Raspberry Pi 4 model B

The most powerful Pi ever made!

The Raspberry Pi 4B is the latest model from the Raspberry Pi foundation . This version also has the same size as its predecessor 2 to 3B+. You can therefore easily place it in your current projects as an upgrade. Unfortunately, you can no longer place the Raspberry Pi 4 model B in the same housing as the 3B+ . This is because a number of minor adjustments have been made. The Raspberry Pi 4 uses two Micro-HDMI ports instead of one standard HDMI port. You also have a USB-C power supply instead of a Micro-USB. The position of the USB ports has also been swapped with that of the Ethernet port.

The software ( Raspberry Pi OS) is backwards compatible. This means that what you create on a Pi 4 Model B will also work on an older model such as the Raspberry Pi 3B+.

The CPU of the Pi has received a major upgrade. It is now a 64-bit quadcore with Cortex A72 cores, and has a clock speed of 1.5GHz. The performance of this is said to have tripled. This is compared to the Cortex A53 quadcore of the Raspberry Pi 3B+. In addition to the CPU, the working memory has also received a major upgrade. In the beginning, the Raspberry Pi 4 was available with 1, 2 and 4 GB RAM. The 1GB RAM variant is no longer produced. At the moment you can get the Raspberry Pi 4 with 2 , 4 and 8 GB RAM. If you have already worked with the Raspberry Pi 3B+ you know that this is a very nice upgrade. The 3B+ came with 1GB RAM. With the Raspberry Pi 4 you can perform more and heavier tasks. This means that the Raspberry Pi can finally really be used as a desktop computer.

4K Display connection

As mentioned before, the Raspberry Pi 4B now comes with 2 Micro-HDMI connections. This is a nice improvement over the standard HDMI port on its predecessor. The Micro-HDMI port is a lot smaller than a normal HDMI port. 2 Micro HDMI ports do not take up much more space. It is true that, among other things, because of these Micro-HDMI ports, the Pi 4B no longer fits in the housing of the previous models. There is just enough space between the ports to connect 2 cables. If you want to connect a standard HDMI cable, you can do so by using a Micro-HDMI to HDMI adapter . However, this adapter is so wide that one of the ports is no longer accessible. If you want to use 2 monitors at the same time, you will have to use two Micro-HDMI cables.
The Raspberry Pi 4 is capable of running 2 monitors with a resolution of 4K simultaneously.
Specifications:

265 (4kp60 decode), H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics

Please note that if you are only using one screen you should use port: HDMI 0. If you use port HDMI 1 you will not hear any sound.

Can be used as a desktop computer

The speed and performance of the Raspberry Pi 4B have been greatly improved. This makes it possible for the first time to use the Pi as a desktop computer. You can edit documents and spreadsheets, surf the internet, play media and much more. Learning to program is also no problem on the Raspberry Pi .

It is not that the Raspberry Pi 4 model B could replace a €1000 computer. However, the Raspberry Pi 4B is certainly powerful enough to perform most standard tasks. And that already from €39.95 !

Under normal use you will find the Pi 4B runs nice and smoothly.

The most used software for the Raspberry Pi is Raspberry Pi OS. Previously this software was called Raspbian. This is the official software for the Raspberry Pi boards. The first version was released in 2012 and it is updated several times a year. The software is completely free, all functions are accessible to everyone. Raspberry -Pi OS comes with more than 35,000 packages. These are pre-compiled but not yet installed. You can indicate which packages you want to install. With the Raspberry Pi OS you get a standard desktop interface similar to Windows or Apple. You can surf the internet, edit text files, play media and much more. You write the operating system to a Micro-SD card. All things you do on the Raspberry Pi are also stored here. If you place the Micro-SD card in another Raspberry Pi you can continue where you left off. This way you can also write multiple operating systems on different Micro-SD cards. You only have to replace the Micro-SD card and your Raspberry Pi has a different function.

Other operating systems

In addition to the Raspberry Pi OS, there are many more operating systems for the Raspberry Pi . Most of these are free, but there are also paid operating systems available. Here you will find a number of popular operating systems. In the Raspberry Pi imager, in addition to Raspberry Pi OS, you will also find 4 commonly used operating systems. LibreELEC and RetroPie are an example of this. LibreELEC is used for KODI , a media player where you can play series, films, but also photos and the like. Retropie is an emulator with which you can play retro games from Nintendo, PlayStation and more than 50 other systems.

Cool your Pi!

Currently there are 2 major issues regarding the Raspberry 4 Model B.
First, the Pi gets relatively warm, second, the original case has poor ventilation.
This causes the Pi to cool poorly.
Fortunately, these problems can be solved.
You can improve the cooling of your Raspberry Pi by doing the following 3 things.

A fan
Stick heatsinks on the processors
A heatsink case or case with fan

The combination of heatsinks with a fan will cool the Pi the best.

If you do not have any cooling connected to your Raspberry Pi and you are working normally, you will probably quickly get one of the two messages shown on the right of the screen.

If you ignore these warnings, the Pi may shut down itself.

The first Pi with 2, 4 or even 8GB of RAM

Never before has it been possible to choose how much RAM you want.
Like the previous models, a 1GB RAM version is available (no longer produced).
But it is now also possible to choose a 2GB, 4GB or even 8GB RAM version.
That's 8X as much RAM as the Raspberry Pi 3B+!

Connections

The Raspberry Pi 4B comes with Gigabit Ethernet.
But also with onboard wireless networks such as WiFi and Bluetooth.
This allows you to place the Pi almost anywhere in your home or office.
The Pi 4B also comes with 2X USB 3.0 & 2X USB 2.0 ports. On these USB ports you can connect a keyboard and mouse for example.

Like the 3B+, there are 40 GPIO pins.
GPIO stands for General Purpose Input/Output. This means that the Pin has no specific function. Normally, Pins have a specific purpose, such as sending a signal or receiving a signal. A GPIO Pin is customizable and can be controlled by software.

The 2-lane MIPI DSI display, 2-lane MIPI CSI camera and the 4-pole audio port are still in the same place.

Power supply

The Raspberry Pi 4B is the first to use a USB-C port.
This USB-C port is used to power the board.
Because the Pi is much more powerful than its previous models, it requires more power.
At least 3A to be exact. This is 0.5A more than the 3B+.
The Pi can be powered in 3 ways:

5V DC – 3A via the USB-C port
5V DC – 3A via the GPIO header
PoE (Power over Ethernet) – Requires a separate PoE HAT

Requirements to get started

If you have worked with the Raspberry Pi before, you are probably used to being able to use all the accessories of your old Pi with a new model. Unfortunately, with the Raspberry Pi 4B, this is not entirely the case.
Below is a list of what you will need to get started with the Pi 4B.
The parts in bold are parts that have been newly introduced.

Power supply USB-C (5V – 3A)
Micro HDMI Cable / Adapter
Micro SD Card
Housing
Heatsink
Fan
Keyboard & Mouse
Monitor or Display

You can also choose to take a starter kit .
There are several advantages to purchasing the right kit for your project. First, you won’t need as much time to get started, because the kit contains all the components you need.
You also save money by buying all the parts at once. Instead of buying each part separately. Finally, if you are a beginner, you have access to the resources you need to guide you through your first project.