Product Description
Raspberry Pi 5 - 4GB RAM. Arm Cortex-A76 Quad-Core 2.4GHz (512KB L2 per core, 2MB shared L3). VideoCore VII GPU (OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2). 4GB LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM. Dual 4Kp60 HDMI with HDR. 4Kp60 HEVC Decoder. PCIe 2.0 x1. Gigabit Ethernet (PoE+ with HAT). 2x USB 3.0 + 2x USB 2.0. Dual 4-Lane MIPI Camera/Display. microSD (SDR104). 40-Pin GPIO Header. RTC. USB-C 5V/5A Power. Board Only - No Case, Screen, or Power Supply Included. Ships from United States or Germany.
The Raspberry Pi 5 is the fifth-generation flagship single-board computer from Raspberry Pi Ltd, available here in the 4GB LPDDR4X configuration. The Arm Cortex-A76 quad-core processor running at 2.4GHz delivers 2-3x the CPU performance of the Raspberry Pi 4, powered by silicon developed in-house at Raspberry Pi. The VideoCore VII GPU supports OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan 1.2 for improved graphics in multimedia and compute applications. A PCIe 2.0 x1 interface enables fast peripheral expansion via M.2 HATs and other adapters. Two 4-lane MIPI connectors support any combination of up to two cameras or displays. Dual 4Kp60 HDMI outputs with HDR support connect to two monitors simultaneously. Gigabit Ethernet supports PoE+ with a compatible HAT. 40-pin GPIO header provides full compatibility with the existing Raspberry Pi HAT ecosystem. RTC with external battery connector. USB-C 5V/5A Power Delivery input. Sold as a bare board only - no case, power supply, microSD card, or accessories included. Ships from United States or Germany.
Critical - read before purchasing:
- This is a bare single-board computer (SBC) - NOT a laptop or complete PC. No screen, keyboard, mouse, case, power supply, or microSD card is included. You must supply these separately to use it.
- Power supply required: USB-C 5V/5A (25W) with Power Delivery - a standard phone charger is not sufficient; an official Raspberry Pi 5 power supply or a 5V/5A USB-C PD charger is required
- Operating system required: Flash Raspberry Pi OS (or another compatible OS) to a microSD card using Raspberry Pi Imager before first boot - the board ships without an OS
- PCIe requires a separate HAT: To use the PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for M.2 NVMe SSDs or other PCIe devices, a compatible M.2 HAT or adapter is required (sold separately)
- PoE+ requires a separate HAT: The Gigabit Ethernet port supports PoE+ only with a compatible PoE+ HAT installed (sold separately)
- This listing is for the 4GB RAM variant only
Key Features
- Arm Cortex-A76 quad-core 2.4GHz - 2-3x faster than Pi 4 - The Cortex-A76 architecture is a major generational step up from the Cortex-A72 used in Raspberry Pi 4; each core has 512KB of L2 cache and all cores share a 2MB L3 cache; the in-house Raspberry Pi silicon also delivers significantly improved peripheral performance compared to previous generations; suitable for demanding workloads including desktop computing, server applications, edge AI inference, and software development
- VideoCore VII GPU - OpenGL ES 3.1 + Vulkan 1.2 - The VideoCore VII GPU supports modern graphics APIs including OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan 1.2, enabling better 3D graphics performance and compute workloads compared to the VideoCore VI in Pi 4; hardware-accelerated 4Kp60 HEVC video decoding handles high-resolution video playback efficiently
- PCIe 2.0 x1 interface - The first Raspberry Pi to include a PCIe interface on-board; enables connection of M.2 NVMe SSDs (via M.2 HAT, sold separately) for fast local storage far exceeding microSD speeds; also enables other PCIe peripheral expansion; a major capability upgrade for storage-intensive and performance-critical applications
- Dual 4Kp60 HDMI with HDR - dual 4-lane MIPI - Two full-size micro-HDMI outputs support two monitors simultaneously at 4K 60Hz with HDR; two 4-lane MIPI connectors support any combination of up to two cameras (e.g., dual camera arrays) or displays (e.g., official Raspberry Pi touchscreen displays) or a mix of one camera and one display
- Gigabit Ethernet with PoE+ support - Full-speed Gigabit Ethernet for wired networking in server, NAS, network appliance, and industrial applications; PoE+ support (with compatible HAT) enables the board to be powered entirely over the Ethernet cable, eliminating the need for a separate USB-C power supply in PoE+ network environments
- 2x USB 3.0 + 2x USB 2.0 - Two USB 3.0 ports at simultaneous 5Gbps for fast external storage and high-bandwidth peripherals; two USB 2.0 ports for keyboards, mice, hubs, and standard peripherals; 4 USB ports total
- 40-pin GPIO header - Standard Raspberry Pi 40-pin header maintains full compatibility with the extensive ecosystem of HATs, expansion boards, and GPIO accessories designed for Raspberry Pi 4 and earlier; supports I2C, SPI, UART, PWM, and general digital I/O for hardware projects and embedded development
- RTC with external battery - On-board real-time clock maintains accurate time when powered off; connect a small external battery (e.g., CR2032 in a battery holder) to keep the RTC running without network time sync; useful for offline and industrial applications
- 4GB LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM - 4GB is the recommended configuration for general-purpose desktop use, home server, and most maker projects; sufficient for running a desktop environment, multiple browser tabs, and typical application workloads simultaneously
- Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac + Bluetooth 5.0/BLE - 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) dual-band wireless for fast wireless networking; Bluetooth 5.0 with BLE for wireless peripherals and IoT sensor connectivity
- USB-C 5V/5A Power Delivery - Requires a 5V/5A (25W) USB-C PD power supply; this is higher than the 3A requirement of Raspberry Pi 4; the official Raspberry Pi 5 power supply is recommended
Specifications
- CPU: Arm Cortex-A76 quad-core, 2.4GHz, 512KB L2 per core, 2MB shared L3
- RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X-4267
- GPU: VideoCore VII, OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
- Display: 2x micro-HDMI, 4Kp60, HDR
- Video Decode: 4Kp60 HEVC
- Camera/Display: 2x 4-lane MIPI CSI/DSI
- Storage: microSD (SDR104 high-speed)
- PCIe: PCIe 2.0 x1 (requires HAT for M.2)
- Ethernet: Gigabit, PoE+ with HAT
- USB: 2x USB 3.0 (5Gbps), 2x USB 2.0
- Wireless: 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0/BLE
- GPIO: 40-pin standard Raspberry Pi header
- RTC: Yes, external battery powered
- Power: USB-C 5V/5A with Power Delivery
- Power Button: On/Off included
- Brand/Distributor: Seeed Studio
- Ships From: United States, Germany
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to buy separately to get started with the Raspberry Pi 5?
