The Raspberry Pi is a popular single board computer with many different uses from Internet of Things (IoT) to learning about computer science and many other uses in between. Since the original release in 2012, the Raspberry Pi has had many updates over the years with the latest being the Raspberry Pi 4 which features a quad-core 1.5Ghz 64-bit CPU, and RAM memory options of 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB. The RPi 4 also features a USB-C power port to provide more power for downstream peripherals, and 2x micro HDMI ports capable of powering dual 4K displays!

Raspberry Pi 4 Purchase Options

Previous Raspberry Pi versions of the single board computer were available in a single configuration board. The Raspberry Pi 4 has three configuration options to choose from when purchasing; each with all the same great features and different choices of RAM availability.

Here are the different options available with the choices of RAM onboard:

Raspberry Pi 4 w/ 2 GB RAM
Raspberry Pi 4 w/ 4 GB RAM
Raspberry Pi 4 w/ 8 GB RAM

The Raspberry Pi 4 is available for purchase on Amazon a few other places.

Raspberry Pi 4 Available in 2, 4, and 8 GB Options 1 — Raspberry Pi 4 Board Layout – Source: RaspberryPi.org

Lots of Possible Uses

The Raspberry Pi 4 is a very capable mini, single board computer capable of being used for many different tasks, including:

building custom IoT devices
small desktop computer perfect for learning
running Raspbian Linux, Ubuntu Linux, or even Windows IoT Core operating systems
build a Pi-hole to block Ads or other websites / apps on your local network
run your own server for many different purposes
play retro games using RetroPie

Raspberry Pi 4 Available in 2, 4, and 8 GB Options 2 — Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop Setup – Source: RaspberryPi.org

Integrated Features

With the ability to use for so many different types of projects, the Raspberry Pi 4 has tons of great features built directly on the single board computer:

2x micro HDMI port (supporting dual 4K @60p displays)
USB 2 and USB 3 ports
Gigabit Ethernet
Wifi 802.11ac (supporting 2.4 Ghz and 5.0 Ghz bands)
Standard Raspberry Pi 40-pin GPIO
4-pole stereo audio and composite video port
Micro-SD card slot (for operating system and data storage)
USB-C power supply

About the Author

Chris Pietschmann

Chris Pietschmann is a Microsoft MVP, HashiCorp Ambassador, and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) with 20+ years of experience designing and building Cloud & Enterprise systems. He has worked with companies of all sizes from startups to large enterprises. He has a passion for technology and sharing what he learns with others to help enable them to learn faster and be more productive.