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The body of the docking station was 3D printed in two parts that were glued with polyurethane glue. It includes a Kensington lock design that can be used to secure the Pi 400. There are dovetail rails on the dock’s front for attaching displays. While we are nowhere close to achieving that kind of technology in real life, you can at least create an imitation that serves as a sort of mobile computer. In fact, there is an entire subculture around the creation and modification of cyberdecks.
- I paid US$ 135 for my Raspberry Pi 400 because I added an optional inline power switch and an extra 32GB microSD card.
- The Raspberry Pi400 has a 64-bit processor and can run 64-bit images.
- However,Liliputingnotes that the Orange Pi 800 should compete with theRaspberry Pi 400, which retails for around US$70.
- This project requires some wiring and coding knowledge, but the steps are detailed enough to follow.
What a pity the haven’t use full size HDMI for one of the video outputs. I see this as a potential weak point in an otherwise great design. Get instant access to breaking news, in-depth reviews and helpful tips. The Raspberry Pi 400 is, at heart, a Raspberry Pi 4 and as we know the Pi 4 can get rather warm in use. In general use, the CPU will stay cool enough to remain well under the thermal throttle limit of 85 Celsius, but overclockers eager to squeeze extra performance from the CPU will often push those limits. If you are of a “certain age” then you will remember a time when computers were hidden underneath a keyboard.
A $2 PCF8563 breakout board is used to provide the real-time clock/calendar function, while a combination board of the TP4056 and MT3608 provides battery charging and voltage boosting functionality, respectively. The project runs a modified version of this Raspberry Pi battery widget. If that project turns out to be too advanced for you, or you can’t find the time, you can always buy a Cyberdeck HAT from Adafruit and connect it to your Raspberry Pi 400. We’ve covered some amazing Raspberry Pi cyberdeck projects you can build yourself.
Unboxing the Raspberry Pi 400
It’s 300MHz faster, sure, but that same level of overclock and more is easily achievable on any Raspberry Pi 4 — albeit requiring some form of passive or, better yet, active cooling to avoid thermal throttling. The casing is held together without screws, and the whole package feels solid and reassuringly weighty. The script to use is raspberry-pi.sh (32-bit) or raspberry-pi-64-bit.sh (64-bit).
Packed with informative tutorials, this book hearkens back to the days when technology provided documentation! For the curious mind, this book is a vitally important key to the Pi, which is best when it serves as a gateway to open source computing. My unit came with 4GB RAM and a stock 16GB microSD card with Raspberry Pi OS installed and ready to boot up for the first time. I only tested the Pi 400 with a 1080p monitor, so I can’t speak to its chops with 4K videos—but it’s absolutely not capable of handling the Costa Rica in 4K 60fps HDRvideo without visible frame drop, even at 720p. The major issue here appears to be the 60fps rate, not the 720p resolution. I also tested the “Forests” episode of Netflix’s docu-series Our Planeton YouTube at 1080p, and that video played back flawlessly.
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Although third-party cooling products have proven popular accessories for the Raspberry Pi 4, there’ll be no need for them on a Raspberry Pi 400. The Raspberry Pi 400 contains the Raspberry Pi 4 hardware and architecture integrated inside of the Official Raspberry Pi keyboard for a stylish and easy to use one-piece computer. Simply Top Programming Languages to Develop Android Apps plug in the mouse, power supply, and connect the MicroHDMI cable to your HDMI Display. Getting up and running with the Raspberry Pi has never been more convenient. However, with the Raspberry Pi 400, you can always get whatever electronics you need and attach them, provided that you get a breakout cable and breadboard.
We were able to use LibreOffice for most productivity tasks, along with the default Chromium browser. Sadly, Google has removed sync capabilities from Chromium, which means your Chrome extensions and passwords won’t migrate to your new desktop. You can still install extensions from the Chrome Store, but it may take a little longer to get set up. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay.
So, with an attached display and power pack, you can have your very own cyberdeck, just like in this YouTube tutorial by CulBlu Vlogs. This design uses a Raspberry Pi 400, an ABS waterproof case, a touchscreen monitor, a power bank, a step-up converter, an Ethernet keystone jack, and several other cables and switches. The Raspberry Pi 400’s GPIO header enables Solution Architect: Role and Responsibilities this keyboard-integrated computer to be expanded for a wide range of projects. A beast of a little machine that’s got a good heatsink and is built into a keyboard like when the lines used to be blurred between PC’s and consoles. The icing on the cake is the Official Raspberry Pi Beginners Guide, a 245-page book introducing you to your new computer.
