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Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 4GB $93.90 + Delivery ($6+ Standard/ $10+ Express) @ Core Electronics

1320

Back in stock again @Core. Grab it while it lasts!

Key features

• 1.5GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 CPU
• VideoCore VI graphics
• Hardware 4kp@60Hz HEVC decoding
• True Gigabit Ethernet
• 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE
• 2 × USB 3.0 and 2 × USB 2.0 ports
• 2 × Micro-HDMI ports (1 × 4kp@60Hz or 2 × 4kp@30Hz)
• USB-C for input power, supporting 5.1V 3A operation
• 3 LPDDR4 RAM options available: 1GB, 2GB, 4GB (this listing) and 8GB
• Supports the SDXC standard, allowing you to use microSD cards up to 2TB

Related Stores

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closed Comments

  • -5

    And jaycar too 🙅🏼‍♂️

      • Yes, they are still expensive because of the previous lack of supply. Hopefully prices will go down in next few months as the backlog gets fulfilled and supply stabilizes.

        • Eben Upton says they have not increased prices. They did not "float the price" with increased demand.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_aL9V0JsQQ

          • +1

            @ColonialBoy: Raspberry Pi Foundation did not. Resellers did.
            They saw the opportunity and took it with all they could. MSRP in AUD is around $50-$100 for the 4B model, depending on RAM size. Last year, it was nearly impossible to find stock and those resellers who got it available didn't go under $100, reasonable 4GB variant was sometime seen for $200 and the 8GB variant even more.

            • @Vecernik87: Authorised Resellers/Partners weren't allowed to increase prices. Remember the Australian dollar has weakened over the last few years.

    • +2

      Core is one of the official resellers in Australia. Jaycar is not. Probably why Jaycar charges a lot more.

  • +4

    USB-C for input power, supporting 5.1V 3A operation

    Thats my ONLY issue with these, as my 'go-to' SBC; this much power demands a lot of current, and the second you pass 2.4A you're not able to use common and cheap USB chargers anymore.

    AMAZING board though; but do factor in the $15+ for a 'PSU'.

    • +3

      I've used a $4 brick that supports 5v/3a for over a year no issues.

      • +1

        can you share the link to this brick? thanks

      • Are you able to give a link to this charger, or if it's not a no name are you able to give the brand name of this charger? Thanks.

        • +2

          It was an amazon deal from a while back, most of the usb c bricks will do 5v 3a. Just check specs.

          Cheapest single I can see on amazon right now. https://www.amazon.com.au/WEKSA-Premium-Charger-Adapter-comp…

          • +1

            @vodamerc: Can you post the link from your order history please?
            Even if it's not on sale now, it's often not to hard to discern an OEM from their marketing.

            Having a known stable 3A power supply for ANYWHERE under $10 would be great.

            You're right, there are others that CLAIM 3A but that ripple is usually bad enough to introduce instability in Pi's; so a known tested one like you have is priceless :)

          • @vodamerc: Nice price, and good reviews 4.7 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and no 1 star reviews complaining of sparks or smoke coming from the charger.
            A spare USB port to power another device in your Pi project.

        • tbf there are a LOT of phones that provide 3a chargers as stock

          in fact i had to pull one aside as i have a device that only needs 2a

        • Remember guys and gals that the official supply voltage for the RPi is 5.1V, so USB supplies are not really sufficient as they are only 5.0V. The official RPi PS is 5.1V.

          I used to use a USB power supply also but used to get a lot of under voltage warning until I bought the official 5.1 supply!!

    • just use a USB C PD phone charger. Easy Stuff usb micro. No issues at all.

      I do supply a separate USB micro for the official screen through.

  • +3

    What are people generally using these for if there is such a demand making stock availability scarce? I've got an unused Pi 3 and I'm missing a use case haha

    • +9

      I'm running Home Assistant on one.

      • Wondering if you have this setup on home assistant with a touch screen to control lights/AC etc. ?

        • Not yet! I've been thinking about installing a screen somewhere. Just don't know what screen, or how.

        • +3

          Old phone/tablet + Wallpanel should get you by. Plus a smart switch to avoid battery bulge issues.

      • How do you find it any issues? Is it difficult/time consuming to setup?

        • I find HA really good. It can be confusing to work out automations but there's heaps of videos out there. The most complex automation I've made is to turn on my front lights for five minutes when I get home between 10pm and 6am.

