My Pi 3 B is not cutting it since upgrading to Pi OS, its painfully slow.

So what would be the best value Pi for browsing and simple coding for hobby sensors running Pi OS from a desktop?

Is a Pi 4 with max memory better than a Pi 5 at a similar price point? Or is Pi 4 now nearing end of life? :?:

I'd go for a RPi5, even if you don't use its full resources right now, you likely will in the future, & whilst you can surf the internet with only 2GB ram, I'd get at least 4GB to browse online.

I used to have RPi3/3B but gave them to a Coding Club, as they were not much use as a desktop replacement any more, which is my main use of RPi.

I still have RPi4B & 400, but am finding them rather slow nowadays, hence my move to RPi5, (8GB model), & I have also now upgraded from USB SSD to an NVME drive, this creates quite a reasonable desktop system.

rpi5 4gb+

any modern browser needs at least 4gb ram to be decent browsing
even if you were just coding, you want the extra power

i bought the 8G pi5.
more memory is always better (if you can afford it). Prob never will need it, but it's nice to have!

The only people that don't make mistakes are people that don't do anything.

My Pi 3 B is not cutting it since upgrading to Pi OS, its painfully slow.

As others have stated, it is more likely that the requirements of your programs has increased as opposed to anything to do with the PI3 or OS. To that end, look at the resource requirements for those programs especially for those you want to have concurrently opened. That will start you down looking at the specs you need for a new PI.

To answer the question "Need a New Raspberry Pi - Which One?" is easy. You buy the latest model with most RAM that you can afford. Simple. Programs will always expand to meet the amount of installed RAM, that's the first rule of programming. It costs a lot to optimise any program. It's usually a lower cost to add more RAM.

OldPCGuy wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 14, 2025 4:26 pm

My Pi 3 B is not cutting it since upgrading to Pi OS, it's painfully slow.

So what would be the best value Pi for browsing and simple coding for hobby sensors running Pi OS from a desktop?

Is a Pi 4 with max memory better than a Pi 5 at a similar price point? Or is Pi 4 now nearing end of life? :?:

We keep making (almost) all the old Pis, and will probably continue to do so until no-one wants them. Pi 4 EOL is NET 2034.

In answer to your question, do you use the GPIO? If not then a Pi 500 might be worth a look. (It still has the connector but harder to get to). Look at the specifications of the Pi5 and Pi 500, and see which suits.

Software guy, working in the applications team.

jamesh wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 15, 2025 9:39 am

We keep making (almost) all the old Pis, and will probably continue to do so until no-one wants them. Pi 4 EOL is NET 2034.

Interesting!

I see a lot of Pi 5 kits with heat sinks or fan and heat sink, almost like it is recommended. I don't notice that for the Pi 4. I don't feel I need the processing power of a Pi 5, just more memory than my Pi 3 for the Pi desktop and browser to run reasonably smooth. Is my thinking wrong?

I'm just writing and debugging code and devices on the Pi 4/5 to be deployed headless down the road on some Pi Zero W or maybe some Nano's.

rpi5 is so much faster then rpi4
you also get the option to use ssd

i don't usually recommend the rpi500 because most people like to use there own favorite keyboard there already use to for coding

basically any will do the job, rpi4 just does it slower
it's just a matter of how much you want to spend, the connections you want, etc....

OldPCGuy wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 15, 2025 4:10 pm

I don't feel I need the processing power of a Pi 5, just more memory than my Pi 3 for the Pi desktop and browser to run reasonably smooth. Is my thinking wrong?

More memory is almost certainly the key, but faster processing puts you ahead of the curve, and you can probably go an extra generation of Pi before upgrading again. You will notice the extra speed, both at startup and if you are using a compiler.

The Pi5 does not need a fan in most circumstances, but it is helpful when it is pushed hard or in a high ambient temperature.

I agree with Dougie:

DougieLawson wrote: You buy the latest model with most RAM that you can afford. Simple.

Location: 345th cell on the right of the 210th row of L2 cache

I can also confirm that in normal use, a RPi5 doesn't need a fan, but if you are going to make it really work, then the RPi case has a built in fan that should keep it cool enough; I run my RPi5 with an NVME without a fan in a bigger/higher case quite happily.

OldPCGuy wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 15, 2025 4:10 pm

jamesh wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 15, 2025 9:39 am

We keep making (almost) all the old Pis, and will probably continue to do so until no-one wants them. Pi 4 EOL is NET 2034.

