Has anybody checked out the Raspberry Pi 400 yet?

eagleuk · 2 Nov 2020 at 21:56

Hey guys,

Has anyone checked out the Pi 400 yet?

Seems like a really cool device, I've decided to give it a whirl as a development machine for a bit to see how it goes.

Arriving tomorrow although I'm in Belgium for the week.

CPU has a different stepping and a higher clock speed out the box, sure it can reach a bit further too.

Reviews seem to say the CPU never really thermal throttle to due to the 'heatsink' in the keyboard.

It's very similar to the old spectrum/commodore devices.

gpuerrilla · 3 Nov 2020 at 22:24

I think it looks/practically is ace. First thing I thought when I seen media shares on it was 'hmm that would be good to sit away from distractions and develop on'.

eagleuk · 4 Nov 2020 at 08:24

Th0nt said:
I think it looks/practically is ace. First thing I thought when I seen media shares on it was 'hmm that would be good to sit away from distractions and develop on'.

Yeah it seems really good for what it is, I got mine yesterday but sold out most places already though.

Can run a 2.2ghz clock stable which makes it a much better experience.

gpuerrilla · 4 Nov 2020 at 08:39

I never use the GUI im afraid. Only because I got 2 original Pi's and they were sluggish running it in normal OS mode. I also have 4x Pi2's in a cluster to experiment and dabble in testing/deployment.

If I got the 400 I would use it purely to code python on I think and take advantage of the features (bluetooth/wifi etc).

Silicon Si · 12 Nov 2020 at 20:46

I bought one but gave it to my mum so she can give it back to me for Christmas !! hehe

eagleuk · 16 Nov 2020 at 20:54

Th0nt said:
I never use the GUI im afraid. Only because I got 2 original Pi's and they were sluggish running it in normal OS mode. I also have 4x Pi2's in a cluster to experiment and dabble in testing/deployment.

If I got the 400 I would use it purely to code python on I think and take advantage of the features (bluetooth/wifi etc).

Had a few days with it now and it's really is pretty good value for what is. Worth it just for the performance boost!

gpuerrilla · 16 Nov 2020 at 20:55

eagleuk said:
Had a few days with it now and it's really is pretty good value for what is. Worth it just for the performance boost!

Will pick one up sometime, I never got the 3 or the 4 so this should be a worthy step and be able to handle full GUI use.

WoZZeR · 21 Nov 2020 at 18:22

Santa is bringing me the Bare 8Gb Pi 4 and a few bits and bobs, quite looking forward to it. The last bit of programming/scripting I did was with an Arduino so this will be much more powerful.

eagleuk · 21 Nov 2020 at 21:25

WoZZeR said:
Santa is bringing me the Bare 8Gb Pi 4 and a few bits and bobs, quite looking forward to it. The last bit of programming/scripting I did was with an Arduino so this will be much more powerful.

Never touched a Arduino worth getting into?

WoZZeR · 22 Nov 2020 at 17:03

I think the Arduino is more for electronics enthusiasts, I had to connect mine to the PC to program it, I turned it into a programmable motor controller.

The PI will be used for something more advanced, I would like to experiment with the 12 MP Cameras and try IR tracking in the garden.

gpuerrilla · 27 Nov 2020 at 22:22

WoZZeR said:
I think the Arduino is more for electronics enthusiasts, I had to connect mine to the PC to program it, I turned it into a programmable motor controller.

The PI will be used for something more advanced, I would like to experiment with the 12 MP Cameras and try IR tracking in the garden.

They also do a HQ camera which I see is really good quality with additional lenses rival the more expensive items out there.

Feek · 6 Dec 2020 at 15:53

First impression was "Wow, I want one" and then I thought about it and I can't see a single use for it! None of my Pis have the GUI installed, I access them all via SSH and they all run headless.

Who is this actually aimed at and for what?

shiver · 8 Dec 2020 at 18:00

Feek said:
First impression was "Wow, I want one" and then I thought about it and I can't see a single use for it! None of my Pis have the GUI installed, I access them all via SSH and they all run headless.

