[Aurornis]

I agree that Raspberry Pi is not a good general purpose computer, but some of these criticisms are starting to feel like a pile-on with partially incorrect information.

> the latest pi needs considerations of cooling solutions

FYI you can run the Raspberry Pi 5 without a fan or even a heatsink. It will safely throttle itself if it gets too hot.

If you're trying to get maximum performance out of it all the time, you will want a heatsink and fan. If you want to run some Python scripts in a Linux environment or even if you're doing heavy work and waiting longer is not a problem, you don't need extra cooling.

> and a beefy power supply (no more just any old micro usb cable into any old usb port)

This hasn't been true in 10 years.

Powering something off of any old USB port means it would have to fit within the 5V 500mA basic specification, which the Raspberry Pi 3 exceeded long ago.

> It was a "microcontroller" you could program in Python

It was never a microcontroller by any definition of the word.

Raspberry Pi foundation has released microcontrollers that run MicroPython in a very user-friendly format https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/microcontrollers/m...

[ianburrell]

Raspberry Pi uses USB-C and USB-C is more generous with power. Almost everything except computers provides 15W. With USB-C, devices request want they and there is no reason has to work with minimum possible.

The problem with the Pi5 is that they use weird profile, 5A/5V, that requires special charger. Most 5V chargers are 100W and beefy. If they hadn't cheaped out on power circuits, they could have used normal 30W charger. They should come out with new version that fixes that.

[wlesieutre]

That’s crazy, 5A/5V is not and has never been in range of the USB power delivery spec. It only goes to 5 amps at 20V for the 100W output, or higher voltages in the newer Extended Power Range topping out at 5A/48V.

5A/5V what are they smoking?

[magicalhippo]

Keep in mind at least 2A of that is to power the four USB ports at their rated 500mA. So if you don't have four USB devices loading the USB ports at their max, you should be fine with 3A.

[JimmyBiscuit]

Probably the same stuff they smoked when they cheaped out on a resistor on the raspberry pi 4 and made it so chargers thought it was an audio device.

[mschuster91]

> Powering something off of any old USB port means it would have to fit within the 5V 500mA basic specification, which the Raspberry Pi 3 exceeded long ago.

In practice most USB wall warts will happily provide 2 amps or even more with no overcurrent protection at all. The 500 mA limitation, at least outside of ports on computers (where you'll maybe get a prompt on Windows and macOS), is theoretical.

[robocat]

Irrelevant...

They need to stick within limits to avoid liability (and avoid arseholes blaming them on forums).

Someone would get a problem with their computer or TV, and then blame Raspberry Pi (or create a problem).

[michaelt]

> Powering something off of any old USB port means it would have to fit within the 5V 500mA basic specification, which the Raspberry Pi 3 exceeded long ago.

Theoretically, devices like the iPhone have lower power consumption than that and loads of performance features like recording 4k 120fps video.

Of course, an iPhone costs much more than a RPi, and has much better economies of scale, so they’re not truly comparable.

[Aurornis]

> Theoretically, devices like the iPhone have lower power consumption than that and loads of performance features like recording 4k 120fps video.

iPhones use cutting edge (expensive) manufacturing processes for their chips.

They also have batteries inside to cover the power demands while doing intense work like recording 4K 120fps video.

I don't understand what point you're trying to make. The Raspberry Pi is not in the same class of device as an iPhone.

[kllrnohj]

An iPhone will absolutely draw more than 2.5w under load.

[selectodude]

Yeah an iPhone 17 Pro can get over 15W if you’re really getting at it.

[dspillett]

Your iphone (or other such device) can't do those things on basic USB charging alone, it'll be topping up the power budget considerably from the battery.

[MisterTea]

> > It was a "microcontroller" you could program in Python

> It was never a microcontroller by any definition of the word.

I think the poster means people treat the R-Pi like an MCU that runs Python. The Arduino was popular at the time the Pi came out but limited. Once the Pi landed, it quickly filled the gap and the Arduino's popularity diminished to the point where it's now a corporate Pi clone.

[hellweaver666]

Before we had the ESP32 type products that are now popular, using a Pi was often one of the only easy ways to make simple internet connected devices at home. I remember making smart lights and home sensors, speakers, clocks and all sorts of things using the Pi Zero W. It was cheap, small and easy to get up and running.

I and many other people very much used it like a microcontroller.

[margalabargala]

> FYI you can run the Raspberry Pi 5 without a fan or even a heatsink. It will safely throttle itself if it gets too hot.

What's the point of doing so though? If you're doing this, you're obviously using the wrong device. If all you need is to run some python scripts in a Linux environment, you should use a Pi 3 or Pi 0w2.

Agree with your other points.

[cillian64]

Even for extended workloads, a Pi 5 without a heatsink is still a hell of a lot faster than a Pi 4. And as sibling says, most users appreciate bursty speed while not doing prelonged compute (see also fanless laptops).

(Disclaimer, I work for raspberry pi ltd, not views of employer etc.)

[Aurornis]

Having the burst performance is helpful.

Most light workloads are very bursty. When you type a command or click on something you want latency to be low. Having the overhead to get it done quickly at the full clockspeed is good if you are latency sensitive.

Throttling has become a bad word. Some feel compelled to avoid it at all costs, doing things like buying big coolers and running synthetic benchmarks to avoid it. Unless you're doing sustained workloads where you need all of the performance, allowing a little throttling is fine.

[flyinghamster]

I've been doing some heavy SDR lifting with a couple of my Pi 5s, and my own experience is that the active cooler works extremely well, and more often than not the fan can be shut off and it will work well as a passive cooler.

[margalabargala]

If you're consistently doing bursty loads that throttle, the thermal cycles are going to do some damage to your chip and it'll fail sooner than if you ran it cooler.

[brucehoult]

Yeah, in 20 years instead of 100 years.

I'm going to replace it before then.

[ssl-3]

So that means what, exactly?

Do heat cycles mean that the device only lasts half as long as it might if it were kept at some constant ideal temperature? A third as long?

If so, then...so what? The tinkerers using these things aren't broadly concerned about these things. We're all out here running our real-live desktop, laptop, and pocket computers with bursty loads, dynamic clocks, and dynamic heat anyway, and these things are generally doing just fine. We aren't driving space ships with this stuff; it'll be alright.

I insist that there is no merit to holding a lowly Raspberry Pi board to a higher standard than we hold everything else.

Furthermore: If perfection is necessary for some kind of application, then maybe starting with a <$100 hobby SBC isn't the best move. It might be time to look within for a better pathway.