“The Raspberry Pi 4 is a major enhancement over the previous model - much faster CPU, more & faster RAM, faster SD drive, faster USB, faster Ethernet - so I bought the 4GB version as soon as stock of it and the new Flirc case were available - and I have to say that its performance doesn't disappoint.
One thing that frustrated me with previous Pis was that YouTube video playback in Chromium was rubbish (particularly annoying given that there were other SBCs at a similar price that could handle full-screen 1080p playback in a browser quite well) - but the Pi 4 changes that! The video playback isn't perfect (yet) - a 1080p video will exhibit quite a lot of tearing if there's more than a certain amount of rapid movement in the video (particularly in full screen mode) and there are still a few dropped frames (although far fewer than with previous models) - but it's good enough that you can watch it without feeling the need to switch to a "proper" PC in frustration. Also, it's early days for the software, and I feel confident that improvements will soon offer almost flawless full screen 1080p playback in Chromium.
There are a couple of cons - the main ones for me being that the Pi 4 generates a more heat than earlier models and it demands a new set of accessories:
- A new case is required because the number and layout of ports has changed (I bought the new Flirc Pi 4 case which also does a great job at cooling the Pi)
- There are now dual display ports so I had to buy a new (official) Micro HDMI cable (I'm not sure how robust these small ports will be, but only time will tell)
- The power input is now USB C so I bought a new (Official) USB C power supply (you might get away with using an existing 3A USB power supply but some USB C cables won't power the Pi 4, so I decided not to take the chance).
That said, the improvements far outweigh the cons and in my view, and the Raspberry Pi 4 fully deserves five stars - I highly recommend it.”
“Works very well, and is completely stable. However, I put a HUGE heatsink on it, (150mm x 60mm x 50mm) and coupled that to the processor with a solid piece of aluminium 30mm square by 15.3mm thick. All metal interfaces use Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste. Topped off by two 60mm fans that shift 19.5cfm each, the Pi runs at 2-3C above ambient! (Currently at 27C chip temp). Many folks are reporting high temps, and I appreciate I have gone for heatsink/fan overkill...”
“This is great - and fast too! I put it in a case with a fan and it's running fine, ie no heat issues. It's now my everyday computer and I can unplug it and take it wherever there's a monitor or TV with a HDMI socket. Very pleased with it!”