          • @stuffandthat: Lol that gets me excited. How long did it take to do that automation?

            • @Jklaro: It took me about an hour to set it up and make sure it works as I needed.

              • @stuffandthat: Ow wow 1 hour is quite long. I would have thought its max 30mins.

                • @Jklaro: Could probably do it quicker. And now that I know a bit more it would be quicker again.

        • It's great, and can be simple for simple things.
          I use an old small form factor PC that you see often for sale here around $100

          slowly switching 'stuff' over to zigbee and automating it!

          • @bleugh: Isnt a pi better for home assistant?

    • +6

      Home Assistant
      Octopi/Klipper (3d Printer)
      PiHole
      RetroGamer

      Bute yeah. I still have 2/3 in a drawer at the moment.

      • Can you run everything on the same sd card?
        I've got a dedicated music streamer with volumio loaded on, so haven't touched it for anything else.

        I think I can still utilise the network address for the attached SSD. Wouldn't mind retro gaming server but the roms take up a lot of space so haven't bothered (my 2tb SSD doesn't require additional power).

        Already got google home devices for the basic HA. The hub 2 is almost useless as it's annoying faults but be nice if the rpi screen was half as good, and had some of the smarts with the light sensor etc.

    • +2
    • +7

      Plex server. They can transcode 1080p no worries and direct play 4K content too (I have an Apple TV to play most of my content). Mine also runs HomeKit for my non-apple friendly smart home devices and has two 12TB hard drives with automatic backup from the primary to the secondary using Open Media Vault. And it acts as a Time Machine backup for all our Macs. Love my Pi!

      • I use mine for Kodi but also have an Apple TV. Did you have to pay for plex or a plex app for tvOS? Been hearing some good things about Jellyfin as well.

        • I snagged a lifetime Plex pass subscription for $79 over a decade ago. Not sure if they still sell a lifetime but it’s paid itself off many times over. I think Plex pass might unlock some hardware decoding features and means the iOS and Apple TV apps are free.

    • +4

      It just happened to be the "go-to" single board computer due to its well-supported community and ecosystem. They're the OG affordable single board computer so earlybird effect, mate. Usually products with such level of support are mass-produced, but RPis are still only manufactured in the UK in a considerably small production scale. Low volume = scarcity, you get the idea.

      However the vast majority of use cases can benefit from way cheaper solutions or even really different solutions - cheap "pi"s are plenty and often more powerful or more efficient, or both. And you can always go with old PC hardware (like the popular USFF PCs on OzB) as home server, which is more powerful and sometimes even easier to maintain than Pis.

      I usually use my stock RPis to validate a use case, then move the project to a more sustainable platform (cheaper Pis or something else) instead. In short terms Pis may still be the "OG" of SBCs but I'm worried that the Pi foundation may lose its market because of the scarcity. That's very annoying and it seems they're trying nothing to make a dent.

      • Depends on the workload, power consumption and where it's stored.

        The RPIs are far smaller, handle most home workloads, and use far less power than a typical repurposed desktop or thin device. Lack of availability and the high prices has certainly drove the alternatives.

        • When it comes to efficiency I really meant other single board computers, not old PCs. As I said people just default to Pis because of its support and popularity, but there are plenty replacements that is comparable, just need some searching and validation.

          Actually I bought a few Wyse 3040s as an entry-level replacement of Pis where only computing is needed. Their efficiency is almost matching Pis under normal load, and that's x86, with eMMC and nice enclosure and better connectivity, half of the price.

        • Under full load the Pi 4 can use up to 6w, a typical J4105 system would use 12w but provides much more expandability (SATA ports, M.2, PCIe, RAM, etc.), is more powerful and can run x86_64 software. You could run Proxmox and virtualise a PiHole and a router software for example.

          Love me some used thin clients

      • You might have been lucky with the other SBC you have used or the use case, but I bought one of the Orange Pi and it has never had great Linux support, particularly for the GPU. Android is a different issue as the SOC is basically from a tablet.

    • +1 for pihole and home assistant, plus a VPN.

    • +2

      Mine runs Kodi and RetroPi, since they do HDMI-CEC It's nice to have a true PC I can control with my TV remote.

      • Is it possible to run Youtube without ads on Kodi?

