back to article Raspberry Pi celebrates fourth birthday with fruity version 3

As rumoured last week, the Raspberry Pi Foundation is celebrating its fourth birthday today with the release of the Pi 3, packing a 1.2 GHz 64-bit ARM Cortex A53, 802.11n Wireless LAN capability and Bluetooth 4.1. The Raspberry Pi 3 The Raspberry Pi 3 We spoke to Pi head honcho Eben Upton last week ahead of the unleashing …

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  1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Still 100MBit Ethernet

    The rest of the spec looks promising. I may get myself one as a "birthday present" to see if it can finally be usable as a desktop

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

      I doubt you can use it as a desktop. My desk is about 4 foot by 3, and still gets too cluttered. 2 inches just won't be enough, and all those chips make it too bumpy to write on.

    2. Lysenko

      Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

      You might find the:

      http://www.banana-pi.org/m3.html

      ...a better fit for that. Gives you proper 1Gbps Ethernet (i.e. not thunked over USB internally), double the RAM, double the cores and SATA support. About £42, inc VAT.

      1. werdsmith Silver badge

        Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

        The wired Ethernet is still on the USB, but the WiFi is not, it's on SDIO.

      2. LaeMing
        Boffin

        Re: Banana Pi SATA

        That BPI-M3 certainly looks nice. But I do notice the SATA is just a USB-SATA adapter hung off a USB hub on board, so not necessarily any better than a USB HDD plugged into a Pi. (Though you do have the option of not sharing that USB2 line with anything else and still having another port available, unlike the Pi).

        8 cores, 2GiB ram and 8GiB eMMC are very nice, though.

        However, until I see decent PowerVR 3D drivers in OSS, I won't be there.

    3. moylan
      Alien

      Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

      1gb of ram isn't enough. i used till last year an ancient netbook with 1gb as my main system. web browsers need more. 2gb would be better but i suspect 3gb would be needed before it stops hammering virtual memory. you can use lite browsers. midori, qupzilla, but those have sites they won't work properly on or just crash when loading.

      i'll still buy one when i can find a shop in dublin selling them. the added bt and wifi is most welcome as it frees up usb ports and reduces space it needs without those been occupied.

      1. Martin an gof Silver badge

        Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

        i used till last year an ancient netbook with 1gb as my main system. web browsers need more

        An Intel-based netbook running (presumably) some variant of Windows and Internet Explorer is a completely different beast to an ARM-based Pi running a reasonably optimised Linux (Debian - Raspbian) with a lightweight desktop (LXDE) and an efficient web browser.

        As I have mentioned elsewhere, a Pi 1 with single-core processor and 512MB RAM was useable for many desktop tasks, and until I upgraded them to a Pi 2 my boys did most of their schoolwork on one. The Pi 2 is so much more usable with its quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM that nowadays they only use the "family" Mac Mini if a: they both need to use the computer at the same time or b: they need to access a website which uses Flash.

        Albeit the Mac Mini is an old 32-bit Core Duo model, it often feels like treacle compared to the Pi 2.

        I am 75% sure than when we finally have to retire the Mini I'll install a Pi 3 or two instead (maybe there'll be a slightly enhanced next model). The family is already storing most files on the file server rather than locally.

        Yes, I do have another computer which is a bit more beefy for those things neither the Pi nor the Mac can handle such as video editing ;-)

        M.

        1. moylan
          Alien

          Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

          the netbook was running xubuntu, also tried lubuntu but stayed ultimately on xubuntu in the end.

          browsers eat memory. their biggest weakness. run a browser for 3-4 weeks on a system that is up 24x7 and see how that memory lasts. on the netbook i needed to restart the browser to free memory 4+ times a day as it started to slow down. using midori sorted that mostly but for wacky reasons theregister site makes it crash hard. the new 64bit arm would probably be beefier than the ancient atom but i don't see it solving the memory problem with the browsers.

          don't get me wrong, i'll be buying one but if there was one feature i wanted to see upgraded it was memory more than anything else. with 2gb i could easily see me replacing current wonky laptop at home as main system.

          1. Martin an gof Silver badge
            Happy

            Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

            browsers eat memory. their biggest weakness. run a browser for 3-4 weeks on a system that is up 24x7 and see how that memory lasts

            I'm not denying that, but honestly, how hard is it to restart every now and then on a desktop machine? Keep it on all day, switch off at bedtime - perform updates as necessary - switch it on again in the morning. The Pi 1 could handle half a dozen tabs open on sites like BBC news, Hornby, a1steam, The Register, duckduckgo and still be (just about) usable. The Pi 2 has no problem at all.

            Horses for courses, if you need to have 37 tabs open on multiple graphics- and script-heavy websites, a Pi is not the computer you need. Neither is an Atom-based notebook to be honest (I have an EeePC 901 with 2GB RAM) but crumbs, for £30 I can put up with a little bit of being sensible!

