Can a Raspberry Pi 4 be used as a Desktop PC - Full test and review

Hey All! In this video I take a look to see if the Rasperry Pi 4 can be used as a daily desktop PC.

Shout-out to:

Commands/Links:

Temperature monitor: watch vcgencmd measure_temp
Activity monitor: htop

Available in USA here:

Available in Canada here:

Description:
Full desktop computer kit - just connect to HDMI display(s)
Specification

Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop kit is supplied with:

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, 4GB
Raspberry Pi Keyboard & Mouse
2 × micro HDMI to Standard HDMI (A/M) 1m Cables
Raspberry Pi 15.3W USB-C Power Supply
Raspberry Pi 4 Case
Official Raspberry Pi Beginner's Guide (English language)
16GB NOOBS with Raspbian microSD card

DISCLAIMER: This description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

#RPi4 #RaspberryPi #RPi #Tech #Raspbian #Computers #DesktopPC #Linux

[MrSujano]

Commands/Links:

Temperature monitor: watch vcgencmd measure_temp
Activity monitor: htop

[jordanhelzer]

There's a certain irony to watching this on my current main computer, a Pi 4.

[metalwellington]

funnny how everyone's definiion of desktop PC is a browser that can play YouTube.

[leewoy]

I'm using a 4gb version I added a passive cooler and overclocked to 2ghz after upgrading the firmware and youtube works fine on chromium. totally usable as a desktop replacement

[nateedm]

I'm just about to buy a pi4. This video addressed many of my concerns. Great content. Thanks

[Luca-hkix]

This is the video I was looking for! Great job, it really shows everyday usage scenarios, with useful info like the temperatures.

[vinnyc]

Thousands of videos showing how to set up the Pi but this is the first to show it in action. Well done.

[douglasdunn]

Just purchased a Pi4, and appreciate your testing it out for us. Thanks so much!

[nathankent]

Chromium comes installed with h264ify, This creates less CPU load whilst on YouTube

[kjrchannel]

I think the performance model should be the "A" footprint and the budget tinker the "B". If the Pi foundation doesn't evolve then the Odroid N2 or H2 will take a bigger piece of the pie as time goes on. It has come to the point when it is mandatory to at least have some passive cooling on the 4 because it will clock down real easy. The same goes for the 3B+.

[unorbisrath]

Thanks for sharing your tests. Isn't Chromium the only browser on the pi that supports the graphics/video acceleration? i think the graphic stack on the Pi is still not open source - I think vlc just recently got around to it, so maybe some tests with video players might get you better performance. However, I think a used thinkpad in the same price range as pi + sd-card + power supply should still outperform the pi by magnitudes.

[kazzTrismus]

2020 outdated, lots of fixes, massive improvements etc
basically pi 4 4gb is totally fixed by updates

[LuisOmiBarbosa]

Great RPi 4 review! It helped me very much to eval for my project before purchasing. Keep it up, regards!

[WHNorthcote]

Take the URL and open VLC player and copy the link into there. It will play in full 1080 without stutter.

[goto-srnx]

Why use Firefox instead of the built in browser that's most likely been optimised for the launch?

[garyshumway]

With MS effectively ending support for Win7 in 2020 my wife has 'volunteered' to try a RPi 4 with 4 GB RAM as her daily driver. She primarily uses YT, email, and MS Office apps. If necessary, I have her desktop (Acer something) still readily available for use by pushing a couple of buttons (one monitor, keyboard, & mouse used by both computers.) I haven't tried PIP or split screen yet but I'd bet that's possible though currently only one video output is viewable at a time. I have the printer function of an HP all-in-one working for both. She uses Libre Office on the RPi. Interestingly she has only used the Acer once in the past few weeks and that was just to retrieve a spreadsheet which she then used on and printed via the RPi. Unless the sw one uses is not available via Raspbian (or other OS RPi supports) then, so far, the $100 (all in) RPi 4 as a daily driver for the 'casual user' works admirably (serious gamers, video editors, et. al. look elsewhere). Definitely use a heat sink on and a miniature fan above the CPU (fan obtains power from the GPIO). As a desk jockey, in order to experiment with Linux and RPi further, I plan to include a RPi 4 in the case of my next AMD desktop build.

[digeretech]

Please don't use background music throughout the entire video. Very distracting :-( Otherwise, great video!

[Yurgin]

Great video as usual. I use my Pi with Lakka and libreelec and had no problems with it. There is a aluminum case with double fans you should try out costs under 20 bucks and cools really good

[chokesalot]

Great Videos. I am new to the Rasp Pi hardware and software and these videos have been so much help. Great job

[lokemansson]

With cooling you can overclock it and when you have done that it runs good. 👍