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Having seen an official part/order number (SC14012 or SC14014 with 16GB micro SD Noobs software) including what looks to be a real photographic image in a recent (2016/02/27 "Computer World" March 2016 issue) weekly mail-out from CPC the Retail Consumer arm of Farnell, who are one of the Official UK retailer of Raspberry Pis I am asking what differences there actually are between it and the 2B?

Side by side photo of upper board surface of Pi 3 and Pi 2Side by side photo of lower board surface of Pi 3 and Pi 2

From the information I am able to glean from that image and the accompanying text:

  • The processor is a 1.2 GHz Arm7 BroadComm BCM2837 (c.f. 900MHz BCM2986 for the 2B and the BCM2835 {at either 700 MHz, 900 MHz or 1 GHz} for every other model before) It is a 64-bit core whereas previous RPis have a 32-bit core.

  • Wifi and Bluetooth LE is provided by a BroadComm BCM43438 device (not previously reported BCM43143) that has been placed on the bottom of the PWB (between low-number pins end of GPIO connector and SDCard slot) with an on-board antenna on the top - there may be pads in position for an external connection but if fitting such a thing was to be attempted some other components (SMD links/capacitors) would have to be added/removed - there is not any official support for this and it could possibly mess with the regulatory approval of FCC et al. This omission may become an issue for those wanting to enclose the unit in a metal or metallised box!

  • Improved power management - "...allowing it to power more demanding USB peripherals."

  • The "Act" and "Pwr" LEDs have been moved to the other side of the DSI connector compared to the 2B and the two pin "run/reset" header seems to have moved from adjacent to the DSI connector to the other side of the 40 Pin GPIO connector between that and the outermost Pair of Stacked USB connectors. This is to provide the real-estate on the board for the antenna for the Wifi/Bluetooth.

  • I failed to spot that J5 is the JTAG header used to flash the GPU core and is identical to the RPi 2!

So: I would expect different (better) Power Supply requirements and different/extra drivers for the WiFi (but they may already be on hand for previous users of the Official RPi WiFi adapter)!

What else differences are users aware of in practice?

SlySven
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  • Can you add the picture? – Patrick Cook Feb 27 '16 at 19:48
  • No - UK Copyright would probably prevent it as I'd have to scan it in. – SlySven Feb 27 '16 at 19:56
  • Lots of info on the FCC site, photos at https://fccid.io/document.php?id=2912426 – joan Feb 27 '16 at 20:06
  • General information at https://fccid.io/2ABCB-RPI32 – joan Feb 27 '16 at 20:08
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    Why would you not put the answer part in an answer, you know, Q&A style ;) ...and why would they come forth with a new Pi when they cannot supply the Zero in sufficient quantities? – Ghanima Feb 27 '16 at 21:25
  • Possibly the answer to the second is because it is getting near to the end of February... – SlySven Feb 28 '16 at 01:19
  • @SlySven I think MagPi is free to use. RasPi foundation even has a PDF version of a previous issue: https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi-issues/MagPi31.pdf – Aloha Feb 29 '16 at 15:17
  • My source was a CPC publication. Now they have a YouTube video up. – SlySven Feb 29 '16 at 15:19
  • Thanks for the images @john - interesting to note that the Ethernet/Wifi/Bluetooth IC there is still a SMSC branded product (who were acquired by Microchip) and who make the LAN9512 & 4 devices used on the older RPis WITHOUT WiFi and Bluetooth on-board. I have to say the image must then be a mock-up...! 8-P – SlySven Mar 01 '16 at 04:05
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    I don't agree with your statement of the BCM43143 for Wifi. the Pi site states wifi and BT is done seperately by the 'BCM43438 wireless “combo” chip' – EDP Mar 01 '16 at 06:29
  • +1 for EDP's comment. Your edit regarding the wifi chip is wrong. I think you might have misread this statement from Eben Upton: 'James Adams spent the second half of 2015 designing a series of prototypes, incorporating BCM2837 alongside the BCM43438 wireless “combo” chip. He was able to fit the wireless functionality into very nearly the same form-factor...', by which he meant the same board shape and size as previous models. Not that the BCM43438 is the same form factor as the BCM2837. – goobering Mar 02 '16 at 16:57
  • Where did you find these images? – Milliways Mar 12 '16 at 04:55
  • Er, misspelt the name but the images came from @joan (not @john) AFAICT! 8-) – SlySven Mar 14 '16 at 12:49
  • You said that the processor is Arm7. First, I think you mean ARMv7, ARM7 is a relatively old core that implemented mostly ARMv4. Second, I'm pretty sure the new broadcom's core is a ARMv8, seeing as it's a 64 bit and the ARMv7 is 32 bit. – user1274866 Mar 02 '16 at 15:25
  • All valid points which would make for a fine comment underneath the original question. Unfortunately none of them answer the question, so they don't belong here. – goobering Mar 02 '16 at 17:45
  • It was leaked info from CPC/farnell which reffered to it as a "64 bit arm7" (which is something that doesn't exist) not an invention of the OP. – Peter Green Mar 08 '16 at 23:05

3 Answers3

3

This posting shows the March cover of The MagPi which claims that the Pi-3 is 64 bit.

