Raspberry Pi is announcing a new version of the Compute Model, upgraded with much better speeds and more powerful hardware. The new Compute Model 3 is now available and comes in two flavors costing $30 or $25.
Raspberry Pi is well known for making tiny, programmable PCs that are easy to develop for and can be used by everyone from small children to hardcore DIY enthusiasts. But next to the standard micro-PC that Raspberry Pi puts out, it also develops a so-called Compute Module. This is a scaled-down device, designed to be used by companies or those looking to create commercial products.
The new Compute Model 3 (CM3) which was just announced has about 10 times the power of the original Compute Model. Based upon the better-known Raspberry Pi 3 which came out last year, the new CM3 features a 1.2GHz Broadcom processor, 1GB of RAM and upgradeable flash storage. There’s also a fixed storage 4GB version of the device dubbed “Lite”.
Raspberry Pi sees the CM3 as responding much better to companies’ needs for powerful but affordable computing devices that can easily transform any product into a smart device.
Still compatible with the DDR2 SODIMM form factor that the entire Compute Model line is based on, the Compute Model 3 should be backwards compatible with previous versions of the device. However, the company does warn that the new module is 1mm taller and can draw significantly more current, with the processor becoming much hotter than the original model.
Alongside the Compute Model 3 Raspberry Pi is also launching the Compute Model IO Board V3 (CMIO3), which can power the CM3, as well as augment it with HDMI and USB connectors to be able to run an OS off of it. The company views the CMIO3 as “a starting template for those who want to design with the Compute Model, and a quick way to start experimenting with the hardware”.
The Compute Model 3 is available for $30 or for $25 in its fixed-storage Lite version. The original Compute Model will still be available for devices with lower needs, now also priced at $25. The Compute Model IO Board V3 is available for around $115 as a standalone or $143 when bundled with the Compute Model 3.
Source: Raspberry Pi Via: Engadget
2 Comments - Add comment