            It's a flippin' long way up from saving files to cassette tape and AMX Pagemaker (later Stop Press) having to "page" strips of an A4 page to floppy disc every time you scrolled.

            <insert usual "kids these days" gripe >

            <grin>

            M.

            1. Dave 126 Silver badge

              Depends on the browser?

              Anecdotal evidence, possibly not relevant to Linux, please feel free to correct me:

              Using some old Windows XP desktops with around 1GB of RAM, I found Chrome too memeory hungry, so I installed Opera. My reasoning at the time was that each Chrome tab was a sandboxed instance, so using resources. Whether I was right or wrong, Opera worked better than Chrome on these underpowered machines.

      2. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

        Re: 1GB of RAM works fine

        A Pi2 can handle TheRegister, internet shopping, and the enormous attack surface required for internet banking. I am sure there are sites that will bring it to its knees, but a do not visit sites that try to mine bitcoins with javascript. Openoffice did the minimal tasks I require of it (convert docx and xls to odt and csv). Cropping and scaling a 6Mpixel image to 1920x1080 with the gimp required patience.

        1. werdsmith Silver badge

          Re: 1GB of RAM works fine

          I am sure there are sites that will bring it to its knees, but a do not visit sites that try to mine bitcoins with javascript.

          Any site with Disqus comments.

          1. Someone_Somewhere

            Re: Any site with Disqus comments

            That's what Ghostery is for :D

      3. Francis Boyle Silver badge

        "1gb of ram isn't enough"

        The Pi has a special feature to deal with that - it doesn't run Flash.

        Edit: Seems I can't add an icon after posting so please imagine the joke alert.

      4. paulc

        Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

        1gb of ram isn't enough.
        <p>your problem is that you are using Firefuscked and probably KDE... stick to using the default browser on RPi and LXDE or XFCE or enlightenment or blackbox as the desktop and you're well in...<p>Personally, I'd love to see KDE 2 or Gnome 2 running on this... I had a 900 MHz laptop with only 256MB of ram back in 2002 and it was fine running those..

      5. Bob_L

        Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

        good (albeit late) news , the Maker shop (near trinity college) sell them off the shelf, had a few when I was there ...also if that user name is your surname we're probably very very distantly related ..small world eh ;)?

    4. Preston Munchensonton
      Boffin

      Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

      Beyond the NIC still running connected via USB, the other major limitation is storage. The Pi 2 was a dramatic improvement over the first gen iterations, but even the Pi 3 will suffer the same, very low IOPS performance that will render the unit unusable for many people.

      So long as one as proper expectations, the Pi 3 will be more capable than the Pi 2. For me, I tried to stand a couple up as DHCP/DNS servers at home and they failed miserably. The storage performance just wasn't good enough, even moving the rootfs to a USB flash drive.

      1. Danny 14

        Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

        Pi2 makes a cracking openelec (kodi) machine. Plays everything i need so the pi3 will simply be smoother.

      2. Chris Parsons

        Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

        It's £30, FFS!

        1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

          Re: Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

          Fair point, well put.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Still 100MBit Ethernet

        Bad at DNS and DHCP?

        Ive used a Pi B+ as a stand in DNS box (BIND) for whilst I was performing maintenance. The DNS server it stood in for was authoritative for 150+ domains and countless subdomains. It handled it with ease.

        Mind you, I changed the defsult memory split and applied a moderate overclock.

        Oh and its also worth spending a few quid extra on a Class 10 or better SD card.

  2. redpawn

    Wonderful...

    Still waiting on a Zero. Now I can double my project fun.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    highest-selling single computer model of all time

    I think the Jesus Phone beats that hands down, depending on the definition of a "computer", CPU, GPU, RAM, ROM, keyboard, programmable (even inside a walled garden), peripheral expansion and the additional advantage of a screen and a modem. Seems to check a lot of boxes for a "computer".

    1. moylan
      Alien

      Re: highest-selling single computer model of all time

      debateable, but to me programmable means i can use itself to program it. the ios platform needs a real computer to write the programs. a real omission to my mind as it is powerful enough to have some level of programming built in.

      but then i was spoiled by having a psion organiser in 90s which allowed me to write apps in opl on the device.

      1. BurnT'offering

        Re: programmable means i can use itself to program it

        So I can't interest you in some fresh punch cards?

        1. Long John Brass
          Joke

          Re: programmable means i can use itself to program it

          @BurnT'offering

          > So I can't interest you in some fresh punch cards?

          Why yes, that would be marvellous!

