The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced the launch of its latest Raspberry Pi 4 mini-computer, intended especially for commercial and industrial uses. The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 is, technically, very similar to the Raspberry Pi 4 launched in June 2019, but it has a format that makes it suitable for industrial applications.
The Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module is primarily intended for companies and others who may want to build a Raspberry Pi computer into their own stuff and do not need all the ports found on the Raspberry Pi 4.
The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 features the Broadcom BCM2711 processor, a 64-bit quad-core chip (four Cortex-A72 1.5 GHz cores) that also appears on the Raspberry Pi 4. It comes with up to 8GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Another feature inherited from the Raspberry Pi 4 is the 500 MHz VideoCore VI GPU, capable of working with H.265 (HEVC) standards for decoding video at up to 4K and 60 fps or H.264 (AVC) for 1080p and 60 fps. Still, in terms of video, the board has two HDMI interfaces that support resolutions up to 4K.
The Compute Module 4 offers a ton of options. Users can choose to compute modules with or without wireless technologies (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth), with 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of RAM, or with optional 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB of eMMC flash storage. There’s also a model without any eMMC flash storage in case you want to use external eMMC or the SD card interface.
The result is Raspberry Pi 4 Compute Module is available in 32 different variants, which vary depending on its connectivity capacity, flash storage, and RAM memory, among others. The prices range from $25 (for the 1GB RAM, Lite, no wireless variant) to $90 (for the 8GB RAM, 32GB Flash, wireless variant).
For those who need the convenience of multiple ports, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced the Compute Module IO Board, a larger card that accommodates Compute Module 4 and brings features like two full-size HDMI ports, Gigabit Ethernet connection, two USB 2.0 ports, and connectors for camera and display. The Compute Module IO Board alone costs $35, so a complete package including a Compute Module starts from $60.
