Raspberry PI comparison between latest models
Last updated on September 15th, 2020
You explored the infinite world of Raspberry PI projects (some available in my best raspberry pi projects list) and now you want to buy your first raspberry PI card. You google or search your favourite e-commerce website and discover that there are different models. And now you ask youself, what are the differences? Don’t worry, you can find below a simplified table comparing main features of latest RPI models!
This table summarizes what you can find in official Raspberry Pi Foundation Docs.
| Product | PI 4 Model B | PI 3 Model B+ | PI 3 Model A+ | PI Zero W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | | |
| SoC | BCM2711 | BCM2837B0 | BCM2837B0 | BCM2835 |
| Speed | 1500MHz | 1400MHz | 1400MHz | 1000MHz |
| RAM | 2 to 8 GB | 1GB | 512MB | 512MB |
| USB Ports | 2 × USB 3.0 + 2 × USB 2.0 ports | 4 × USB 2.0 ports | Single USB 2.0 ports | Micro USB |
| Ethernet | Gigabit Ethernet | 1000Base-T | No | No |
| Wireless | 802.11ac | 802.11ac/n | 802.11ac/n | 802.11n |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
| Recommended PSU current capacity | 3A | 2.5A | 2.5A | 1.2A |
| Maximum total USB peripheral current draw | 1.2A | 1.2A | Limited by PSU, board, and connector ratings only | Limited by PSU, board, and connector ratings only |
| Typical bare-board active current consumption | 500mA | 500mA | 350mA | 150mA |
| Video&Audio | 2 × micro-HDMI ports (up to 4kp60 supported), 2-lane MIPI DSI display port, 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port | 1 × full size HDMI, MIPI DSI display port, 4 pole stereo output and composite video port | Full-size HDMI, 4-pole stereo output and composite video port | 1080P HD video & stereo audio via mini-HDMI connector |
| Storage | MicroSD card | MicroSD card | MicroSD card | MicroSD card |
| GPIO | Extended 40-pin GPIO header | Extended 40-pin GPIO header | Extended 40-pin GPIO header | Extended 40-pin GPIO, unpopulated |
Now enjoy your first Rapsberry PI!
I did some testing using RPi4B’s hdmi0 and hdmi1. I normally use hdmi0 connected to a TV/monitor, and everything works well, especially when watching VLC, or youtube, etc.
However, when connected via hdmi1, there seems to be a cut-off in the audio, when playing video.
Described, the cut-off is like playing regular audio, then will drop the volume to 0, sustain it for about <1 second, then resume normal volume. This happens as frequent as about 3 occurrences per 5 second iterval.
I only have 1 rpi4, i dont know if this is localized to my own rpi4 alone, or inherent to all. OS is buster.
2021-Mar 13