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    Pi3+ - worth upgrading to?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion and Gaming
    pi3+
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    • DarksaviorD
      Darksavior @ClassicGMR
      last edited by Darksavior

      @classicgmr Meh, boot times don't matter much between pi's once tweaked. Once I run some (not all) tweaks from https://www.evernote.com/shard/s3/sh/38bf9df7-5f96-4451-90e7-7d72c07f225b/8d57114e589b5a39147ffd9d6c5df1e0 and uninstall some stuff like usbmount, plymouth, dhcpd (I set a static ip), my pi3 non + with 128GB (like ~80GB used) USB stick boots to Pegasus (the frontend I use) in around 15-18sec. I'm using the stretch retropie image. I'l l be getting my + on friday :D

      I did notice usbmount added a bit more of a boot time on stretch vs jessie, but it's just an observation from a linux noob like myself. I grew up on dos/windows in the 90s so I'm slowly catching on.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • pjftP
        pjft @sirhenrythe5th
        last edited by

        @sirhenrythe5th me as well, hence the question. On Jessie I was having a lot of lag with the ps3controller drivers.

        sirhenrythe5thS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • sirhenrythe5thS
          sirhenrythe5th @pjft
          last edited by

          @pjft me too, so i never used them wireless on jessie 😉

          -- Retro-Achievements Username: SirALX --
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          pjftP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • pjftP
            pjft @sirhenrythe5th
            last edited by

            @sirhenrythe5th to be fair, @psyke83 's done a fantastic job backporting bluetooth drivers to Jessie (there's a thread about it), and those worked perfectly for me.

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            • D
              drake999 @Jono
              last edited by

              @jono Yeah that is what I suspected. Since there is no improvement to the GPU and I only emulate up to PSX with enhanced resolution, my standard Pi3 works fine for what I'm doing with it. I higher CPU clock than what I've already got with overclocking and cooling will be of no benefit. Here is hoping the Pi4 gets an updated VideoCore V GPU or something. I'll hold out and see what they have in store for the Pi4.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • EcksE
                Ecks @Bobberella
                last edited by

                @bobberella said in Pi3+ - worth upgrading to?:

                I could tell you my setting if you want to but i broke all of the warranty. You also need a fan.

                Apparently, the raspberry pi designed for 1.4 Ghz and then they lowered it to 1.2 Ghz to get rid of a heat issue.

                I dont think the 3B+ pi can be overclocked... it would be nice to get rid of the fan situation. And I dont need to break any of the warrenty.

                There is people that are overclocking it to 1.5 - 1.6GHz already which runs a little smooth but still needs a fan cause i believe when it was around 1.6GHz it was getting like 75°c.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • AlturisA
                  Alturis
                  last edited by Alturis

                  So far I have noticed a marked performance increase when transferring files over wifi. Like night and day. Feels more like you are copying files to and from your own PC when using \\RETROPIE from windows. (or it could just be the placebo effect because I haven't taken any steps to measure it)

                  Other than that I don't expect any games that used to run slow to run much better. The temperature seems to be considerably lower too.

                  RP 4.7.1 • Pi4 4Gig • CanaKit Aluminum • 64GB microSD • 1920x1080 BarTop [2 Sanwa sticks]

                  D mediamogulM 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • D
                    drake999 @Alturis
                    last edited by

                    @alturis Yeah that's not surprising. I think the biggest upgrade was the dual-band wireless module. Yeah we got a gigabit NIC now, but we can only use about 30 to 40 percent of it since its interfaced with the USB 2.0 controller still, so yeah its better but meh, lol. I'm far more enthusiastic about running on 5GHz wireless.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • mediamogulM
                      mediamogul Global Moderator @Alturis
                      last edited by

                      @alturis

                      I live in a decently big house with lots of brick everywhere and it's murder getting wifi to every corner. I see the Pi losing it's connection all too often as a result. Better wifi performance might actually be reason enough for me to upgrade.

                      RetroPie v4.5 • RPi3 Model B • 5.1V 2.5A PSU • 16GB SanDisk microSD • 512GB External Drive

                      D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • U
                        Ulysses
                        last edited by

                        Doesn't hurt, I mean, it's just $35. The biggest complaint right now (or at least that I have) is that there's not a lot out there for the B+. I gave my old board to my brother and now I have the newer one and there's just nothing for it. No Ubuntu MATE, Retropie is only in beta and my Bluetooth controller doesn't want to connect (but otherwise is fine). Mostly now my Pi just sits on the shelf.

                        If you're on a 3B, just stick with it for a while until more software options become available, once there are sufficient hardware options, then certainly a good buy. Not to mention you can do so much with these little things, you just can't have too much Pi.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • D
                          drake999 @mediamogul
                          last edited by

                          @mediamogul Yeah, I live in a condo complex and the 2.4 GHz band is absolutely flooded. Literally like 30 distinct signals in range when I do a wireless scan. There's even a couple of schmuck's using repeaters even though the unit size in no way warrants it, lol. As a result my 2.4 GHz performance really suffers in my environment. I can't even get my full internet speed when using 2.4 GHz band. 5 GHz is pretty busy to but not as bad and I can get my full internet speed on it. This is why the new wireless module is the most appealing upgrade in the Pi3+ to me. I've had a difficult time finding a low-profile USB dual-band wireless module, and I have tried.

                          quicksilverQ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • quicksilverQ
                            quicksilver @drake999
                            last edited by

                            @drake999 Another nice thing with 5ghz band is that it doesnt travel through walls as well as 2.4ghz. This isnt good if you are in a big house but it would be nice for a condo/apartment where you wouldnt want as many competing signals making it into your home.

                            D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • D
                              drake999 @quicksilver
                              last edited by

                              @quicksilver Yeah I imagine that is part of the reason my my 5 GHz band performs so much better. That and the fact that less people in my building are using that band. I use my 2.4 GHz band for low-priority stuff and my 5 GHz band for gaming and media streaming.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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