Читать книгу Raspberry Pi User Guide - Eben Upton - Страница 11

The latest model of Raspberry Pi to launch, the Raspberry Pi 3 (see Figure 1-5) builds on its predecessors with yet another new processor: the Broadcom BCM2837. The first to feature 64-bit, rather than 32-bit, support, the BCM2837 is significantly faster than the BCM2836 found in the Pi 2, which itself was a major upgrade from the BCM2835 of the original and Plus lineups. The Pi 3 is also the first model to get built-in wireless support, featuring a radio capable of connecting to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices.

FIGURE 1-5: The Raspberry Pi 3 board

As with the Raspberry Pi 2, though, little has changed with the layout: you'll find the same 40-pin GPIO header, four USB ports, 10/100 wired network port, and all other ports as with the previous models. The only wrinkle for compatibility is a minor change in the way the board communicates with certain add-on hardware; if you're unsure whether a device is compatible with the Raspberry Pi 3, contact the manufacturer or vendor before buying to ensure that software has been written with the change in mind.

A major advantage of the Raspberry Pi 3, beyond the improved performance and built-in wireless capabilities, is the 64-bit processor. Although little software exists to take advantage of this at present, a move to 64 bit promises to offer increased software compatibility, security, and performance over the 32-bit code the Raspberry Pi family runs today.