• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Tech Block

tech tips from tim the techie

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Business Tech
  • Finance Tech
  • Gaming
  • Home Tech
  • Phone
  • Travel Tech
  • Web
  • Contact Tim

Single Board Computer (SBC): What’s It and Why Raspberry Pi 4 Computers?

December 28, 2020

Over the decades, computers have revolutionized from anonymous processing systems to single units that perform better and faster. These single board computing devices work independently without the need for peripheral functions or expansions to operate. This is because they incorporate a wide array of microprocessors, including static RAM to run. Typically, some single-board units are often designed for demonstration purposes or used as embedded computer controllers.

What Are Single Board Computers?

These are small computing devices built on a single circuit board equipped with microprocessors, I/O, memory, and other features needed for a computer’s functionality. These boards are applied in various applications and used across different purposes, more so in robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT). Some of the SBCs available today include the Raspberry Pi 4B, Odyssey X86J4105. Odroid-C4, LattePanda, Tinker board, and Rock Pi.

Unlike modern computers, the SBC operates without plugging additional memory, storage, fans, or a thread of power cables to boot. However, these devices are designed based on the purpose but incapable of performing various functions like a PC. They solely focus on a range of services, including educational, industrial, and commercial applications. Typically, they are often found in ATMs, automated checkouts, and virtual slot machines.

Industrial Application of Single Board Computers

Single-board computing devices are often used commercially, more so in the tech industry besides being used for educational purposes. Typically, they are used in rackmount format for controlling processes or embedded with other devices essential for interfacing. Due to their high level of integration, SBCs have reduced connectivity levels making them useful and compatible. Among its applications, industrially include deep-sea and outer space exploration facilitated by their size and power efficiency.

Differences Between an SBC and MCU

MCU (Microcontroller Unit) can be interchanged with the SBC, but the two have an important distinction. In definition, the MCU is an embedded system that incorporates the whole computer into a single chip. It features a processor, storage, memory, programmable I/O pins. However, they aren’t powerful and readily reprogrammable like a single-board computer. MCU thus plays an essential role in the tech industry by providing various devices crucial for everyday operations.

MCU’s primary benefit is that they can be manufactured in numbers within a given number and applied in various tasks where a fully-fledged computer fails to do so. A great example of an MCU is a television remote without the operating system or programs, but it remains operational for days without consuming power. When a button is pressed, it sends signals among its connecting pins to generate the signal’s right range. Like SBCs, MCUs are embedded in different computers and used in various industrial applications.

Types and Standards of SBCs

Notably, SBCs use standardized computer form factors channeled to be applied in a backplane enclosure. It involves CompactPCI, PICMG, VMEbus, and PXI, incorporating various components that facilitate its operations. Though they are single-unit computers, SBCs are built around different internal processing structures ranging from micro-processing architectures, intel, and reduced power usage systems such as SPARC. The combination of all these components allows for the board to become the smallest unit of a computer system essential for executing data.

These boards’ intelligence is placed in a plug-In board, including an interface inserted into the backplane. The resulting system resembles a motherboard though it determines slot configurations. Besides, backplanes are available with various slots, often 20 or less, making it ideal for different rackmount encloses. Some single-board computing devices come with connectors allowing a stack of circuit boards with expandable hardware without traditional backplanes.

Raspberry Pi 4 Computer

The Raspberry Pi is a series of SBCs developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in partnership with Broadcom. Initially, the company focused on teaching computer science in schools through the use of SBCs. However, the original unit computer board gained popularity, making the company consider SBCs used industrially, such as robotics. Other sectors such as healthcare also considers these single board computing devices crucial for their operations.

The second board type release saw these computer boards become among the most preferred, which led to the latest release of the Raspberry Pi 4 computer. Successive generation of single-board computing systems led the British company to sell millions of units globally. This SBC has become the leading educational tool, but its applications are far more. Besides offering an impressive processor speed, it accompanies various features, making it the best SBC among the electronics community.

Specs

  • Processor: The Raspberry Pi 4 comes with a Broadcom BCM2711 processor, coupled with quad-core Cortex-A72 64-bit SoC running at 1.5GHz.
  • Memory: It has a memory of 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4, which depends on the SBC design model.
  • Connectivity: Raspberry Pi 4 accompanies various connectivity functions ranging from a 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/ac wireless LAN. It also includes Bluetooth 5.0, BLE Gigabit Ethernet, 2 USB 3.0 ports, and 2 USB 2.0 ports.
  • GPIO: The SBC also comes with a standard 40-pi GPIO header making it accompany a fully backward-compatible feature consistent with previous devices.
  • Video and Sound: Raspberry Pi 4 comes with various video and sound support capabilities. These include two micro-HDMI ports of up to 4Kp60, a 2-lane MIPI DSI display port, a 2-lane MIPI CSI camera port, and 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port.
  • Multimedia: Raspberry Pi 4 features a H.265 (4Kp60 decode), H.264 (1080p60 decode and 1080p30 encode) and OpenGL ES, 3.0 graphics.
  • SD Card Support: It also includes a micro-SD card slot for loading operating systems and data storage.
  • Input Power: With an environment operating temperature of between 0-50 degrees Celsius, the Raspberry Pi 4 has a power input of 5V DC via USB-C connector or GPIO header. It also allows for power over Ethernet, which is crucial for powering this SBC.

Since the dawn of single board computers, most industries have adopted their use more so when embedded to facilitate various operations. However, Raspberry Pi 4 has remained the best option for most users. This is because it features multiple specs making it suitable for different applications. Therefore, it is crucial to get insights about SBCs and why choosing Raspberry Pi 4 computer is the best choice.

 

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Categories: Business Tech

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

About Us

I’m Tim from The Tech Block. Tim Techy! haha. I’m all about gadgets, gaming and technology. I don’t just sit in my house all day playing around on gadgets, but they are very integrated into my everyday lifestyle. When I work out I use technology to track it, when I turn the heat on in my home, I use my computer to do it and when I travel, I take my fun techie stuff with me!

Popular Posts

Facebook

Tim's Tech Block

News Latter

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • How do you improve your Rummy skills from a beginner to an expert?
  • Understanding the Indian Rummy Version
  • 4 reasons to play Rummy game today itself
  • The Easy Divorce Handbook Alabama’s Ultimate Resource for a Seamless Process
  • Diablo 3 vs. 4: How Do the Two Compare?

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • September 2023
    • August 2023
    • July 2023
    • June 2023
    • May 2023
    • April 2023
    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018

    Categories

    • Blog
    • Business Tech
    • Finance Tech
    • Gaming
    • Home Tech
    • Phone
    • Travel Tech
    • Web

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    Footer

    About Us

    I’m Tim from The Tech Block. Tim Techy! haha. I’m all about gadgets, gaming and technology. I don’t just sit in my house all day playing around on gadgets, but they are very integrated into my everyday lifestyle. When I work out I use technology to track it, when I turn the heat on in my home, I use my computer to do it and when I travel, I take my fun techie stuff with me! Read More…

    Popular Posts

    Featured Post

    How do you improve your Rummy skills from a beginner to an expert?

    Understanding the Indian Rummy Version

    4 reasons to play Rummy game today itself

    The Easy Divorce Handbook Alabama’s Ultimate Resource for a Seamless Process

    Diablo 3 vs. 4: How Do the Two Compare?

    Facebook

    Tim's Tech Block

    Copyright ©2018 The Tech Block | All Rights Reserved