Homebrew pi400 (2025 Update)

Wait for the Pi 501...with it all one the board already

I've heard rumor of it but is this confirmed?

I was actually semi-joking.

But the demand for a fast Pi with nvme in a neat package is there all right.

Although I have to say last night in a moment of idle curiosity I looked up the prices of used HP desktop machines with more grunt than a pi and they are, including case and power supply, going for less than I could buy a Pi setup for...

Success:

Twitter thread from the guy who did it (using login wall bypass):

Pi500+ now available, 16GB RAM, 256GB M.2 and much nicer keyboard

Apart from the teeny keycap legends,

and a price above many a desktop PC. :-(

Nonetheless its a nice bit of kit and because the OS is preinstalled, it competes with winders.

I can see a compute stick with 1/4 the RAM and 1/4 the SSD for £20 less, but not much else.

I might consider getting one for my brother ...

Loads of Beelink type N100s cheaper.

Armbian on the oPi5 is getting much more stable, and there is a new, much faster version oPi rumoured. Potentially, kit that will have a more stable OS to begin with. Presumably due to the oPi getting a kicking for having poor software support.

I wouldn't buy anything rPi at the moment.

I instantly said to myself 'VIC 20'

I sport of love it, But regretfully it doesn't make sense for me

ExplainingComputers has a nice YouTube review - its fast enough for full HD streaming at less than 6W...

I'm seriously considering it, only found out about it the other day. Incidentally i was considering doing a jimmy rig of a wireless full keyboard with a 3d printed bottom shell for my pi500. The pi400 is long gone. I took the mobo out and ceremoniously destroyed the keyboard. It's dust.

The 500's keyboard is 90% better. THe spacebar is still a hunk of s*it.

I'm sort of nervous that the 500+'s spacebar is junk. Will it register a keypress if the thumb hits it on the far side? I don't know.

I do like the nvme addition. If you read the most current copy of raspberry pi magazine, they go into detail about it, as well as an interview with the engineers who designed it.

What bugs me is their intention to customize their keycaps and insist on a custom power button that most other keycap replacements lack. That, and nonstandard buttons for led controls, etc.

They brag about being able to replace the keys, but can't replace them all. The enter key is also non-standard and replacement keys have to be fenagled to fit right.

I sort of hesitate on getting the 500+. I saw somewhere a kit can be installed under the keys to make them less clacky. Any truth to that?

At least it's ISO shaped.

When will the rPi 500++ come out with in-built RTC battery and PoE?

I was a bit surprised to find NO mention of the RTC in the 500+'s data sheet.

Currently I am running a Pi4 with an RTC backed up with a fairly tiny supercapacitor. I read a claim (which I have not independently verified) that the supercapacitor can keep my clock running accurately for a month or longer with no external power applied.

When the Pi5 was first introduced, both lithium battery and supercapacitor options were discussed for RTC backup, but since then I've read close to nothing of the supercapacitor option.

I ordered my 500+ on Thursday almost as soon as I saw the announcement, and it arrived on Friday so I've had a couple of days to play with it.

The keyboard is really nice. It's not as nice as the filco keyboard on my PC, which uses Cherry Blue keyswitches, but that keyboard cost almost as much as the Pi 500+ all on its own. The 500+ has a well-constructed keyboard with proper mechanical keyswitches; it's nice to type on and, yes, the spacebar is usable for its whole length.

I think the point is that you *can* change the keycaps, not that you have to, or that they expect you to. It probably simplifies the process of supporting various AZERTY and QWERTZ keyboard variants.

They're using standard keyswitches (with the addition of RGB LEDs underneath) so you'd expect the keycaps to be removable. I don't know how hard it would be to source third-party *transparent* keytops, so that the legend glows through, though.

I've kept the lighting turned off, so far, but it is nice that the CAPS LOCK button lights up by way of an indicator (there's no NUM LOCK (or numeric keypad) or SCROLL LOCK).

I don't know about any kit ...

The keyswitches in the 500+ may be "Blue", but they're not as clicky as Cherry Blue. Clicky enough to give some feedback, but not intrusive.

Then again, I like Cherry Blue so I may be inured to the click.

It has the socket, so you install the Pi5 RTC battery I believe

I would never use the caps lock key as a caps lock, anyway. On all my main machines, it’s repurposed for the Compose key

I'm with you, anytime I get a new keyboard I pop that capsfucker off. Somewhere in the ocean is a island of caps lock keys that Ive promplty disposed. The most worthless key ever, for my daily use at least.

I mapped mine to an 'extended keycode' key. So this is what capslock-m-u nets me... µ

Well here a pi 500+ at £192 is well above a decent equivalent performance refurbished desktop.

TN> Apart from the teeny keycap legends, TN>

TN> >

TN> and a price above many a desktop PC. :-( $200 what kind of Intel desktop PC you can get for this money, outside mini PCs that yeah... similar performance actually but different platform and design goals and purpose. .... Xerox Alto was the thing. Anything after we use is just a mere copy.