Learn, Implement and Share

Raspberry Pi 4 B vs Raspberry Pi 3 B+

Comparison and Benchmark

Introduction

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ was released in March 2018 as a replacement of previous generation Raspberry Pi 3 Model B which was released on 2016.

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B is the latest product in the popular Raspberry Pi range of computers. Raspberry Pi 4 was released in June 2019. It offers ground-breaking increases in processor speed, multimedia performance, memory, and connectivity compared to the prior-generation Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ while retaining backwards compatibility and similar power consumption. For the end-user, Raspberry Pi 4 Model B provides desktop performance comparable to entry-level x86 PC systems.

In this comparison, we will be comparing the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ with the highest spec model of Raspberry Pi 4 B.

PlatformCPUGPUMemoryStorageMRP
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+4x ARM Cortex A53 @ 1.4 GHzBroadcom VideoCore IV @ 250 MHz1GB LPDDR2Micro SD$35.00
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B4x ARM Cortex A72 @ 1.5GHzBroadcom VideoCore VI @ 500 MHz2GB / 4GB / 8GB LPDDR4Micro SD$35.00
(2GB RAM)

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ vs Raspberry Pi 4 B Specifications

FeaturesRaspberry Pi 4 BRaspberry Pi 3 B+
CPUBroadcom BCM2711, quad-core Cortex-A72 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHzBroadcom BCM2837B0, quad-core Cortex-A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.4GHz
GPUBroadcom VideoCore VI @ 500 MHzBroadcom VideoCore IV @ 250 MHz
FPUVFPv4 + NEONVFPv4 + NEON
Memory 2GB, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM
Storage MicroSD cardMicroSD card
MultimediaOpenGL ES 3.0 GraphicsOpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0 Graphics
EncoderH.264 (1080p30)H.264 (1080p30)
DecoderH.265 (4Kp60) | H.264 (1080p60)H.264, MPEG-4 (1080p30)
Camera 1× MIPI CSI Connector1× MIPI CSI Connector
Display 2× micro-HDMI 2.0 (4kp60) | 1× MIPI DSI | Analog via 3.5 mm CTIA style TRRS jack1x HDMI 1.3 | 1x MIPI DSI | Analog via 3.5 mm CTIA style TRRS jack
Wireless2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz 802.11ac | Bluetooth 5.0 BLE2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz 802.11ac | Bluetooth 4.2 BLE
Ethernet 10/100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet10/100/1000 Mbit/s Ethernet (Max Practical 300 Mbit/s)
USB2x USB 3.0 A | 2x USB 2.0 A4 × USB 2.0 A
CAN NANA
Misc IO UART, SPI, I2C, GPIOUART, SPI, I2C, GPIO
AudioAnalog 3.5 mm jack | Digital via HDMIAnalog 3.5 mm jack | Digital via HDMI
Thermals 0°C – 50°C0°C – 50°C
Power5V / 3A5V / 2.5A
Power InputUSB C | PoE | GPIOMicro USB | PoE | GPIO
FeaturesRaspberry Pi 4 BRaspberry Pi 3 B+

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Product Offer

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ 1GB can be purchased from official channels at a price of 35$ or ₹2,800.

In the box of Raspberry Pi 3 B+
  • 87x59mm Board weighs 50 grams
  • Getting Started Paper Guide
  • No SD-Card, No Power Supply

Picture Credit: Adafruit

What You Will Need Extra for Raspberry Pi 3 B+
  • Power Supply
    • 5V⎓2.5A Micro-USB adapter
  • MicroSD card ( 16GB UHS-1 Minumum )
  • A Full HD 1080p or Above Monitor with HDMI Input
  • HDMI Cable
  • A Computer to Flash the SD Card

Raspberry Pi 4 B Product Offer

Raspberry Pi 4 B can be purchased from official channels at a price of $35 or ₹3,200 for 2GB model, $55 or ₹4,800 for the 4GB model and $75 or ₹6,800 for 8GB model.

