I am planning on getting a rasberry pi b+ for a specific use case and I have many questions(mostly about kits)Do I need the kit versions?Do they have things I need to use the rasberry pi?(Other than the case)Can I just buy only a rasberry pi?(of course ill need things like an HDMI cable to use it on a monitor but do these kits have necessary things or can I just use a rasberry pi by itself?)

  • poVoq@lemmy.ml
    8·
    3 years ago

    The RasberryPi4 needs extra cooling (either a large passive heatsink, or likely better one with a fan in it). The easiest it to buy one with a kit because of that.

    Also make sure you get a good quality power-adapter if you plan to connect things like USB3 to SATA adapters with hardrives/SSDs to it.

  • down daemon@lemmy.ml
    5·
    3 years ago

    you need compatible power, you can’t use any random microusb, i did once and got low voltage errors in bios and no booting

  • down daemon@lemmy.ml
    4·
    3 years ago

    I would really recommend the kit unless you’re experienced. The case and the power cord and the heat sink and fan and shit are worth it. If you’re an expert you woudn’t be asking this

    • tfnw3@lemmy.ml
      3·
      3 years ago

      Good point all around. Just get the kit, otherwise you’ll end up buying the kit’s parts separately and that’s just a waste of time and money.

  • Hagels_Bagels@lemmygrad.ml
    3·
    3 years ago

    I don’t think you really need kits, when I bought mine they seemed very expensive compared to the cost of the Pi and accessories alone. You just need the SD card with adapters, and you can put the OS image on it yourself using easy online tutorials.

    Purchasing a case is good as well to protect it from possible damage through rough handling.

    I have a raspberry Pi 3B (not 4) from a few years ago. The performance I’ve heard is much better with the model 4 Pi, but also draws a bit more energy, so I agree with poVoq that it’s a good idea to have a heatsink to prevent overheating at least, especially if it will be used for long periods of time.

    According to this site, at 400% CPU load, the Pi 4B draws 6.4 Watts of energy, the Pi 3B+ draws 5.1 W, the Pi 3B draws 3.7 W. It really isn’t much energy at all, but the chips will get hot over time.

  • LemonWedge@lemmy.ml
    1·
    3 years ago

    The kit has the case and the fan, you may need these as they’re quite essential. Make sure any power supply you plan to use is plenty enough to run it too. Your SD cards you have lying around may be slow and hold back performance. Tldr: If it’s your first pi, I would recommend the kit.