The bare board requires: (1) USB-C power supply rated 5V/5A (25W) with Power Delivery - the official Raspberry Pi 5 USB-C power supply is strongly recommended; standard 5V/3A phone chargers are not sufficient and may cause instability; (2) microSD card - minimum 16GB Class 10 or better; 32-64GB recommended for a comfortable OS install; (3) micro-HDMI to HDMI cable or adapter for each monitor you want to connect - the Pi 5 uses micro-HDMI, not full-size HDMI; (4) USB keyboard and mouse for initial setup; (5) case or heatsink - the Pi 5 runs warm under load; an active cooler or case with heatsink is strongly recommended for sustained performance. Optional but useful: M.2 HAT + NVMe SSD for faster storage than microSD, and a PoE+ HAT if you want to power the board over Ethernet.
What is the PCIe 2.0 interface and what can I connect to it?
The PCIe 2.0 x1 interface is exposed via a connector on the board and provides approximately 500MB/s theoretical bandwidth. Its primary use is connecting an M.2 NVMe SSD via a compatible M.2 HAT (such as the official Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ or third-party equivalents). An NVMe SSD connected via PCIe delivers dramatically faster read/write speeds than a microSD card - typically 400-900MB/s sequential read vs 50-100MB/s on a good microSD - making it transformative for applications that do heavy disk I/O such as databases, home servers, and media centers. Other PCIe peripherals (capture cards, PCIe network cards) can also be connected via appropriate adapters, though driver support varies. The M.2 HAT is not included and must be purchased separately.
How does the Raspberry Pi 5 compare to Raspberry Pi 4?
The Pi 5 is a substantial upgrade in every dimension. CPU: Cortex-A76 at 2.4GHz vs Cortex-A72 at 1.8GHz - approximately 2-3x faster in real-world workloads due to both higher clock speed and a much more efficient architecture. GPU: VideoCore VII (Vulkan 1.2, OpenGL ES 3.1) vs VideoCore VI (OpenGL ES 3.1, no Vulkan) - improved graphics and compute. PCIe: Pi 5 adds a PCIe 2.0 x1 interface not present on Pi 4, enabling NVMe SSD storage. Display: both support dual 4K output. RAM: Pi 5 uses faster LPDDR4X vs LPDDR4 on Pi 4. Power: Pi 5 requires 5V/5A vs 5V/3A for Pi 4 - existing Pi 4 power supplies are not recommended for Pi 5. The Pi 5 is backward-compatible with the 40-pin GPIO HAT ecosystem. For performance-sensitive applications, the Pi 5 is a clear upgrade; for simple projects where Pi 4 is adequate, both work.
What operating systems can run on the Raspberry Pi 5?
Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian) is the official OS and the best-supported option for most users - available in Desktop and Lite (headless) editions, based on Debian. Other supported options include Ubuntu Desktop and Server for Pi, Kali Linux, LibreELEC (media center), Home Assistant OS (smart home), and various other ARM64 Linux distributions. The Raspberry Pi Imager tool (free download from raspberrypi.com) is the easiest way to write an OS to a microSD card before first boot. The Pi 5 requires Pi 5-specific OS images - Pi 4 images will not boot on Pi 5. Android is not officially supported. Windows 11 on ARM can run in limited form via community projects but is not officially supported or recommended by Raspberry Pi Ltd.
Can the Raspberry Pi 5 be used as a desktop PC replacement?
For lightweight desktop tasks, yes - the Pi 5 running Raspberry Pi OS Desktop handles web browsing (Chromium), document editing (LibreOffice), email, video playback (4K HEVC hardware-decoded), light coding, and general productivity tasks comfortably. It is not a replacement for a modern x86 PC for demanding tasks such as video editing, 3D rendering, gaming, or running Windows software. For users with modest desktop computing needs - web, documents, media playback, light development - the Pi 5 is a capable and very low-power alternative. Adding an NVMe SSD via M.2 HAT significantly improves responsiveness for desktop use compared to microSD. For server, home automation, edge AI, embedded development, and maker project use cases, the Pi 5 is an excellent choice with strong community and software support.
What is the difference between the US and Germany shipping options?
Both ship the same Raspberry Pi 5 4GB board. Selecting the warehouse closest to your delivery address generally results in faster shipping and lower shipping cost. US warehouse fulfillment is faster for deliveries within the United States and North America. Germany warehouse fulfillment is faster for deliveries within the European Union and nearby European countries, and may also avoid import duties for EU buyers compared to shipping from the US. Select the warehouse that corresponds to your region for the best delivery experience. Both options ship the same product at the same price.
