Raspberry Pi 500+

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Retro design & naming

  • Many see the 500+ as a deliberate homage to 80s “computer-in-a-keyboard” machines (C64, Amiga 500+, BBC Micro, Spectrum, Atari ST).
  • The “+” is widely read as a nod to Amiga 500+ / Spectrum+, and also to Acorn/BBC “B+” lineage; people note strong Acorn/ARM historical ties.
  • Some want matching retro-themed keycaps and even beige cases; nostalgia is a major part of the appeal.

Keyboard and ergonomics

  • Major enthusiasm for it finally having a “real” mechanical keyboard (Gateron low‑profile clicky switches), considered midrange quality and much better than the 400/500’s chiclet boards.
  • Others dislike clicky switches (too loud) or the right‑edge cluster of keys near Enter/Backspace/Shift, saying it hurts muscle memory.
  • A minority explicitly avoid buying it because they prefer laptop-style chiclet keyboards.
  • Some suggest the keyboard alone would be attractive if sold as a standalone USB device.

Storage, performance, and thermals

  • The built‑in M.2 NVMe slot with a 256 GB SSD is praised as finally fixing the SD‑card bottleneck for desktop workloads.
  • Internally it’s essentially a Pi 5 16 GB: same board as the 500, now fully populated, fanless with a large heatsink.
  • Benchmarks show a big jump over Pi 4 but still clearly behind cheap x86 (N100/N150) boxes; enough for basic desktop use but not heavy web apps or compute.
  • Hardware crypto extensions are noted but not deeply discussed.

Setup experience & I/O

  • One detailed account describes a very poor initial setup due to bad HDMI cables, unclear docs, monitor power quirks, and confusing boot messaging; later traced mostly to faulty accessories.
  • Micro‑HDMI is heavily criticized as fragile, unnecessary on a case this large, and uncommon in people’s cable drawers.
  • Lacking USB‑C DisplayPort Alt Mode is seen as a missed opportunity, especially for AR/“cyberdeck” use.

Use cases and target audience

  • Proposed uses: first computer for kids (plug into family TV), retro hobby machine, silent low‑power desktop, small always‑on server, GPIO/robotics tinkering.
  • Others find the form factor impractical versus a Pi + VESA mount or laptop; absence of built‑in pointing device weakens the “all‑in‑one” story.

Value vs alternatives

  • Repeated comparisons to $150–$200 N100/N150 mini‑PCs and used ThinkPads: more CPU, better video, standard ports, often cheaper including RAM/SSD.
  • Critics call the 500+ a novelty with poor performance‑per‑dollar; defenders value ARM, GPIO, silence, long support promises, and the keyboard‑PC aesthetic.

SD cards, reliability, and software

  • Some ask why Pis “still” use SD; others point out this model boots from NVMe and SD is mainly for imaging.
  • Several report years of trouble‑free SD use with good power supplies and quality cards; others had repeated corruption with cheap media.
  • There is frustration that Pi 5‑family devices still rely on downstream kernels and don’t yet integrate cleanly with mainline Linux, which pushes some toward x86 mini‑PCs.

Raspberry Pi direction and community sentiment

  • A noticeable subset is negative: citing past supply‑chain prioritization of industrial customers, rising prices, flaky hardware decisions (power, cooling, micro‑HDMI), and drift from the original ultra‑cheap‑education ethos.
  • Others remain enthusiastic, seeing the 500+ as a charming, capable, silent Linux desktop and a strong option for schools or learners, even if it’s not the best raw‑value “PC.”