Raspberry Pi is manufacturing 70K Raspberry Pi 5s per week

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Raspberry Pi 5 production is ramping up to 70,000–90,000 units per week, but buyers still report spotty availability and practical hurdles like the board’s unusual 5V/5A power requirements. Commenters contrast the Pi’s relatively modest hardware with more powerful ARM and x86 mini PCs, yet argue its strong software support, long-term OS updates, GPIO access, and broad community make it the default choice for many hobbyist, education, and light server uses. Others note concerns around heat, power delivery, and nonstandard connectors, and some are switching to refurbished x86 systems or competing SBCs where performance and standardization matter more than ecosystem.

Availability and Production

  • Some commenters still find Pi 5s hard to buy, though availability is improving.
  • Lower-RAM variants (2GB/4GB) are reported as harder to source than 8GB in some regions.
  • A locator site is recommended to track stock.
  • There is skepticism that Raspberry Pi can actually meet demand, given years of past shortages.

Hardware vs Alternatives (ARM SBCs and x86 Mini-PCs)

  • Several posts argue Orange Pi and other Rockchip-based boards offer better specs or features (e.g., NVMe, NPU) at similar or slightly higher prices.
  • Counterpoint: those boards often have poor long-term support and quickly-abandoned images.
  • Many suggest low-end x86 mini‑PCs (NUC, N100/N95 systems, cheap AMD mini‑PCs, refurb small form factor desktops, old laptops) as better choices for home servers, desktops, or media boxes: faster, more RAM/SSD, simpler software stack.
  • Others stress that Pi is smaller, has GPIO and camera/display headers, and fills a different niche than “mini desktop PC.”

Software, Drivers, and Ecosystem

  • A recurring theme: Pi hardware may be modest, but its software support, tooling, and community are far ahead of most ARM SBC competitors.
  • Non‑Pi SBCs are often criticized for broken HDMI, flaky Wi‑Fi, binary-only or version-locked kernels, and abandoned boards.
  • Raspberry Pi OS is praised for still supporting very old boards, and Pi-specific tooling (e.g., imaging tools, turnkey OS images for 3D printing, media, Home Assistant).

Power Supply and USB‑PD Issues

  • Pi 5’s 5V/5A requirement is widely criticized as non‑standard and hard to satisfy, especially in some countries.
  • Many USB‑PD chargers max out at 5V/3A; Pi 5 prefers 5V only and doesn’t use higher-voltage PD modes.
  • Official 27W supply and a few third‑party bricks exist, but most existing chargers and many PD ICs won’t deliver 5V/5A.
  • Workarounds mentioned: powering via GPIO with a separate 5V supply, or using high‑current adapters; users report reboots under load with inadequate chargers.

Thermals and Power Use

  • Some are disappointed by Pi 4 idle temperatures and power usage; they ask if Pi 5 is better but no clear consensus emerges.
  • For full Pi 5 performance, active cooling is generally considered necessary, though official fan/heatsink kits are seen as cheap and effective.

Use Cases and Positioning

  • Pi is framed as a “jack of all trades”: not best performance or lowest power in every dimension, but uniquely combining Linux, USB3, Ethernet, Wi‑Fi/BT, HDMI/CEC, GPIO, camera, and strong ecosystem at a low price.
  • GPIO-heavy and embedded/robotics/kiosk/sensor applications are cited where Pi remains preferable; for pure compute or server workloads, many would now default to x86 mini‑PCs.