Stop! Don’t buy the Official Raspberry Pi Starter Kit . You can make your own and in many ways, better kit for less money. Join me as I talk you through every component, and where to get the best deals.
What’s in the Kit?The kit comes bundled in a minimalist white box ― much like Apple products do. I can understand the psychological need for a nice box if you are spending $1000 or more on a computer, but for a few accessories? Here’s the breakdown of what’s included:
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B 8GB microSD Card with NOOBS preinstalled Official case Official 2.5A multi-region power supply 1M HDMI cable Optical mouse Keyboard with “high-quality scissor-switch action” Adventures in Raspberry Pi Foundation Edition bookWere you expecting more? In my opinion, this kit is overpriced ($159/119). Below, I’ll break down each component, and show you where to buy it for less ― including official and unofficial models. Sincethe Pi is designed and manufactured in the UK, I’ll includinglinks and prices to UK stock as well.
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
This is the most critical component! At time of writing (12 September 2016), the Pi has sold more than 10,000,000 (ten million) units. That’s a staggeringly large volume of devices. If you are not sure what to make with the Pi, check out these ten weirdest projects 10 Weirdest Raspberry Pi Projects 10 Weirdest Raspberry Pi Projects There's a mad scientist within each of us, and the Raspberry Pi lets your inner loon come out and play. Sometimes, things get weird. Really weird. Read More . If you are just starting out with the Pi, have a look at these beginner projects Raspberry Pi Projects for Beginners Raspberry Pi Projects for Beginners These 10 Raspberry Pi projects for beginners are great for getting an introduction to the hardware and software capabilities of the Pi, and will help you get up and running in no time! Read More .
The Pi is the most expensive item in the kit at $35.70 from Amazon.com (28.99 from Amazon.co.uk , and from CDN$ 58.99Amazon.ca ). It’s well worth the price of admission, and as Broadcom has an exclusive deal with the Raspberry Pi foundation, there are not many identical clones made.
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Motherboard Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Motherboard 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU, 1 GB RAM Buy Now At Amazon $34.00
8GB MicroSD Card
You need a microSD card to run the operating system. Whilst it is possible to boot the Pi 3 from USB (learn how here How to Make Raspberry Pi 3 Boot From USB How to Make Raspberry Pi 3 Boot From USB The Raspberry Pi is a versatile piece of kit, capable of a diverse range of tasks. But it has one glaring flaw: the inability to boot from USB. Until now, that is. Read More ), that’s not always desirable. The microSD card stores all of the files needed to run the Pi. It also stores all of your files, and any scripts setup to do cool things.
The card in this kit comes with “New Out Of Box Software” (NOOBS) pre-installed. This saves you a bit of work, although it’s often cheaper to install an operating system yourself. Not sure how to do this? Christian Cawleyshows you how How To Install An Operating System To Your Raspberry Pi How To Install An Operating System To Your Raspberry Pi Here's how to get a new OS installed and running on your Pi and how to clone your perfect setup for quick disaster recovery. Read More .
There are many different types and speeds of microSD card ( here’s some things to look out for 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Your Next MicroSD Card 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Your Next MicroSD Card MicroSD cards seem simple, but there are a few critical mistakes that you must avoid when shopping for one. If you ignore these, you may regret your purchase. Read More ). The Pi is limited to about 20MB/s, so save your money a