Interesting!

I see a lot of Pi 5 kits with heat sinks or fan and heat sink, almost like it is recommended. I don't notice that for the Pi 4. I don't feel I need the processing power of a Pi 5, just more memory than my Pi 3 for the Pi desktop and browser to run reasonably smooth. Is my thinking wrong?

I'm just writing and debugging code and devices on the Pi 4/5 to be deployed headless down the road on some Pi Zero W or maybe some Nano's.

Get the Pi 5, it's 5ドル/10ドル more for a lot more performance. 4GB would be fine for usual browsing, 8gb will give headroom for future software.

Software guy, working in the applications team.

best value Pi for browsing

Browsing could be Chrome with 200 tabs open. :shock:

The current fashion for Web sites is to use Javascript for everything. Apart from the unreliability, it means you need a heap of processing power in the client. Big sites get to replace their servers with your desktop processing. The extra processing power of the Pi 5 will support the outbreak of Javascript way longer than a Pi 4.

In our area, a Pi 5 with 4 GB is slightly cheaper than a Pi 4 with 8 GB. I would choose the 4 GB Pi 5.

The Pi 5 also accesses a microSD card at 104 MBps instead of 50 MBps. Buy the fastest A2 microSD card to experience the extra benefit of the Pi 5. Later, you can expand to NVMe storage for performance so fast, things finish before they start. :D

peterlite wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 15, 2025 11:22 pm

The Pi 5 also accesses a microSD card at 104 MBps instead of 50 MBps. Buy the fastest A2 microSD card to experience the extra benefit of the Pi 5. Later, you can expand to NVMe storage for performance so fast, things finish before they start. :D

Specifically, to make sure your SD card fully adheres to A2 spec, get the Pi-branded one. They come in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and now--if you can find it--256GB.

And, if you want more or more reliable mass storage, with a Pi5 you can get the M.2 HAT+ and an RPL-branded NVMe SSD up to 1TB.

Thank-you all ! :D

What did you choose? Some feedback would be good when you have your choice running. :idea:

Well, the best Raspberry models right now are
1. Raspberry Pi 5
2. Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
Raspberry Pi 5 because it is the newest and fastest model. You can run 4k screens, and it has new features like PCIe for the fastest storage. Best for big projects or desktop-style use.
Whereas Raspberry Pi 4 Model B works well for normal projects, uses less power, and is very stable or well supported.
If you want speed and future-proofing, then go for Raspberry Pi 5, whereas if you want something cheaper and simple to use, then go for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B.

best value Pi for browsing

4 GB or 8 GB? I had a 4 GB notebook with NoScript in the Web browser to block most Javascript. Usage hovered around 2.6 GB. But new Web sites use more and more Javascript as that moves the processing load from their servers down to your Web browser. My current usage after a clean boot and just three tabs open is 3.6 GB. 4 GB will not last long. You will need 8 GB in the useful life of your next purchase.

Pi 4 or 5? In our local shop, the Pi 5 8 GB is just a few dollars more than the Pi 4 8 GB. The Pi 5 power supply is a significant jump in cost. There was a recent price drop on the Pi 4 power. Your local shop might be different. The tiny price difference makes the Pi 5 8 GB an insanely better value than a Pi 4 8 GB. Any future expansion is many times better.

microSD card slot speed is twice as fast as Pi 4. The best microSD cards can supply that speed. It makes a noticeable difference when booted from microSD.

You can move up to NVMe at PCIe 3 speed. There are low cost adaptors for 2280 size NVMe SSDs left over from upgrades. 512 GB SSD free after someone upgraded to a bigger SSD. The extra speed when booted from NVMe makes the world's most sluggish Javascripted Web site fast even with NoScript switched off.

My Pi 5 runs happily with very cheap copper heatsinks.

My Pi 5 can run LibreOffice at a decent speed even with big documents. None of the random slowdowns you get in a Pi 4.

I have a fast Intel notebook for heavy lifting and never use my Pi 4 for more than things like file servers. My Pi 5 booted from NVMe at PCIe 3 speed is the only Pi that can compete. Youtube and things like that work as cleanly in the Pi 5 as in the notebook. If your supplier has prices like ours, get the Pi 5. An investment that will last 5 years instead of 2.