What’s new
While not as big as an aesthetic overhaul as the original B+ was, the Pi 3B+ does have a larger selection of improvements that make it distinct from the original Pi 3. This includes a more powerful CPU, now running at 1.4 GHz on all its four cores. The Ethernet port has also been updated to a Gigabit port, an oft requested feature, although due to pre-existing limitations it maxes out at about 350 megabits. There’s also some minor upgrades, such as a different wireless antenna and the addition of PoE pins for more advanced applications.
Great project ideas for the faster Raspberry Pi 3B+
Otherwise, it still has all the great connectivity and software of the original Raspberry Pi 3. With this new power though, we reckon it could make a few projects better than ever, like these ones:
Easy retro gaming on Raspberry Pi – a more powerful Pi can go a long way here – would make what I just did even better!
Image editing on your Raspberry Pi – image editing can get resource intensive, so extra power is always useful.
Set up a file server – make use of the better Ethernet port on the Pi 3B+ by improving your home Pi server – future project (very soon)
Get a Raspberry Pi 3B+ for the same great price of $35! NICE!
Raspberry Pi 3B+ specifications
- SoC: Broadcom BCM2837B0 quad-core A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit @ 1.4GHz
- GPU: Broadcom Videocore-IV
- RAM: 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM
- Networking: Gigabit Ethernet (via USB channel), 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.2, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
- Storage: Micro-SD
- GPIO: 40-pin GPIO header, populated
- Ports: HDMI, 3.5mm analogue audio-video jack, 4x USB 2.0, Ethernet, Camera Serial Interface (CSI), Display Serial Interface (DSI)
- Dimensions: 82mm x 56mm x 19.5mm, 50g
Final thoughts:
This is a wonderful day for Raspberry Pi users. We are upgraded to better performance and the cost stayed the same. I look forward to getting myself one of the new boards to test and retry some programs that might like the new horsepower. Yes, good day indeed 🙂