Raspberry Pi has launched a new Compute Module 3+ board featuring technical enhancements inspired by recent Raspberry Pi products.

Aimed at businesses, and industrial users, the Compute Module is used to embed a Raspberry Pi into systems and commercial products. The Compute Module uses a standard DDR2 SODIMM (small outline dual in-line memory module) form factor. GPIO and other I/O functions are routed through the 200 pins on the board.

The new Compute Module 3+ sports the Broadcom BCM2837B0 chip, albeit clocked at 1.2GHz and with 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM.

“As always, we try to learn lessons from the market,” says Eben Upton, CEO and Raspberry Pi co-founder.

“We haven’t increased the rated clock speed, as this is dependent on having the MaxLinear PMIC, which won’t fit into the Compute Module 3+ form factor,” explains Eben.

Rather than speed things up, the aim is to run cooler: “Compute Module 3+ brings improved thermal performance and some tweaks to the PCB (printed circuit board) from Raspberry Pi 3B+.”

Compute Module 3+ specifications

• Processor: Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53 64-bit SoC @ 1.2GHz
• Memory: 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM
• Flash memory (eMMC): 8GB / 16GB / 32GB
• Multimedia: H.264, MPEG-4 decode (1080p30), H.264 encode (1080p30), OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0 graphics
• Operating temperature:-20 to +70°C
• Price: $30 (8GB), $35 (16GB), $40 (32GB), $25 (CM3+/Lite)
• Net weight: 9 g (board only)
• Dimensions: Board; 67.6 × 31.1 × 3.7 mm

Compute Module 3+ eMMC storage options

Compute Module 3+ is an “opportunity to deploy designs in environments with a wider range of temperatures,” says Eben, and engineers can “drive the chip harder, for longer, without hitting thermal limits.” The operating temperature range now ranges from -20 to +70 degrees C.

The new models also boast expanded on-board storage. Models are available with 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB of on-board eMMC flash memory.

A Compute Module 3+ Lite option remains available. Users wire the module pins up to an eMMC or SD card. “Lite accounts for around a quarter of Compute Module sales,” reveals Eben.

Compute Module 3+ price

Customers have been requesting larger storage options, and the new models are sure to be popular with media and data-logging developers. “With flash prices falling, it felt like a good time to address this,” says Eben. “We’ll have Lite, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB options at $25, $30, $35, and $40 respectively. At the high end, that’s a lot of fun for $40.”

A separate Raspberry Pi Compute Module I/O board can be purchased to aid development. This breakout board provides the various ports you would find on a Raspberry Pi (such as GPIO pins, HDMI, USB, Camera, and Display).

A Raspberry Pi CM3+ Development kit will also be available. It consists of a Raspberry Pi Compute Module I/O board, CM3+/32GB module, CM3+/Lite module, Display adapter, and Camera adapter. Pricing is to be announced.

Full Compute Module documentation can be found on the Raspberry Pi website.

See also

Project Fin: motherboard for Compute Module

FutureHome: IoT smart home built on Compute Module

Strato Pi CM review