updates for the Raspberry Pi OS. The 64-bit system available as a beta version feels faster subjectively. Booting from a USB storage medium also opens the way for new potential applications. On the one hand, a USB solid state drive makes the Raspberry Pi a faster desktop replacement; on the other hand, a full-blown data carrier offers far superior protection against memory errors than an SD card.
Infos
- Raspberry Pi 4B: https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/
- "8GB Raspberry Pi 4 now on sale at $75": https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/8gb-raspberry-pi-4-on-sale-now-at-75
- 4GB limit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_GB_barrier
- Raspbian vs. Raspberry Pi OS: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/602587/why-has-raspbian-apparently-been-renamed-into-raspberry-pi-os
- Raspberry Pi OS (64 bit): https://downloads.raspberrypi.org/raspios_arm64/images/
- Code for this article: ftp://ftp.linux-magazine.com/pub/listings/linux-magazine.com/244/
« Previous 1 2
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)