Who is this actually aimed at and for what?

Kids learning about computers / software dev maybe? I was thinking of getting one or two for nieces and nephews

neepheid · 9 Dec 2020 at 10:31

Feek said:
First impression was "Wow, I want one" and then I thought about it and I can't see a single use for it! None of my Pis have the GUI installed, I access them all via SSH and they all run headless.

Who is this actually aimed at and for what?

Aside from all the serious people talking about Python, I can see some people (myself included) getting RetroPie on one of these and then getting all teary-eyed playing 8-bit games on a small box with a keyboard plugged into the telly, just like back in the day - all that it would need to make it complete would be shouts of "GET THAT COMPUTER OFF, YOU'LL GET SQUARE EYES AND THE NEWS IS COMING ON!" in the background.

Feek · 9 Dec 2020 at 10:39

But what's the difference between one of these with the pokey little keyboard or a Pi in a box with a decent keyboard that you can unplug and put it out of the way? Why get one of these for RetroPie rather than put a Pi4 in a box?

Same goes for the learning thing.

I'm genuinely not trying to be awkward, I just don't get it.

neepheid · 9 Dec 2020 at 10:59

Feek said:
But what's the difference between one of these with the pokey little keyboard or a Pi in a box with a decent keyboard that you can unplug and put it out of the way? Why get one of these for RetroPie rather than put a Pi4 in a box?

Same goes for the learning thing.

I'm genuinely not trying to be awkward, I just don't get it.

I have a Pi4 running RetroPie and I find having to dig out a keyboard in order to play some 8-bit stuff because it won't listen to controllers without a bunch of faffing around pretty annoying. Bulky too - defeats the whole purpose of the kit being small in the first place.

The nostalgia thing I said above only applies if you were actually using home computers in the 80s. Otherwise, you probably won't get it

Feek · 9 Dec 2020 at 11:05

neepheid said:
I have a Pi4 running RetroPie and I find having to dig out a keyboard in order to play some 8-bit stuff because it won't listen to controllers without a bunch of faffing around pretty annoying. Bulky too - defeats the whole purpose of the kit being small in the first place.

That's a fair point.

neepheid said:
The nostalgia thing I said above only applies if you were actually using home computers in the 80s. Otherwise, you probably won't get it

I built my first home computer in 1980, soldering and everything - Yeah, I'd rather forget those days of squinting at little TV screens

neepheid · 9 Dec 2020 at 11:11

Feek said:
That's a fair point.
I built my first home computer in 1980, soldering and everything - Yeah, I'd rather forget those days of squinting at little TV screens

Today's modern, large flat panels suspend the nostalgia to a degree but having said that I was staring into an Amstrad tiny green fishbowl for a large chunk of the 80s. I'm not nostalgic for that - probably explains the strength of my glasses prescription...

warren_1979 · 19 Dec 2020 at 11:21

I'm getting one for Xmas. Can't wait! I will be using Ubuntu Mate 20.04. I'll be using an ultrafit usb stick as a boot drive (SD card is just so slow and unreliable). I'm tempted to try an SSD but it would look awful laying on the desk and spoil the red and white cable colour scheme!

It's got me thinking - should I sell my desktop pc and use the pi 400 exclusively? I don't game anymore and windows is really a drag. I tried to move over to Linux about 7 years ago but moved back to windows for some tasks. At the moment I use Windows and Linux and much prefer Linux. I'm also more competent at Linux than 7 years ago.

Ask yourself - Do we really need anything more than a good smartphone and a Linux box if your not a gamer?

I'm starting to think no.

What do you think?

jrwagh333 · 21 Dec 2020 at 17:43

Feek said:
Who is this actually aimed at and for what?

I'd use it to mirror my desktop to another screen in another room. Possibly a good way for Steam link too. Eliminates the need for a Pi and separate keyboard by chucking them into one.

I would also have liked to have been able to disassemble the keyboard and add in a SATA m.2 drive. There is clearly enough room in there.