Presenting the Inauguration of Raspberry Pi 5 – Commencing at a Price of $60, Unveiling PCIe 2.0 and Internal Real-Time Clock

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has just released the highly popular Raspberry Pi 5, a small-sized single-board computer. This latest model features a new chip, which significantly increases its speed and separates the I/O chip.

The main CPU of the RPI5 is the BCM2712, a 16nm manufacturing process that houses four Cortex-A76 cores. It operates at a clock speed of 2.4GHz, with each core having a 512KB L2 cache and a combined 2MB L3 cache. When running similar workloads, it consumes less energy compared to the previous model. Inside, it boasts the VideoCore VII graphics with open-source drivers, supporting 4Kp60 on two simultaneous displays.

The I/O, which was previously integrated into the same chip as the CPU, has now been separated into the RP1 chip. Manufactured by TSMC using 40LP process technology, it incorporates almost every interface, including USB 3.0 x2, USB 2.0 x2, Gigabit Ethernet, MIPI 4-lane x2, GPIO, UART, SPI, I2C, I2S, and PWM. Crucially, it also features a PCIe 2.0 interface with a bandwidth of 16Gb/s, providing an additional expansion option. The development of the RP1 chip, being the most complex project of the Raspberry Pi, has incurred a development cost of up to 15 million dollars.

The Renesas DA9091 is a power management chip developed in collaboration with Raspberry Pi for supplying various power inputs to the board. Its key feature is an integrated real-time clock (RTC) that can be continuously controlled by connecting it to a supercapacitor. It also has the ability to power on or off the device through external signals.

Several accessories are also available, including a PoE+ power supply, an M.2 board for high-speed storage expansion, and a battery for the RTC.

There are two initial models available, differing in LPDDR4X RAM capacity. The 4GB model is priced at 60 dollars (a $5 increase from the RPI4 4GB), and the 8GB model is priced at 80 dollars. Pre-orders have already begun, with actual delivery scheduled for the end of October.

TLDR: The Raspberry Pi Foundation has launched the Raspberry Pi 5, a small-sized single-board computer. With a new and faster chip, improved I/O separation, and various accessories, it offers enhanced performance and expanded capabilities. Pre-orders are now available for the 4GB and 8GB models.