What’s Inside the New Raspberry Pi 5 Module?

The latest version of the Raspberry Pi prototyping module, 5, was introduced recently. Here’s some highlights of Raspberry Pi 5’s latest electronics prototyping module in a YouTube video by reviewer Jeff Geerling.

According to Geerling, Raspberry Pi 5 has a new RP-1 Southbridge chip with two USB-3 controllers, two USB-2 controllers, and Gigabit Ethernet. A new power management chip has a built-in real clock and measures power consumption. A flexible printed circuit connector accommodates high-speed expansion nets. The new RP-1 chip allows either port to be used with the camera or display.

A notable feature is a combination power and LED status button. In addition, Geerling noted that the Pi 5’s circuit board has completely transformed to surface-mount components instead of the through-hole components used in previous versions. Controlling the BCM 2712 SoC (System on a chip) that contains the GPU and CPU. The CPU is twice as fast as the PI 4’s CPU and is responsible for the 2 to 3x performance improvement promised by the Pi 5. In addition, the Pi 5 can handle 25 W through a new power stage.

Geerling recommends the use of cooling, either through an active cooler or a fan-equipped case, to handle the heat generated by the Pi 5.

The Pi 5 4 GB is $60, while the 8 GB model is $80, which according to Geerling is a price-attractive alternative to competitive development modules.

As with other Raspberry Pi boards, an ecosystem of supporting tools is emerging. For more information on Raspberry 5 Pi including potential applications, view the video.