Raspberry Pi 4B
Aug 15th 2019
By Robert Kirchner JR
Unboxing and Performance
Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB Package
Specs
The 4B is a big improvement over the previous 3B+. Upgraded CPU, 5GHz wifi, and best of all, DDR4L memory(A big step up from the DDR2 on the Pi 3B+) in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB Variations.
CPU: Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz
Memory: 1GB, 2GB or 4GB LPDDR4-2400 SDRAM (depending on model)
Wireless Connectivity: 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE
Ethernet: Gigabit
USB: 2x USB 2.0 2x USB 3.0
GPIO: Standard Pi 40 pin header
Video: 2x micro-HDMI capable of 4K60Hz
Power: 5V DC via USB-C connector (minimum 3A*)
Unboxing
The 4GB model was and still is hard to get. We were lucky to snag the last known MSRP Pi here
Top of Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB board.
Bottom of Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB board.
As you can see, SoC has the updated metal heat spreader.
One downside is that with the two microHDMI ports, most HDMI modular screens will not work as nicely.
Our Setup
We put a small copper heatsink on both the Soc and the SDRAM.
We enclosed our Pi in a clear acrylic case with a 5V 0.10A fan.
Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB board with heatsinks in case.
Side view of all the ports.
USB and Ethernet ports..
Performance
We ran a 15 minute burn test on both stock and overclocked configurations. We paid very close attention to temp and signs of throttling.
Stock
Our ambient room temp is measured at 68 degrees F.
At idle, the Pi SoC frequency sat at 600MHz, and temp at 37 degrees C.
After five minutes.
After five minutes, SoC hit 56 deg. C, but ran at a steady 1500MHz
After ten minutes.
Finished burn.
After we 15 minutes we topped out at 58 deg. and never once throttled.
Overclock
To overclock, you must modify config.txt located in the boot partition
Run nano to modify config.txt
We set the CPU frequency to 1700MHz, the GPU to 600MHz and we added over_voltage=5 to give enough power to run the high speed.
The Pi idled at 680MHz and 41 deg. C.
After one and a half minutes.
After just 90 seconds we hit 66C with a steady 1700MHz.
After five minutes.
After five minutes we hit 71C with no throttling yet.
After ten minutes.
After ten minutes we seem to have stablized at around 71C still no throttling.
After bench.
After the full 15 minutes we never went higher than 72C and never throttled. It quickly cooled down to 49C.
Conclusion
The Pi 4B opens a lot of doors, especially with the increased memory. From a desktop workstation, to application servers and VPN, The Pi 4B is a powerful micro computer at a good price point.
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