Whilst we’ve been speculating about the (hopefully) imminent release of a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5, a surprise in the form of a Git commit referencing the Raspberry Pi 500 (an all-in-one computer successor to the Raspberry Pi 400) has surfaced.
Table of Contents
Potential Features of the Raspberry Pi 500
The Raspberry Pi 500, when it comes to the masses, will most likely be based on the newer revision of the Raspberry Pi 5’s 2.4GHz BCM2712 seen in the recent 2GB Pi 5. This would represent a significant performance upgrade over the Raspberry Pi 400, which uses the Raspberry Pi 4′ architecture’s BCM2711 at 1.5GHz. One of the most interesting additions could be an M.2 connector for NVMe SSDs, addressing a common request from users seeking improved storage options and something we’re all used to having on our Pi 5 by now.
If I had to guess, I’d say it’s unlikely that the Raspberry Pi 500 will feature a PCIe connection over FFC (Flat Flexible Cable) like its Pi 5 compadre due to the form factor. It’s meant to be an all-in-one, damn it, don’t start hanging things out of it everywhere.
Cooling the Raspberry Pi 500
The increased performance of the Raspberry Pi 5 chip brings with it higher thermal output, though the newer revision of the SoC with parts cut out of it should help if it’s used. As it stands, the commit doesn’t mention the d0 stepping. Could we see a pre-installed active cooler in that case? It would require things to be slightly thicker and would mean there’s potential fan noise during operation, though it’s unlikely to be significant as it does do quite a good job at handling things without fully ramping up the fans.
Compatibility and Ecosystem
One of the strengths of the Raspberry Pi lineup has been its ecosystem of compatible hardware. The Raspberry Pi 500 is likely to be identical to the Pi 400, with the GPIO header exposed on the side of the enclosure/keyboard combo for those who need it.
The range of HATs (non-PCIe at least) will likely have mixed success depending on what you’re looking to attach. For some simple testing, an extension (such as the one pictured above) or similar could work, but when you start having things like that permanently attached, you lose the appeal of the form factor, so let’s see how the Pi 500 looks when it arrives.
Of particular interest is its pairing with the Raspberry Pi 15.6″ monitor shown off at Embedded World 2024. With an appropriate power supply, this combination could result in a compact, all-in-one workstation powered through a single connection. It’s not going to light the world on fire (and the display will be dimmer compared to if it had its power supply) but it could be a great option for schools or clubs that may need small setups.
Outlook and Expectations
The GitHub commit shows that it’s on the way, though there’s no release date or further news at this point. It’s a natural progression for the company though, and as mentioned, the progression on the compute side of things, along with the PCIe lane should mean that we have a few more possibilities in the pipeline
It could make a nice little workshop computer, or a nice introduction to the Raspberry Pi world in an easy-to-consume format but let’s see, there may be a curveball yet.
