One of the best Raspberry Pi tasks anybody can do for each mannequin

Abstract

Raspberry Pi fashions differ in energy and functionality, with the Pi 5 being essentially the most highly effective.
Every mannequin is suited to completely different tasks, similar to a Pi 4 for Dwelling Assistant servers and a Pi 3 for network-wide advert blockers.
The Pi Zero fashions are small and inexpensive, very best for tasks like digital picture frames or sensible house controllers.

The Raspberry Pi is a single-board laptop that is vastly standard amongst tinkerers because of its comparatively low value and spectacular versatility. They can be utilized to create all the pieces from

retro game consoles to VPN servers
.

For the reason that first Raspberry Pi was launched in 2012, there have been a number of new fashions launched. Not solely has the usual Raspberry Pi mannequin been

continually upgraded with more powerful processors
, extra on-board connectivity and extra RAM, however new fashions of Raspberry Pi have been launched, too.

With so many

Raspberry Pi models
to select from, it may be onerous to know which is the most effective match on your challenge. Listed below are among the greatest makes use of for every mannequin of Raspberry Pi.

Associated

8 reasons why a Raspberry Pi is perfect for tinkerers

A budget single-board laptop is an ideal device for hobbyists.

Raspberry Pi 5

Probably the most highly effective Pi can be essentially the most versatile

The Raspberry Pi 5 is essentially the most highly effective mannequin thus far, with a 2.4GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A76 processor, VideoCore VII GPU, and assist for as much as 16GB of RAM. This makes it essentially the most succesful mannequin out there, and completely suited to tasks that require extra grunt.

If you wish to use your Pi as a retro gaming console, the Raspberry Pi 5 provides you with the most effective expertise.

The Raspberry Pi 5 is highly effective sufficient to make use of as a conveyable desktop, with twin 4K monitor and PCIe assist. It additionally makes a strong house lab, able to working a number of services such as Plex for streaming films and TV reveals, Nextcloud for native cloud storage, or Bitwarden for a neighborhood password supervisor. If you wish to use your Pi as a retro gaming console, the Raspberry Pi 5 provides you with the most effective expertise, though it is going to nonetheless wrestle to emulate extra fashionable consoles.

Raspberry Pi 4

A strong workhorse that may deal with most belongings you throw at it

Raspberry Pi / Pocket-lint

The Raspberry Pi 4 is not as highly effective because the Pi 5. It has a 1.8GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A72 processor and may assist as much as 8GB of RAM. Whereas it may’t deal with all the pieces that the Pi 5 can, there’s nonetheless lots it may do.

The Raspberry Pi 4 makes a really strong Home Assistant server for most traditional setups, though chances are you’ll wish to add an exterior SSD as microSD playing cards can fail in case you write to them too steadily. A Raspberry Pi 4 may also be used to run a Minecraft server or different light-weight gaming server. You may also use a Pi 4 as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) on your safety cameras.

Raspberry Pi 3

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth opens a world of prospects

Raspberry Pi / Pocket-lint

The Raspberry Pi 3 was the primary Raspberry Pi mannequin to come back with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which means you did not want separate adapters to attach your Pi wirelessly to the web or to Bluetooth units. It makes it far more versatile than earlier Raspberry Pi fashions.

The Pi 3 can be ok to run Dwelling Assistant in case you’re not utilizing too many add-ons.

A Raspberry Pi 3 is not as highly effective because the Pi 4 or Pi 5, however it’s nonetheless a very good possibility for a network-wide advert blocker, utilizing software program similar to Pi-hole. The on-board Wi-Fi additionally makes it a very good possibility for a print server, which lets you flip your USB printer right into a Wi-Fi printer you’ll be able to entry from wherever. The Pi 3 can be ok to run Dwelling Assistant in case you’re not utilizing too many add-ons; I ran Dwelling Assistant on my Raspberry Pi 3 for a number of years earlier than upgrading.

Associated

This is the Kobo you should buy if you want the ultimate reading and writing experience

The Kobo Libra Color has all the pieces you want from an e-reader: Colour E Ink, bodily buttons, and stylus assist.