        • +1

          Yes it is. I watch YouTube on my KODI setup all the time. The only issue is I can only watch in 720p. I've haven't found the settings to reliably run it at 1080p or greater without skipping and stuttering.
          I've even got Sponsorblock running, so Youtube skips in video sponsorships as well.

        • Absolutely.
          Just like watching youtube on a PC using VLC player :) no ads.

          • @MasterScythe: YouTube premium no ads on google tv either..
            May as well use that or a smart tv, and or plug a PC in.

            • @G-rig: I believe premium costs money.

              or plug a PC in.

              Thats what we're talking about; Raspberry Pi as a media PC.

              • @MasterScythe: If you know you know, about 2$ a month if you have a VPN. I pay bit more for family but it's easily worth it .

                Guess so I've not tested it, would be a bit limited and not a lot of power for transcoding (if necessary) but I like the idea of low power vs plugging in a PC. Probably wouldn't be as nice without a proper remote and eArc etc.

                • @G-rig: I wouldn't pay for it, because it offers me nothing that I want, or don't already have.

                  The Raspberry Pi supports HDMI-CEC so the TV remote works fine to control it.
                  eArc is a TV feature, so that's unaffected and still works.
                  You shouldn't need to transcode on it, it can play most files up to and including 4k natively.

                  • @MasterScythe: Sounds like an alright solution then if Kodi etc can run all the apps you want. No doubt the free live channels work on Kodi, irlTV uses it as the engine for google live channels.

                    To be honest the GTV with HDMI into my q950a soundbar and arc to tv works great, Dolby Atmos and all. Handy having one remote for everything.

    • +1

      I have two:
      - one is running my 3d printer (octopi)
      - the other WAS running Home Assistant but I've since moved Home Assistant over to my Synology NAS on a docker. I'm going to reuse this one on my second 3d printer I'm building atm and going to run klipper on it.

    • +2

      Bought mine to control my telescope and camera with Stellarmate OS for EAA about 18 months ago, unfortunately Stellarmate turned out to be a bit of a dud bit of software for this, didn't work with my gear properly and absolutely sucked all the fun out of it. Hardware was good though, stuck it in a passively cooled case and had it happily running off a USB battery pack along with the telescope mount, so I was fully portable and wireless. I've variously used the pi to do other useful things since like giving my home network seamless internet access from my phone's hotspot while the NBN was out of action during a house move. It's running Home Assistant now and I'm slowly growing a Zigbee device network, the hardware's been rock solid.

      The Pi's perfect for this as it's small and I can have it plugged in with a short ethernet cable to my router which is in an exposed place, the alternative would be running HA on a laptop out in the open, or hidden with a long exposed ethernet cable which would both not help the spousal approval factor.

    • +2

      I have four pis - one for pihole, one running dakboard on a monitor, another earmarked for klipper for my 3d printer, and one loaded with retropie and kodi as a small media streamer/retro gaming for trips away.

    • I think people use them as a Bitcoin node too.

    • Lots of industrial automation: https://www.raspberrypi.com/for-industry/

    • +1

      People have turned to alternatives.

      Most promising is the Orange Pi 5, now with 3 variants. 8 cores, M.2 slot, runs Raspbian, even runs Windows 11 though not too well yet. Its a desktop replacement.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79lquFD3oT4

    • PVR

      • What software and situation are using it for doing that?

        • +1

          LibreElec. Record the telly. Sometimes I beam TV to my laptop.

    • I have several:
      - WireGuard VPN and PiHole box.
      - Controlling my telescope imaging rig (using Indi/Ekos).
      - TV/media (Kodi, MythTV).
      - Home Assistant.
      - RetroPie.

      • Wouldn't mind one for retropie, take it that's for retro games? It seems I can't load up different things on the same sd card but could load on a different SD (but hard to access with the stock screen).

        Then again keen to test out retroarch using a lan address for the roms (HDD plugged into the pi or router), and use the app on tv or Google TV.

    • Have 2 x luftdaten air quality sensors for inside and outside. Historical data logged to an instance of InfluxDB and charted using Chronograf dashboard. Trigger IFTTT events when concentration of air particulates is high.
      I have recently added a TFA CO2 sensor for checking indoor CO2 levels. This tells me when to ventilate the house. The Pi allows me to log the history of those readings.
      I also run an internet speed check and log the history of that.

      • Hiya. How do you find the CO2 detector?

