GoKawiil
Tech News
Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton announced the 16GB Raspberry Pi 5 now costs $385, an $80 increase, while the 16GB Compute Module 5 rises by $40. The 16GB Raspberry Pi 500+ desktop, already priced at $485, will not see a price hike this round. Upton attributed the increases to rising memory component costs, noting other computer makers have faced similar pressures.
Raspberry Pi has confirmed its firmware locks boards to their factory RAM configuration, preventing users from swapping in replacement memory chips even to fix failed components. The restriction surfaced after a user couldn't get a Compute Module 5 to recognize a new 4GB chip, with company engineer PhilE explaining the firmware checks additional memory attributes beyond just capacity. Raspberry Pi says the policy exists to stop resellers from installing unauthorized higher-capacity chips and passing modified boards off as factory models.
YouTuber EastMakes repurposed a 15-year-old HP ProLiant N40L micro-server by designing a custom motherboard around a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5. Starting from the open-source Raspberry Pi I/O board schematics, he reshaped the PCB to fit the server's original chassis, added an NVMe slot, USB 3.0 ports, and Ethernet, while trimming down to a single HDMI output.