I sure hope that it has USB-3

enter image description here

HeatfanJohn
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  • i wouldn't count on that... – Ghanima Feb 28 '16 at 08:04
  • Ermagherd the future is now! Anyways, do we have any indication of USB 3.0 support? From BCM2837's datasheet maybe? I haven't checked it yet. "I sure hope that it has USB-3"~HeatfanJohn – Aloha Feb 28 '16 at 11:37
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    Odroid xu4 has usb3 – user1133275 Feb 28 '16 at 16:09
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    The USB functionality seems to be provided by the BCM43143 which seems to be a 4-port USB Hub with Ethernet and 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth Low Energy provisions. Somehow I do not think we will be getting USB3 support from it (none of the connectors seem to be blue!) Despite this Broadcom device having been used in the Official Raspberry Pi WiFi adapter (+HUB?) previously it has proven impossible to me to actually find a datasheet for the Device - which sadly seems to be Broadcom's policy of withholding the details that would be useful in FOSS circles... – SlySven Feb 28 '16 at 23:21
  • Deleted one of my erroneous comments! Note that the prior one is also wrong about the BCM chip. – SlySven Mar 09 '16 at 01:55
2

Comparing the 3B to the original 2B, the following differences are encountered:

A boardcom bluetooth/wifi chip has been added connected to the SoC over SDIO (for the wifi) and serial (for the bluetooth).

The LEDs and run header have been moved to make space for the wifi/bluetooth circuit (on the bottom) and it's antenna (on the top).

The SoC has been replaced with a new model that sigificantly increases the clockspeed and replaces the A7 cores with A53 cores. Initially only 32-bit kernels were available but later 64-bit ones also became available.

Some time after the 3B was released a new revision of the 2B was released that had the newer SoC from the 3B.

Peter Green
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1

Farnell kindly provided a brief pdf.

Edited version of Farnell's information sheet for the RPi3B

SlySven
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Stu
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  • The PDF is empty. – Aloha Feb 28 '16 at 11:33
  • It wasn't when I click it, here's what it said. Technical Specification: Broadcom BCM2837 64bit ARMv7 Quad Core SBC at 1.2GHz 1GB RAM BCM43143 WiFi Bluetooth (BLE) on board 40pin GPIO 4 x USB2 ports 4 pole Stereo output and Composite Full size HDMI CSI camera port for Pi camera DSI display port for connecting the Raspberry Pi touch screen display Micro SD port for loading your operating system and storing data Upgraded switched Micro USB power source (now supports up to 2.4 Amps) Expected to have the same form factor has the Pi 2 Model B, however the LEDs will change position – Stu Feb 28 '16 at 11:35
  • http://snag.gy/OrJyY.jpg and http://snag.gy/bCrQU.jpg – Aloha Feb 28 '16 at 11:42
  • http://snag.gy/v3LWF.jpg – Stu Feb 28 '16 at 11:46
  • Yep, that last "snag" thing seems to work! - I like the improved 2.4A USB Power handling - though how many USB PSUs will actually put out that much whilst maintaing > 4.75V without some "negotiation" via the USB data lines on the micro connector - which I bet are still about as much use as nipples on men in regard to the RPi and them... – SlySven Feb 28 '16 at 21:36
  • Interestingly the Ethernet/Wifi/Bluetooth IC in that image has a SMSC brand mark on it (the same as the LAN9512 / 14) that are used on the other RPis NOT a Broadcom device...! – SlySven Feb 29 '16 at 07:00
  • Good decision to post the actual pic. Anyways, I think I won't drool yet. They should have a USB 3.0 edition. I'd pay the extra price. Maybe I should just get a Minnowboard. Looking for a Xeon/i7 minnowboard alternative right now. Any suggestions? Mini-ITX? – Aloha Feb 29 '16 at 15:13
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    @SlySven, the chip is on the bottom near the microsd slot – John La Rooy Feb 29 '16 at 23:29
  • The rectangle in the top-right corner of the photo of the bottoms of both? Are you sure about that - I feel that is going to be the improved power supply circuitry. – SlySven Mar 01 '16 at 04:11
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    @SlySven, top-right in the picture of the bottom of the PI3 only. It's looks light grey in the photo – John La Rooy Mar 01 '16 at 05:48
  • I've downvoted this answer because, unfortunately, the datasheet supplied by Farnell includes the wrong chip model for the Pi 3's wifi/bluetooth module. The part listed above is the BCM43143, while the Pi 3 uses the BCM43438. – goobering Mar 02 '16 at 16:43
  • A down-vote seems a little hash given that the error is Farnell (Element 14) who are an Official supplier and the OP may not have had the knowledge of the error. I will edit the image and add a note - perhaps you will reconsider your vote. – SlySven Mar 09 '16 at 01:35