In the box of Raspberry Pi 4 B
  • 85x56mm Board weighs 52 grams
  • Getting Started Paper Guide
  • No SD-Card, No Power Supply

Picture Credit: Adafruit

What You Will Need Extra for Raspberry Pi 4 B
  • Power Supply
    • 5V⎓3A USB C adapter
  • MicroSD card ( 16GB UHS-1 Minumum )
  • A Full HD 1080p or Above Monitor with HDMI Input
  • A Computer to Flash the SD Card
  • Micro HDMI to HDMI Cable

Price Comparison Raspberry Pi 3 B+ vs Raspberry Pi 4 B

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ 1GB 35$

Raspberry Pi 4 B 2GB 35$

Raspberry Pi 4 B 4GB 55$

Raspberry Pi 4 B 8GB 75$

Port Comparison

Raspberry Pi 3 B+Raspberry Pi 4 B
MicroSD Card SlotMicroSD Card Slot
40-pin GPIO Expansion Header40-pin GPIO Expansion Header
Micro USB BUSB C
Gigabit Ethernet PortGigabit Ethernet Port
4x USB 2.0 A2x USB 3.0 A | 2x USB 2.0 A
HDMI2x Micro HDMI
1x MIPI CSI1x MIPI CSI
1x MIPI DSI1x MIPI DSI
Analog Audio and Video via TRRS jackAnalog Audio and Video via TRRS jack

GPIO Header Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and Raspberry Pi 4 B

GPIOFUNCPINPINFUNCGPIO
+3.3 V12+5 V
2SDA1 (I²C)34+5 V
3SCL1 (I²C)56GND
4GCLK78TXD0 (UART)14
GND910RXD0 (UART)15
17GEN01112GEN118
27GEN21314GND
22GEN31516GEN423
+3.3 V1718GEN524
10MOSI (SPI)1920GND
9MISO (SPI)2122GEN625
11SCLK (SPI)2324CE0_N (SPI)8
GND2526CE1_N (SPI)7
0ID_SD (I²C)2728ID_SC (I²C)1
5N/A2930GND
6N/A313212
13N/A3334GND
19N/A3536N/A16
26N/A3738Digital IN20
GND3940Digital OUT21
GPIOFUNCPINPINFUNCGPIO

Raspberry Pi 4 B Pinout
Raspberry Pi 4 B Pinout

Raspberry Pi 3 B+ 1GB Vs Raspberry Pi 4 B 8GB Benchmark

Phoronix Test Suite :

So I started with some of the standard tests of Phoronix Test Suite. You can also run the same test by executing the below commands.

sudo apt-get install -y php-cli php-xml

# Download PTS  https://www.phoronix-test-suite.com/ and  Install

phoronix-test-suite benchmark 1809111-RA-ARMLINUX005

# Accept for Dependency Installation and Wait a few hours, Test Result is available at : 

~/.phoronix-test-suite/test-results/
TestRaspberry Pi 4 B 8GBRaspberry Pi 3 B+ 1GBNotes
Tinymembenc
Standard Memcpy
2526.8 MB/s1288 MB/sMB/s > Higher Is Better
TTSIOD 3D Renderer
Phong Rendering With Soft-Shadow Mapping
32.3075 FPS16.82 FPSFPS > Higher Is Better
7-Zip Compression
Compress Speed Test
3701 MIPS1796 MIPSMIPS > Higher Is Better
C-Ray
Total Time – 4K, 16 Rays Per Pixel
609.431 Seconds2074.0 SecondsSeconds < Lower Is Better
Primesieve
1e12 Prime Number Generation
519.238 Seconds1113 SecondsSeconds < Lower Is Better
AOBench
Size: 2048 x 2048
125.643 Seconds290 SecondsSeconds < Lower Is Better
FLAC Audio Encoding
WAV To FLAC
85.805 Seconds336.07 SecondsSeconds < Lower Is Better
LAME MP3 Encoding
WAV To MP3
124.952 Seconds301.98 SecondsSeconds < Lower Is Better
Perl
Pod2html
0.58082059 Seconds1.11833973 SecondsSeconds < Lower Is Better
Redis
GET
491168.39 Requests Per Second240761 Requests Per SecondRequests Per Second > Higher Is Better
PyBench
Total For Average Test Times
5673 Milliseconds20923 MillisecondsMilliseconds < Lower Is Better
TestRaspberry Pi 4 B 8GBRaspberry Pi 3 B+ 1GBNotes

Which is Better Raspberry Pi 3 B+ or Raspberry Pi 4 B

Raspberry Pi 4 B is the clear winner and a better value for money with more performance at the same cost.

Categories: BenchmarkRaspberry Pi

Crazy Engineer

MAKER - ENGINEER - YOUTUBER

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.