Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W Review: Better performance, same size
Verdict
With the addition of a quad-cadre processor, while maintaining the same layout and size every bit the original, the Raspberry Pi Zero ii W is a great choice for those that need a tiny computer for a DIY projection. Now fast plenty to apply as a limited desktop computer, this new Pi Zero is easier to develop on and can run more complex projects than its predecessor.
Pros
- Same course factor as the original
- Quad-core GPU
- Exceptional value
Availability
- UK RRP: £13.twenty
- United states of america RRP: $xv
Key Features
- Size This entire computer measures 65 ten 30mm – that'due south piffling different to a stick of laptop RAM.
- Ports With one Micro USB port for accessories and a Mini HDMI output for displays, you'll demand adaptors to apply this computer.
Introduction
The Raspberry Pi Nil W was an incredible scrap of kit: a full-on Pi little bigger than a stick of laptop RAM, designed for DIY projects. If anything, the main issue was the lack of power. Today, the Raspberry Pi Zilch two Westward is back to ready that, with a quad-cadre processor boosting performance to the bespeak where you can even utilise this every bit a desktop reckoner.
This new mini computer is compatible with the same cases as the older model, tool, and so it'southward a simple swap-out replacement for any existing Pi Zero Westward computers. For full general-purpose calculating, the Pi 4 is a meliorate option, for where you have a dedicated need for something smaller and more versatile it's hard to argue against the quality and value on display here.
Design and build
- Aforementioned size every bit the original model
- You'll demand adaptors
- GPIO and CSI interfaces only no display interface
Little bigger than a stick of laptop ram (65 x 30mm), the Pi Zero 2 Due west is impressively small. It'due south actually the same size and has the same layout equally the original Pi Zero Due west, and then you can use the newer computer with older cases. If y'all've got older Pi Zilch Ws, you tin just bandy these out for the latest version easily.
Getting a mainboard downwardly to this size does require some compromises, and then you'll run into no full-size ports on this model, so you lot'll need to buy some adaptors: a Mini HDMI to HDMI for hooking upwards a display and Micro USB to USB to connect whatsoever peripherals. At that place's besides a secondary Micro USB port, which is for power. If you want composite video, then in that location'due south a solder point to add together this adequacy.
While this figurer has the total GPIO header, information technology'due south unpopulated. This saves space, merely it does make playing around with new projects a little harder, as you have to solder cables into identify when y'all're done. I retrieve that general development is amend on a Pi 4, with the Pi Cipher 2 W the final destination for those projects that need a smaller computer.
This model every bit the CSI-2 camera connector just, like its predecessor, at that place'south no support for the Raspberry Pi brandish.
At the rear of the board is the microSD card slot, which acts as both storage and the kicking bulldoze for the operating arrangement (I ran Raspbian on this figurer).
Wireless is congenital into the board (that's the 'Due west' function of the name). The older 802.11n standard is used, and then don't expect the fastest of throughputs; however, for the kind of projects that this board is designed for, the Wi-Fi is fast plenty and means that you tin install the reckoner practically anywhere without worrying well-nigh how you'll become it an net connexion.
Performance
- Quad-core processor
- Struggles a little with websites
- Much easier to work on
With its single-core Broadcom BCM2835, the Pi Zero W felt very irksome to use, and struggled to run the desktop surroundings. This both express how easy the Zero W was to develop on, and the scale of the projects that it could run.
With the Pi Goose egg W 2, Raspberry Pi has installed a quad-core Cortex-A53, the same as in the older Pi 3. Here, the CPU runs at 1GHz, compared to i.4GHz on the Pi 3. All the same, the upgrade is massively noticeable. It's also a 64-bit processor, compared to the 32-bit model in the original Pi Naught Due west.
Boot to the Raspbian desktop, and you can use the total GUI without fear of the computer grinding to a halt. It turns the Pi Zero 2 W from a device that is useful at the finish of a project, into a reckoner that y'all can use to develop your project on.
You lot can fifty-fifty run a spider web browser and use the cyberspace, although some websites can prove to exist slow to load thanks to the full general clutter that tends to come with them. Having only 512MB of RAM is part of the trouble, and this limitation can exist seen when using particularly demanding websites, such as YouTube. Even though the Pi Zero ii W is technically capable of 1080p playback, YouTube was practically impossible to employ reliably.
To see what the divergence was betwixt the former and new models, I ran the Sysbench CPU criterion, set to run for 60 seconds, and with the maximum prime number set to 10,000. Outset, running unmarried-core, the older Pi Cipher Westward managed a total of 1955 events, compared to the 2871 events of the Pi Zero two West.
With the quad-core CPU, the Pi Zero 2 W can go fifty-fifty faster. Upping the number of threads used by Sysbench to four, the Zero 2 Due west managed a full of 10850 events.
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Should you purchase information technology?
If you're later a tiny calculator for a custom projector, this is the model to buy: it's cheap merely much more than powerful than the original.
If you're afterward a estimator to experiment with and try different projects, the larger and fifty-fifty more powerful Pi 4 makes more than sense.
Final Thoughts
While the Pi iv is a improve overall computer for those that want to experiment and endeavour dissimilar projects, it's far larger and more than expensive than the Pi Null 2 W. What y'all become here is a tiny reckoner with a lot more power than its predecessor. That makes it a great choice where you desire a low-power computer that doesn't take upwards much space to run a specific project, such equally a smart thermostat or video doorbell.
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FAQs
What's the divergence between the Pi Goose egg 2 W and Pi Null W?
The principal difference is that the new model has a quad-core processor, making it far faster and able to handle more complicated jobs.
How do I use the USB port with the Pi Zero 2 West?
As it'southward a Micro USB port, yous need an adaptor to turn it into a regular USB port.
How exercise I connect the Pi Zilch 2 West to a display?
In that location's a Mini HDMI port, which needs an adaptor so that you can connect the computer to a monitor or Television receiver.
Total specs
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Convertible?
Impact Screen
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Jargon buster
HDMI
HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface and is to transmit video/audio signals from a source to a receiver.
Source: https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/raspberry-pi-zero-2-w
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