In brief, the Pi 400 is a slightly faster version of the 4GiB Pi 4 that ships preassembled in a small, wedge-shaped chassis with integrated keyboard. The new model directly targets desktop replacement use and can be purchased solo for $70 or as a full kit for $100. Despite the change in form factor, this is still a Raspberry Pi 4 4GB and, as such, it behaves in exactly the same manner, with one exception. The Raspberry Pi 400 lacks the CSI and DSI connectors, used for the Camera and Official Touchscreen. This loss of the touchscreen connector is not such a big deal, but the camera connector is. The heart of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s mission is to bring computing to everyone, wherever they may be.
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Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. Those aside, and understanding that at launch there’s no option for anyone looking for more or less than 4GB of RAM, there’s a lot to recommend the Raspberry Pi 400 over a Raspberry Pi 4 for all but embedded and space-constrained uses. At stock speeds, the performance gain is obvious in both synthetic and real-world workloads — anything a Raspberry Pi 4 can run, the Raspberry Pi 400 can run faster. First, there’s no Camera Serial Interface or Display Serial Interface header to be found — meaning no compatibility with the Raspberry Pi Camera Module range. Before getting to the extra 300MHz of stock clock speed — a figure every Raspberry Pi 4 should be able to reach through custom overclocking, using either the fan in the official Power over Ethernet HAT or a third-party cooler — there are some key caveats to address.
In addition to providing an easy-to-assemble workstation that comes loaded with free software, the Pi 400 also serves as a surprisingly effective videoconferencing platform. I ordered a Pi 400 from CanaKit late last year and was eager to explore this capability. The good news about the Pi 400 is that it does make a credible desktop PC, in the sense that, yes, you can totally use it without things breaking. With that said, you’re unlikely to forget that you’re using a very inexpensive ARM device.
The awkward GPIO access and lack of camera and display ports are the only negatives for the Raspberry Pi 400. All in all, this is a fantastic Raspberry Pi for those new to the platform. Retailing as a single unit for $70 or as a complete $100 kit with mouse, power supply, cables, micro SD card and a copy of the Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide, the Raspberry Pi 400 could be the ideal way to introduce the Raspberry Pi to your home. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards.
Raspberry Pi 400 incorporates a purpose-built board based on Raspberry Pi 4. Featuring the same powerful processor, Raspberry Pi 400 has specially designed thermals to keep your computer cool and silent while you’re hard at work. The Raspberry Pi 400 is a complete Raspberry Pi 4-based personal computer, integrated into a keyboard. By incorporating the board into a keyboard, it removes the need for a case and other accessories normally needed to run a Raspberry and creates a more clean configuration. It makes for the perfect configuration for a public machine or in an educational setting including the incorporation of a Kensington lock .
Many of the early 1980s classic computers, from the Apple II to the Commodore 64, placed all of their internals in the same chassis as the keyboard. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information. A kit is also available which includes everything you need in one box . You have several different operating system options, beyondRaspberry Pi’s own OS.
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The heatsink is a “shield” between the keyboard and the Pi 400 board with a depression and thermal pad making contact with the system on chip . This heatsink is remarkable and largely responsible for the great temperatures, and overclocking ability of the Raspberry Pi 400. The Pi400 features a handy security lock port for keeping your keyboard safe. If you’re in the market for a low-cost computer for a bit of coding or some web browsing, or even using a basic productivity suite, then the Raspberry Pi 400 will be the machine for you. It’s quick to get going, easy to use, and makes a perfectly credible Linux desktop PC — all at an extremely affordable price. Ask your Support Technician about additional options available through our exclusive Priority Care Program.
Software system requirements are typically found on the Product information specification page. Raspberry Pi 400 is the perfect educational tool for students of all ages. Low-cost and portable, it is ideal for home study, and for teaching computing concepts like programming, physical computing, and networking. Orange Pi has introduced the Orange Pi 800, its version of the Raspberry Pi 400. Like many of Orange Pi’s Raspberry Pi alternatives, the Orange Pi 800 is a single-board computer attached to a keyboard. Accordingly, you only need an external monitor to use the Orange Pi 800, or a mouse if needed.
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Also, it doesn’t include a real-time clock as it relies on the internet to get the current date and time. With its unique form factor and integrated keyboard, the Raspberry Pi 400 is more suitable 7 Soft Skills That Make a Great Software Developer for some projects than the Raspberry Pi 4. If you are curious about how the Raspberry Pi 400 compares to the Raspberry Pi 4, we have explained the differences between these two devices.
