Raspberry PI 3 Model B

Description

• Brand Name Raspberry Pi
• 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU, 1 GB RAM
• 802.11n Wireless LAN, 10/100Mbps Lan Speed
• Bluetooth 4.1, Bluetooth Low Energy
• 4 USB ports, 40 GPIO pins, Full HDMI port, Combined 3.5mm audio jack and composite video
• Camera interface (CSI),Display interface (DSI), Micro SD card slot (now push-pull rather than push-push), VideoCore IV 3D graphics core

BCM2837, BCM43438 and Raspberry Pi 3

For Raspberry Pi 3, Broadcom have supported us with a new SoC, BCM2837. This retains the same basic architecture as its predecessors BCM2835 and BCM2836, so all those projects and tutorials which rely on the precise details of the Raspberry Pi hardware will continue to work. The 900MHz 32-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU complex has been replaced by a custom-hardened 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53. Combining a 33% increase in clock speed with various architectural enhancements, this provides a 50-60% increase in performance in 32-bit mode versus Raspberry Pi 2, or roughly a factor of ten over the original Raspberry Pi.

James Adams spent the second half of 2015 designing a series of prototypes, incorporating BCM2837 alongside the BCM43438 wireless “combo” chip. He was able to fit the wireless functionality into very nearly the same form-factor as the Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ and Raspberry Pi 2 Model B; the only change is to the position of the LEDs, which have moved to the other side of the SD card socket to make room for the antenna. Roger Thornton ran the extensive (and expensive) wireless conformance campaign, allowing us to launch in almost all countries simultaneously. Phil Elwell developed the wireless LAN and Bluetooth software.

All of the connectors are in the same place and have the same functionality, and the board can still be run from a 5V micro-USB power adapter. This time round, we’re recommending a 2.5A adapter if you want to connect power-hungry USB devices to the Raspberry Pi.