First launched in 2012, it has sold lots of units around the world, making it one of the bestselling general purpose computers ever, selling more in six years than the Commodore 64 did in its lifetime. As of 2015, it's the best-selling British computer in history, having outsold the previous record holder, the ZX Spectrum.
It can also be used as a video game console via RetroPie emulation, allowing you to play games from the Atari 2600 to the Playstation Portable.
The computer supports many operating systems, such as an "Internet of Things" version of Windows 10, although the most common is Raspberry Pi OS, a version of Debian built for use with the system.
Over the years, various versions of the Pi have been launched:
- Raspberry Pi Zero: A stripped down model that costs $5 and has 1GHz of processing power (akin to how the BBC Micro's Model B was released in a stripped-down model called the Acorn Electron). The Zero W has built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth while the Zero WH has a pre-soldered GPIO header.
- Raspberry Pi 400: Introduced in 2020, it is a version of the 4GB Raspberry Pi 4 concealed inside a keyboard like the 1980s computers it was inspired by and featuring a faster CPU.
- Raspberry Pi Pico: Less of a computer and more of a microcontroller, it allows for programming on microcontroller languages like MicroPython and C.
Specs
The original model:- CPU: ARM11 running at 700MHz
- GPU: Broadcom VideoCore IV running at 250MHz
- RAM: 256 MB
- USB ports: 1
- Storage input: SD card (max 2GB)
- Video output: HDMI 1.3
The Pi Zero
- CPU: ARM11 running at 1GHz
- GPU: Broadcom VideoCore VII running at 250MHz
- RAM: 512 MB
- USB ports: 1 (Micro-USB)
- Storage input: MicroSDHC
- Video output: Mini-HDMI
The current model (Raspberry Pi 5)
- CPU: Broadcom BCM2712, Quad-Core Cortex A76 running at 2.4GHz, includes support for advanced cryptographic instructions.
- GPU: Broadcom VideoCore VII running at 800MHz, includes support for OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2 and hardware accelerated HEVC decoding
- RAM: 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4X (doubles as GPU memory) clocked at 4267MHz at launch, cheaper 1GB and 2GB options expected to become available in the future.
- USB ports: 4 (2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0)
- For the first time in the history of the Raspberry Pi, a single lane PCIe connector for breakout board with an x1 slot supporting PCIe 2.0 speeds.
- Storage input: MicroSDHC
- Video output: 2 micro-HDMI 2.0 (enables support for 4K and dual displays) and 2 DSI interface connectors for embedded electronics LCD displays.
- Networking: Broadcom Gigabit ethernet onboard, with a BCM54213PE transceiver, and onboard dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.
The Pi 400:
- CPU: Cortex A72 running at 1.8GHz
- GPU: Broadcom VideoCore VI running at 500MHz
- RAM: 4GB
- USB ports: 3 (2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0)
- Storage input: MicroSDHC
- Video output: 2 micro-HDMI 2.0 [enables support for 4K and dual displays]
