REVIEWS Desktop
Raspberry Pi 500
The keyboard is the computer again! Les Pounder takes the updated homage to retro home computers for a spin.
Les living the dream with his Pi desktop.
SPECS
CPU: BCM2712 SoC Arm Cortex-A76 64-bit quad-core 2.4GHz
GPU: 800MHz VideoCore VII, OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
Mem: 8GB LPDDR4X
Storage: MicroSD Ports: 1x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3
Comms: Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5
GPIO: 40-pin via breakout
PSU: 5V 4A via USB C
Size: 286 x 122 x 23mm
A computer in a keyboard wasn’t a new idea. As children of the ’80s, we had various Commodore and Spectrum machines, so we’re well versed in keyboards that were computers. But for the Raspberry Pi 400, this was a bold choice, and it seems that it paid off, as Raspberry Pi has now announced the £85 Raspberry Pi 500, based on the current flagship Raspberry Pi 5.
The Raspberry Pi 500 is available on its own for £85, or as part of a £130 Desktop kit. Both come with a 32GB A2 SDR104-compatible microSD card, but the Desktop kit also comes with a 27W USB Type-C power supply, micro-HDMI-to-HDMI cable, and the Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide.
“It’s just a keyboard, right?” is what we thought when we received the Raspberry Pi 400 out of the blue in 2020. Yes, the 400 looks like the official Raspberry Pi keyboard, but while the Raspberry Pi 500 retains a very similar form factor, the colour scheme favours all white instead of the raspberry red and white used in the 400.