Raspberry Pi CM5 is 2-3x faster, drop-in upgrade (mostly)

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2024-11-27 09:30:03

The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 is smaller than a credit card, and I already have it gaming in 4K with an eGPU, running a Kubernetes cluster, and I even upgraded my NEC Commercial display from a CM4 to CM5, just swapping the Compute Modules!

The Compute Module 4 was hard to get for years. It launched right after the COVID supply chain crisis, leading to insane scalper pricing.

It was so useful, though, that Raspberry Pi sold every unit they made, and they're inside everything: from commercial 3D printers, to TVs, to IP KVM cards.

I've been testing it in tons of Compute Module boards, and it's been awesome seeing a 2-3x speedup just dropping in the new module.

It boots up in seconds, it has USB 3 instead of USB 2, and it's compatible with PCIe Gen 3 instead of Gen 2. The CPU is 2-3x faster, RAM is 3-4x faster, WiFi's faster, storage is faster... It's basically a Pi 5, but without the plugs. Most CM4 cases and accessories still work with it, just there's a LOT more bandwidth.

The big advantage to a Compute Module versus a Pi 5 is modularity. And I published a video today going over a ton of use cases enabled by various Compute Module carrier boards. All the ones I've tested were built for the CM4, but the CM5 is an instant drop-in upgrade:

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