RoadTest: RoadTest the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (2GB)
Author: mnitin59
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Development Boards & Tools
Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True
What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: Raspberry Pi 2 B and 3 B+ Model
What were the biggest problems encountered?: Micro HDMI to HDMI Port was not available that's why it took some time for review.
Detailed Review:
Unboxing
Raspberry Pi Box
Raspberry Pi board
Introduction
The raspberry pi 4 has the previous model include more memory options, a faster quad-core CPU, support for dual displays at up to 4K resolution, Gigabit Ethernet, USB3.0, wireless LAN, Bluetooth 5.0, and USB-C power.
Tutorial Link - https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects/raspberry-pi-getting-started
Specifications
Features
The Raspberry Pi 4 B has also brought the Operating System named - Raspbian Buster. It is a Debian 10 Buster recently released. This operating System feature has improved desktop user interface, the Chromium 74 browser, and a V3D video driver. This has boosted the performance in the open-source hardware. The major benefits of the driver include running 3D applications on the desktop.
Raspberry pi provides the desktop performance environment while using with the best specialization in the use of simple and daily use application programs. If you want to access office tools Libre Office is the best to use as it comes with pre-installed in the Buster Operating System, other software is VLC Player, Python Games, Programming IDE for Python, Java, and Mathematics tools, etc.
Test Review:
1. Hardware Overview -
The Raspberry pi 4 is the beast compared to the previous model of the Raspberry pi versions. There is a huge change in the durability and performance in the processing the memory and computational calculation in the model. This hardware takes lots of power as it has to support better performances that's why the model provides in comparison with the raspberry pi 3 B+ Model I will demonstrate the certain test results.
Raspberry Pi 4 B
Raspberry 3 B+
Power Consumption:
| Power Test | Raspberry Pi 3 B+ | Raspberry Pi 4 B |
|---|---|---|
| Input Voltage | 5V 2A | 5V 3A |
| Port | Mini D type Port | C Type Port |
| Tested Voltage (Normal) | 5.1V 0.2A | 5.2V 0.45A |
| Tested Voltage (Load) | 5.2V 1.2A | 5.2V 2.21A |
Data Transfer:
| Data Test | Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (USB 2.0) | Raspberry Pi 4 B (USB 3.0) |
|---|---|---|
| Data File (1 GB) | 3 min 15 Sec | 1 min 05 Sec |
| 4K Video File (3.2 GB) | 15 min 50 Sec | 3 min 10 Sec |
| Audio File (87 MB) | 10 Sec | 03 Sec |
| Zip File (3.8 GB) | 18 min 02 Sec | 6 min 28 Sec |
Video Resolution:
| Video Test | Raspberry Pi 3 B + | Raspberry pi 4 B |
|---|---|---|
| Composite Video Support | Yes | Yes |
| HDMI Support | Yes | Yes |
| 1080p 60fps Support | Yes | Yes |
| 2K 30fps Support | No | Yes |
| 4K 60fps Support | No | Yes |
Connectivity Support:
| Support | Raspberry Pi 3 B+ | Raspberry Pi 4 B |
|---|---|---|
| BLE | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| WiFi Module | 802.11 b/g/n/ac | dual-band 802.11 b/g/n/ac |
| GPIO | 40 Pin | 40 Pin |
Performance:
The Raspberry pi 4 keeps the CPU usage and memory from getting overloaded at the normal state where compared to the raspberry pi 3 B+ model which usually try to be at the under load but one program causes to overload the CPU and result to restart the operation ongoing i.e while trying to install OpenCV library in raspberry pi.
IoT Application Use:
While testing with the IoT Cloud Configuration with the Cayenne API the Raspberry pi 4 took 2 min approximately to install and display the dashboard reading on-screen where on the raspberry pi 3 B+ it took 5 min for overall showing the same dashboard. The only difference that was found was the temperature on the raspberry pi 4 was high compared to raspberry pi 3 B+ due to the performance use case. The heatsink is necessary to use for safety precaution and for getting better performance from the hardware processor.
Image Processing with OpenCV 4.0
The installation procedure for OpenCV libraries took at least 3-4 hours compared to the raspberry pi 3 B+ which took a similar procedure for 8-10 Hours and for Raspberry pi 2 B took a day. The Raspberry pi 4 has better hardware configuration that why it works with faster operations and recall hardware functions. The video testing works fines as I found no lags while streaming webcam video where there were some flickers frames for the raspberry pi 3 B+ hardware.
OpenCV 4.0 link - https://www.pyimagesearch.com/2019/09/16/install-opencv-4-on-raspberry-pi-4-and-raspbian-buster/
