The four processor cores of the Raspberry Pi 2, which are also clocked at 900 MHz, seem almost lavish. On a purely scalable scale, this promises a fifth computing performance compared to its predecessor – Raspberry Pi B – with only one core and 700 MHz. The Raspberry Pi Foundation spoke in February at the presentation of the new model – Raspberry Pi 2 (short: RPi 2) – even from the sixfold computing power. If some efficiency increases when ARMv6 is switched to ARMv7, this may be true.
Self-tested
To test for yourself how well the Raspberry Pi 2 beats, we once compiled the GNU binutils. Identical SD cards were used, and the number of make jobs always corresponded to the number of processor cores. Here the Raspberry Pi 2 with 6:48 to 45:10 minutes could deliver the promised sixfold performance quite accurately (the rough counter sample on the author's four-core Xeon required 32 seconds, a Banana Pi 9:35 minutes - here, however, under Ubuntu 14.10 With a slightly more up-to-date compiler.)
And yet no update
The figures are impressive, but the performance is even more impressive as a desktop system: Eben Upton, CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, said at the presentation that the statement "A prima desktop computer for 35 dollars" the restriction "for 35 Dollar ". In fact, the Raspberry Pi 2 feels about as fast as a two-core notebook in the one-and-a-half-gigahertz range of eight years ago, much faster than the first Intel Atom generation from autumn 2008. The nettops of this era can therefore be a good conscience Against a Raspberry Pi 2. This also attracts less than two watts with a loaded desktop and should remain under five watts even under load.
The software question
Some things do not change however: The in the previous model built Broadcom 2835 was actually designed for mobile phone HDMI sticks, set-top boxes and the like. For these devices, the data to be played is either available via WLAN or is played by the internal eMMC (embedded MMC).
Raspberry Pi 2: What about Windows?
With the Minicomputer, however, a lot of different IO possibilities are required: Videos are located on an external disk, maybe a recording via a USB-connected DVB-T stick, and possibly another computer in the network accesses such a recording. That should not be a problem?
Unfortunately, this is the case: With the Raspberry Pi 2, the Ethernet interface is connected to the only internal USB hub and therefore has to share data rates with DVBT stick, WLAN interfaces and external hard disks. This approach is also supported by the updated chipset BCM 2836 - server with massive competing input output can improve the competition.
Another great advantage of the ARMv7 architecture is that there are already packages for ARMv7 available for this platform from the major distributions Debian, Ubuntu, Redhat / Fedora and openSUSE.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is still a pragmatic way: Official images are designed for both platforms, ARMv6 and v7. As a rule, only the core is booted in a version optimized for the processor. The binary files of programs and libraries remain on the (upwards compatible) stand ARMv6. An estimated 5 to 20 percent performance loss depending on the application are accepted. Users willing to experiment can access a first image created from a combination of official package sources and the Raspbian kernel.
Suddenly, Microsoft is also on board. Microsoft has recognized that it can not leave the internet of things (Internet of Things, IoT) without fighting Linux. For example, the company announced Windows 10 support for Raspberry Pi 2. This should not be a normal Windows with Desktop, but the IoT version, stripped down of the command line and the programming interface.
After all, thanks to a better memory and display interface, Microsoft should also have the urge to provide a rudimentary graphical shell to simplify the programming of interfaces for touch screens, etc.
The mentioned USB bottle neck of the Raspberry Pi 2 makes alternatives attractive. They are available with Cubieboard, Banana Pi and Orange Pi. All three of them wait with SATA interface and Gigabit Ethernet. In particular, Banana Pi has achieved a considerable community here.
However, if you are thinking about the alternative single-board computers, you should be aware that the hooks are in the more complex software to configure: none of the alternatives has comparatively strong supporters like the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
The compilation of the Linux images takes small project teams in their leisure time - these usually place less emphasis on high comfort and therefore sometimes require the user to translate a driver himself. Anyone who can look back on a few years of Linux experience with Banana Pi and Co. is much better than server-based alternatives.
Go to Raspberry Pi 2 or Alternatives?
If you want to start a Mediacenter with OpenELEC, want to start initial experiments with the Family OwnCloud, a simple learning computer for the children, or for whom the single-board computer is the Linux entry, the new Raspberry Pi is the best compromise between price and performance And comfort.
Here you will find the Franzis Raspberry Pi Learning Pack for Kids.
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