Meet the most affordable Raspberry Pi 5 ever: What’s new and why it’s so cheap

It’s been nearly a year since the release of the Raspberry Pi 5<!–>, available in two options – a version with 4GB of RAM for $60 and one with 8GB of RAM for $80.

Also: Don’t buy a Raspberry Pi 5 without also buying this amazing accessory

But does everyone need 4GB of RAM? The engineers over at Raspberry Pi don’t think so. They have released a version with 2GB of RAM–> (the same 32-bit LPDDR4X SDRAM subsystem, running at 4267MT/s found in the other Pi 5 units) available for $50. 

Below are the specs. Changes from 4/8GB versions are highlighted in bold.

Raspberry Pi 5 2GB tech specs

• BCM2712D0 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, D0 “cost-optimized” stepping
• 2GB LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM
• VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
• Dual 4Kp60 HDMI display output
• 4Kp60 HEVC decoder
• LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM (4GB and 8GB available)
• Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
• High-speed microSD card interface with SDR104 mode support
• 2 × USB 3.0 ports, supporting simultaneous 5Gbps operation
• 2 × USB 2.0 ports
• Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ support (requires separate PoE+ HAT, coming soon)
• 2 × 4-lane MIPI camera/display transceivers
• PCIe 2.0 x1 interface for fast peripherals
• Raspberry Pi standard 40-pin GPIO header
• Real-time clock
• Power button 

Along with reducing the amount of RAM, the 2GB Pi 5 is the first to use a “cost-optimized” D0 stepping of the BCM2712 processor. While this may sound concerning, it isn’t. Previous versions of the BCM2712 processor contained all the necessary functionality and logic to run a Raspberry Pi 5, as well as features intended for other applications. Although these features are disabled in the chips used in the Pi 5, turning them into “dark silicon,” they still occupy space on the chip die.

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That space on the die translates to money. Not much, but it all adds up.

Removing this unnecessary logic, combined with the reduced 2GB of RAM, reduces the price by $10.

Also: The Raspberry Pi 5 cracks passwords twice as fast as my Pi 4, but there’s one issue

When it comes to accessories, the 2GB Pi 5 is the same as its earlier, more memory-capable siblings, and everything from coolers to cases to HATs should work as expected.

So, how much RAM will you need for your Raspberry Pi 5?

My testing with the 4GB and 8GB versions suggests that the system doesn’t require much RAM for general use, such as booting up, launching web browsers, and handling basic tasks. However, similar to PCs, more demanding applications – like having dozens of tabs open, running 4K video, or operating dual 4Kp60 displays – will begin to strain the RAM.

Also: The tiniest Raspberry Pi – the $5 Pico 2 – gets a big performance boost

Therefore, choose wisely – based not only on your current Pi 5 needs but also on what you might want to do with it in the future, whether that be weeks, months, or years down the line.