Raspberry Pi is an extra cheap ($25-$35) bare-bones computer that is nevertheless very capable – it runs Quake III, for example. One of the Raspberry Pi project leaders claims the little computer has quite a bit of graphical processing oomph under the bonnet too.
He’s been quoted that the Pi has more than twice the graphics prowess of an iPhone 4S. And besides doubling as a simple gaming console, Pi can also decode videos up to 1080p thanks to the built-in video hardware acceleration.
To be fair, the Raspberry Pi isn’t a mobile device so it doesn’t have to worry about battery life. But still, getting a faster than iPhone’s GPU for just $25 is an amazing accomplishment – it also beats both the NVIDIA Tegra 2 and the PowerVR SGH543MP2 in graphical performance.
The CPU is another matter though – a single-core 700MHz ARM11 processor. It may sound weak, but it’s enough for a wide range of tasks. You have to keep in mind it’s a bare-bones computer intended to boost interest in programming.
With the dedicated XBMC port, Raspbmc, you’ll be able to turn the Raspberry Pi into a capable media player for your TV. The mini-computer has HDMI and digital audio out ports and can decode Blu-ray quality FullHD video at 30fps easily.
Here’s what an early port of XBMC running on the Raspberry Pi looks like:
The Raspberry Pi is coming in two versions (basic $25 version and a $35 version with double the RAM and an Ethernet port). The first batch is already in production, so you should be able to buy one soon if you’re interested.
To be fair, the Raspberry Pi isn’t a mobile device so it doesn’t have to worry about battery life. But still, getting a faster than iPhone’s GPU for just $25 is an amazing accomplishment – it also beats both the NVIDIA Tegra 2 and the PowerVR SGH543MP2 in graphical performance.
The CPU is another matter though – a single-core 700MHz ARM11 processor. It may sound weak, but it’s enough for a wide range of tasks. You have to keep in mind it’s a bare-bones computer intended to boost interest in programming.
With the dedicated XBMC port, Raspbmc, you’ll be able to turn the Raspberry Pi into a capable media player for your TV. The mini-computer has HDMI and digital audio out ports and can decode Blu-ray quality FullHD video at 30fps easily.
Here’s what an early port of XBMC running on the Raspberry Pi looks like:
The Raspberry Pi is coming in two versions (basic $25 version and a $35 version with double the RAM and an Ethernet port). The first batch is already in production, so you should be able to buy one soon if you’re interested.
