Raspberry Pi's New Model 3B+
Max2Play now offers the new Raspberry Pi 3B+ with all our bundles. Here, we gathered some information that might help you decide whether this new version of Raspberry Pi is the right model for you.
As the name suggests, it is an upgraded version of the popular Raspberry Pi 3B model that we have already been using with most of our bundles for a few years. To find out what has changed and what remained the same, have a look at these technical specifications in comparison with the 3B, as well as the breakdown of changes explained below.
Raspberry Pi 3B+
Technical Specifications:
- CPU: Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53, Quad Core 1.4GHz
- RAM: 1GB DDR2
- Wireless: 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11.b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE
- Extended 40-pin GPIO header
- Full-size HDMI
- 4 USB 2.0 ports
- CSI camera port for connecting a Raspberry Pi camera
- DSI display port for connecting a Raspberry Pi touchscreen display
- 4-pole stereo output and composite video port
- Micro SD port for loading your operating system and storing data
- 5V/2.5A DC power input
- Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) support (requires separate PoE HAT)
- Gigabit Ethernet over USB 2.0 (maximum throughput 300 Mbps)
Raspberry Pi 3B
Technical Specifications:
- CPU: Broadcom BCM2837, Cortex-A53, Quad Core 1.2GHz
- RAM: 1GB DDR2
- Wireless: BCM43438 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1, BLE
- Extended 40-pin GPIO header
- Full-size HDMI
- 4 USB 2.0 ports
- CSI camera port for connecting a Raspberry Pi camera
- DSI display port for connecting a Raspberry Pi touchscreen display
- 4-pole stereo output and composite video port
- Micro SD port for loading your operating system and storing data
- 5V/2.5A DC power input
What Has Changed?
Now, let’s get into what this new Raspberry Pi has to offer. Since it is an upgrade of the established Raspberry Pi 3B, a lot has stayed the same. However, there are still some interesting new features and improvements that we have listed for you below:
- Higher CPU frequency and performance
While the Raspberry Pi 3B+ still has the same cores, it has updated its power and thermal management to run at 1.4GHz per core as long as it stays below 70° operating temperature. As you can see in our Health Checker in the Settings/Reboot, Max2Play usually manages to stay below 60°, allowing the Pi to constantly run at this higher performance rate.
- Better network bandwith
Both Ethernet and WiFi network connectivity have received an overhaul. This is the most major hardware upgrade. The ethernet port is now a LAN7515, which supports Gigabit Ethernet. This allows Ethernet speed around 3 times as fast as before. WiFi also about 3 times the as much capacity when running on the 5GHz band which has not been around on Raspberry Pi’s before this one.
- A lot of other, smaller updates and improvements
Head to the official web site for further information on all the other changes that the Raspberry Pi 3B+ comes with.
- Higher power consumption
This is unfortunately unavoidable with the improvements and higher computing speed. Power consumption can increase for most setups, including Max2Play. So make sure that you use a high-quality power supply with at least 2,5 Ampere!