        • It is relatively new to me. The reviews of the TFA Dostmann are generally good. The readings seem credible, unlike a really cheap thing I got on ebay. However, the stated accuracy range is quite large, so it is not laboratory quality.
          It is on sale at Amazon for $113. I found a python script on github that can poll the data.

          • @temperature: It does look like one of the better ones in that price range.
            I'm a bit too tight to pay that much though :)
            Core have an eCo2 for 30 bucks but I'd prefer the real deal.
            Might try to track down some more reviews.
            Cheers.

            • @RecklessMonkeys: If you are happy to put in the build time you could get MH-Z19B sensor from Aliexpress, possibly with ESP8266 board.

    • Digital displays, like you see everywhere. I'm sure most people aren't using these but I like them, interrupt power and they boot straight back into the display.

    • +1

      I run the following workloads on 2 RPis:

      PiHole (with gravity sync configured)
      Homebridge (in a LXD container) - I have lights, smart plugs, A/C, TV, PS4, AP SSID and switch ports enable/disable, radio through HomePod mini all controlled.
      Ansible (in a LXD container)
      Postfix (in a LXD container)
      MQTT (in a LXD container)

      I had a third which ran the below, but moved it over to a dedicated Tiny PC recently:
      Plex
      Docker with:
      wg-easy
      homepage
      changedetection.io
      npm
      healthchecks

    • Kodi front end on a tv with hdmi cec. Backend is qnap nas

    • Good, clean fun. For nerds.

    • Currently just Pihole and UniFi but Raspberry Pis are getting too expensive. You can probably get an ex-lease PC for the same price with much better specs. I guess the advantage of a Raspberry Pi over those is the power use though.

      • Depends if it's one pi that you need for your deployment or multiple. If it is multiple then old PC is probably better.

    • Pi-Hole

    • I use about 2x RasPi's for PiKVM on my homelab servers.

  • +2

    the news said there will be more Pis avaiable

  • whats the latest on projects with these?
    $100 goes a long way these days

    • +7

      You could buy a bag of Doritos with that. Only when they're on sale though…

      • +2

        wow more inflation bashing.
        Theres entire desktops for $100 and decent tablets for that price
        retro gaming handhelds

        • +2

          Desktops consume considerably more power than a rpi/opi.
          I can't leave a tablet plugged in without creating a spicy pillow.
          Retro gaming handhelds are not versatile, I can't run a vpn/ha/pihole from it.
          They all have uses but sometimes you can't easily replace a pi or pi adjacent device for your projects. I need to be able to run some proccesses 24/7.

          Edit: I definitely wouldn't use a pi for everything though, it has drawbacks too. I wouldn't use one for a robust media server for example but my house sensors and pihole I want running all the time at low power draw.

    • +2

      It's always the same thing mate: Home Assistant, RetroPie, Plex Server, Octopi etc. Hobby projects and home automation/services. Anything that requires an energy efficient low-power computer is a good fit for Raspberry Pi.

  • +1

    Saw an interview from someone at RPi saying supplies were back to normal, and availability should be routine from next quarter.

    • +1

      RPi 5 coming?

      • No, not until they can maintain supplies of the RPi 4.

    • heard that before

    • No, he said production is back to normal. There is still going to be supply problems as many people have been delaying projects and there will likely be some stock piling.

      • +1

        I understand where you are coming from, but the CEO is talking about a big ramp up ¯_(ツ)_/¯
        "Upton told Geerling that "we are where we said we'd be in December," with a "lousy first quarter" of 750,000-800,000 units produced due to shifting production for the Christmas period. But now real progress on backlog-filling and availability is being made. Upton expects to move 2 million Pis in the second quarter, then "unconstrained" third and fourth quarters of 2023."

        • Yes, but that is supply side. It is really going to depend on what happens on the demand side as to the actual availability for hobbists.

  • +1

    Darn - just bought one for $130..

    It’s worth remembering all the things you’ll want/need for it too. Power adapter, micro HDMI adapter, case and SD card. $130 + accessories isn’t a small sum of money

    • +2

      Yes, for many applications a second hand small i5 PC will be a better option as it will be able to do more in the one box.

  • +1

    would this be better as a home server than this? https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/770435

    • +1

      For straight playback, it’ll do the job. But transcoding isn’t going to really happen well on a Pi

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