          I'll take two decks please

          1. BurnT'offering

            Re: programmable means i can use itself to program it

            OK - I'll swap you for a crochet hook. Mine's gone blunt. That's what we given to punch them with when we studied programming at school (and ... cue the Python quotes)

      2. Down not across

        Re: highest-selling single computer model of all time

        but then i was spoiled by having a psion organiser in 90s which allowed me to write apps in opl on the device.

        Very much so. And I loved how long Psion 3a lasted on its batteries. I did prefer the 5mx that I upgraded to. The keyboard was so much better.

      3. Justin Clift

        Re: highest-selling single computer model of all time

        debateable, but to me programmable means i can use itself to program it. the ios platform needs a real computer to write the programs. a real omission to my mind as it is powerful enough to have some level of programming built in.

        Pythonista is excellent, if you're on an iPad of any variety.

  4. Charlie Clark Silver badge

    Networking

    Anyone know if 5Ghz is supported? That's been my biggest problem so far.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Networking

      Nope, no 5GHz.

      First world problems, eh?

  5. 45RPM Silver badge

    I'm afraid to say that I've bought all the Bs so far, including both versions of the original logic board. I think I might be a bit of a Pi fan boy. They're all used too - some of them as loaner units for my friends. Will I be buying the 64 bit version? Hell yeah! I only wish that decent cases like the Plusberry were easier to come by.

    1. Peter Mount

      You're not the only one, have got every model released including the a's & compute boards.

      1. 45RPM Silver badge

        @Peter Mount

        I take my hat off to you, sir. You're a bigger Pi fanboi (flanboy?) than me. I only have the B's, no compute boards, no A's and no Zero (yet). I'm considering getting a Zero to build a robot around though.

        1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

          I'd love to add a Zero to my collection

          but I'm beginning to think that 'Zero' stands for the number in stock at any reliable outlet.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    One or 2 more ethernet ports..

    .. and I'd finally have a small/cheap enough machine to run a firewall on :).

    1. DropBear

      Re: One or 2 more ethernet ports..

      A board that connects to networking via USB (on-board) isn't exactly router material. For that purpose you're better off with one of the OpenWrt-running boards (about 15Eur at Olimex IIRC) which are built with... surprise... using the chips that normally go into routers. Or, you know, just buy a router that can run OpenWrt to get something that comes in a box directly...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: One or 2 more ethernet ports..

        Or, you know, just buy a router that can run OpenWrt to get something that comes in a box directly...

        Makes more sense, actually. Time to hit DuckDuckGo..

    2. Pete 2 Silver badge

      Re: One or 2 more ethernet ports..

      > One or 2 more ethernet ports

      A tenner will buy you a USB - Ethernet adapter. Or < £3 if you buy from China

  7. Paratrooping Parrot
    Boffin

    Interface with an Arduino

    I think if you can get it to interface with an Arduino, then you can get a really good system to run as a robot controller with the Pi doing the processing and the Ardruino interfacing with sensors.

    By the way, what is the speed of the latest Raspberry Pi like? Is it like a Celery or an Atom or faster?

    1. werdsmith Silver badge

      Re: Interface with an Arduino

      Arduino interfacing is fine. You can buy Arduino clones that mount directly on the Pi GPIO.

    2. DropBear

      Re: Interface with an Arduino

      For that you first need to specify the speed of an unladen Celery - and no African/European shenanigans please...

      1. WonkoTheSane

        Re: Interface with an Arduino

        "For that you first need to specify the speed of an unladen Celery - and no African/European shenanigans please..."

        Oldest known reference to celery is from Tutankhamen's tomb, so definitely African.

      2. John Bailey

        Re: Interface with an Arduino

        "For that you first need to specify the speed of an unladen Celery - and no African/European shenanigans please..."

        Self blanching or traditional?

    3. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Interface with an Arduino

      FCC Celary or CE Celary?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "I think the Jesus Phone beats that hands down"

    There has been 12 different major models so far - and with the different storage configurations that's how many models, 30 or so? Which one has been the highest selling model and how many millions have been sold? I'm genuinely curious.

    RPI has now had 6 different models, with altogether 8 million units sold.

    Commodore 64 had two models, but I don't know how many C-64c models were sold. C64c was really the same model with a redesigned chassis, but how many of each model was sold, I can't say.

    1. werdsmith Silver badge

      I make it 8

      Pi Models:

      A,

      A+

      B 256MB,

      B 512MB,

      B+,

      Pi2B,

      Pi3

      Compute Module

      (I'm not including the red PCB and very rare blue PCB specials and I think you could further refine the list into the minor revisions)

  9. Hans 1
    Linux

    Thanks, now I need a new excuse for the missus to get my third pi ...

    1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      "my third pi ..."

      Now you're just going round in circles.

    2. The Axe
      Coat

      Won't it be your 3.14159th Pi?

      I'll get my coat.

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