Raspberry Pi 1 and a pair of

They could be outdated, however they’re nonetheless helpful for a lot of tasks

Raspberry Pi

The older Raspberry Pi fashions lack on-board Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which restricts what you should utilize them for out of the field. When you’ve got a Pi 1 or 2 already, you should purchase Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters, however you could be higher off shopping for a newer Raspberry Pi as a substitute. Nonetheless, even with out Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, there’s nonetheless lots you should utilize them for.

You may add sensors to your Raspberry Pi to show it into a sensible house sensor hub, which you’ll be able to entry through Ethernet. You need to use it as a file server for sharing small recordsdata over your native community. You may also hook up a digicam module to your Pi and switch it right into a devoted timelapse digicam for capturing sunsets or transferring clouds.

Raspberry Pi 5 being held in front of a screen with Raspberry Pi OS on

Associated

5 practical Raspberry Pi projects that improve my life in subtle ways

There are such a lot of methods you should utilize the favored single-board laptop.

Raspberry Pi 400 and 500

A Raspberry Pi constructed right into a compact keyboard

Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi 400 and 500 are basically compact keyboards with the Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 constructed into them. Simply join a monitor and a mouse, and you’ve got a completely working PC.

The Raspberry Pi 400 and 500 have been designed to be very best instructional instruments for college students, and so they’re a good way for youths to find out about computing and coding, due to their low value and portability. That is not their solely use, nevertheless; you should utilize a Raspberry Pi 400 or 500 as a conveyable headless note-taking machine, as a devoted gaming machine for retro video games that predominantly use keyboard controls, or as a conveyable phrase processor and browser.

Raspberry Pi Zero fashions

With this Raspberry PI, you’ll be able to go from Zero to hero

Raspberry Pi / Pocket-lint

The Raspberry Pi Zero fashions, together with the Raspberry Pi Zero, Raspberry Pi Zero W, and Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, are a lot smaller units at very low costs. The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, for instance, is essentially the most succesful Pi Zero mannequin, and prices simply $15. The small type issue additionally makes them very best for tasks the place a normal Raspberry Pi is simply too huge.

For instance, you’ll be able to construct a Raspberry Pi Zero right into a digital picture body, or create a trendy climate dashboard with an E Ink show, or construct one right into a mirror body with a show to create a magic mirror. You possibly can additionally hook up some buttons to a Pi Zero and create your personal sensible house controller.

Mario Kart World's Cow killing it on a motorcycle

Associated

I played Mario Kart World, and was shocked by this one feature

Mario Kart is lastly again, and this time the long-running collection goes open world.

Raspberry Pi Pico fashions

These microcontrollers may Pico your curiosity

Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico W are slightly completely different from the remainder of the Raspberry Pi fashions. As a substitute of being single-board computer systems, these are microcontrollers which are designed to carry out particular operations, slightly than general-purpose working programs.

Raspberry Pi Pico fashions can be utilized for a variety of tasks. For instance, you should utilize them to run motors, to manage LED gentle strips or matrix shows, to create a battery-powered sensible button, or a solar-powered climate sensor. For those who want one thing tiny, quick, and low-powered, then a Raspberry Pi Pico could be a nice alternative.

Raspberry Pi Compute Modules

These mini Pis do not should be solely for industrial use

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi Compute Modules are successfully the brains of a normal Raspberry Pi, with none of the built-in ports similar to USB, Ethernet, and HDMI. It’s primarily designed to be built-in into business and industrial merchandise. Nonetheless, they do have some makes use of for common shoppers, too.

A method {that a} Raspberry Pi Compute Module could be helpful is as a element to energy different {hardware}. For instance, if you wish to arrange a Dwelling Assistant server, you should purchase a equipment referred to as Home Assistant Yellow, which incorporates all of the {hardware} on your house hub, similar to Gigabit Ethernet and a Zigbee module, however with none brains. All it’s worthwhile to do is add a Raspberry Pi Compute Module to the Dwelling Assistant Yellow, and you’ve got a succesful Dwelling Assistant house hub.

When you’ve got strong electronics expertise, you’ll be able to construct a Raspberry Pi Compute Module into your personal {hardware} to create spectacular tasks similar to constructing your personal NAS, making a handheld recreation console, or making your personal pill.