Raspberry Pi 4+

Hardware
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Don't know if this topic is appropriate here, but here goes...

Just received a 'shiny new' Raspberry Pi 4+ and must say it is VERRRRRRRYYYYY fast.
The special HDMI cable was out of stock so I set the Pi up in 'headless' mode.

Updating the operating system was very swift.

Installing Node-RED was super quick and then updating to node-red@next was ultra FAST.

I've haven't done any benchmarks (yet) as I've been too busy playing.

Going to install piVPN on it later today and make it my vpn-server.

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Have you added additional processor cooling - fan or heatsink?
If not, it would be good to post it's temperature readings under load.
( node-red-contrib-vcgencmd?)

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I’m planning on buying a pi4 but with a fan :slight_smile:. Still waiting a bit, the store I plan to buy got consumed by a fire this summer. While they’ve managed to reopen and restock most items already, they haven’t restarted their own production yet. Definitely planning to go for one of their own cases, with fans or heatsink but likelier a fan based one. And as long as I don’t have urgent need for it yet I keep everything running together on my pi3b+

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Thanks Paul for reminding me about the fan/heat-sink.
I've just ordered a solid aluminium heat-sink after lashing-up this dashboard and seeing the RPi-4+ is running at 52 deg C.

The Pi was only running Node-RED and my Plane Spotting project so probably just a very light load.

ScreenShot006

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Just picked up a second one for myself, since I keep leaving my personal 4gb model at my office. We're in the process of vetting them as a WYSE thin client replacement. Must say, I've been surprised with what I've been able to pull off so far, even with the 3b+ (got it to the point of more actually usable than some of our windows PCs for clinical workstations.) The biggest issue so far has been the lack of an RTC.

Working on a remote management tool for easier care and feeding by our non-linux-speaking helpdesk (thrown together using node-RED of course) so we can move to the next phase of testing.

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Have they fixed the USB-C problem yet?

https://www.scorpia.co.uk/2019/06/28/pi4-not-working-with-some-chargers-or-why-you-need-two-cc-resistors/

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Dear Forum Members
I come here to get away from endless posts about the temp of Pi4 :slight_smile:
STOP!!!!!!

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Hi Garry,
I purchased the official USB-C power supply and it works fine.
I didn't know there was an issue with PSUs until you said.

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Please - no fans! :slight_smile:

I'm also still considering a mini PC. My NAS is almost full and will soon stop receiving software updates. Synology are about to lose a very disappointed customer. I'm thinking that a mini PC for around ÂŁ130 might be interesting as a project. Not built my own PC in years.

It would be really interesting to get a write-up of this.

I use webmin on my Pi3.

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Not a big issue Dave as long as people are aware of it!

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That's part of the plan once done. It's part of an overall larger project I'm calling "HERCULES" (highly economical rolling computers utilizing less expensive systems.) IF it goes well I'll likely submit it to some journals. Original challenge from my CMIO was to get the cost of a medical rounding cart to below $1500 (usual price for standard hardware is closer to $5000.)

I'm shooting for something more purpose built. I've been including stuff more unique to our environment, such as a big green status display of whether specific peripherals are detected, such as barcode scanners, signature pads, etc. (Also threw in a switch to enable/disable SSH.)

Most of our help desk is fresh out of college, or still in college, so I'm shooting for as simple as possible. Current prototypes are using dashboard, but this now has me exploring a different project from some other guy to implement multi user capability and credentialed escalation of capabilities.

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No fan of fans either. :grinning:

I moved away from RPis for "critical" systems (at home) a while ago. Currently I run everything on a fanless Shuttle DS77U mini PC with a 64GB SSD and 4GB of RAM.

I optimized it for minimal power consumption, on idle it is about 5-6W, but with a lot more computing power at your disposal if required (compared to RPi) and GBit LAN.

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I'm considering upgrading, but just stepping back a while to see how others get on :wink:
I'm also 'fan' averse, but as I have a RFM board piggybacked on the pi, I'm just cautious about how much room I'd have for a heatsink, and also fitting it in a case.

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Well don't forget that you can build anything you like on top of uibuilder. Multi-user shouldn't be too hard. If you need anything adding or tweaking in uibuilder, I'm all ears.

Not bad, about the kind of spec I'd choose.

Nice. I assume that is running Linux? Do you have a written config or some tips to get the power down? Something I've never really had to do with a PC.

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A while ago I bought a refurb Lenovo M92 tiny, you can find those in bulk on the 2nd hand market for cheap, fast i5 with 120GB SSD, similar to the shuttle, 12W idle, running Debian. Great compromise between a full blown nas and a Pi.

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In general I’m on the fan-averse side for Pi(e)s too, but I’m currently running a Pi 3B+ that’s doubling as snips base station and media server and it gets quite hot under load. As I’m still designing a case that would fit both the pi and microphone and keep its great range at doing so, it’s currently sitting without a case in my bookcase, on a sheet of paper to “protect” the bottom of both objects. So I don’t want to experience really the temperature of w pi4 under load. A heat sink case might work too but who am I kidding I’m far too accident prone to stop burning myself on those. So a fan sounds better.

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We've had good success with the Fitlet2 - https://fit-iot.com/web/products/fitlet2/ - not too expensive - no fan - plenty of ports... wide range of voltage inputs including battery backup. Actually we ran VMware ESXi as the base platform with various VMs (with Node-RED of course) on top.

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All depends on your workload. Running my Coral TPU AI code, a heat sink was not enough to prevent thermal throttling which kills my frame rate.

While made for the Pi3, This fits my Pi4B with the added fan option.

I believe they now have a variation specifically for the Pi4B which may go together a bit easier.

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Seeing that logo gives me nightmares. Currently in the process of getting about 300 fitPC3s the hell out of my environment...

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Fitlet2 been solid for us - whats up with the FitPC3 ?