The 1GB Raspberry Pi 5 is the only one I'd tell a beginner to buy right now

SBC prices aren’t what they used to be, and that makes your purchase decision tougher than before. It wasn’t too long ago that you could snag the cheapest usable Raspberry Pi (Zero 2 W) for $15. The latest iteration, Raspberry Pi 5 4GB, retailed for $60, while the 8GB memory variant launched for $80. A 2GB memory edition of the board was revealed soon after for $50. The 8GB memory variant looked like a sweet deal until AI advancements ruined it. Memory prices have increased, making the boards way more expensive than before.

The makers recently launched a 1GB edition of the Raspberry Pi 5 for $45. It has double the amount of memory you get with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. There’s also a 1GB edition of the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, but I cannot recommend it. Here’s why the 1GB Raspberry Pi 5 makes sense for a beginner in these testing times.

Don't fall for an older board

Sheer waste of money

The biggest 1GB memory rival in the lineup is the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. It launched in 2019 and at that time $35 felt like a lot. It's great that the makers haven't increased its price. When the 2GB Raspberry Pi 5 was available for $50, nobody paid attention to it. The 1GB Raspberry Pi 5 is $10 more expensive than the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, while the 2GB variant is almost $80 now. So, the decision boils down to the 1GB edition of both boards.

I wouldn't suggest going with the old Raspberry Pi 4 Model B because its hardware holds it back. To save $10, you're sacrificing a lot of things that are necessary for modern-day computing projects. The biggest motivation to buy a Raspberry Pi 5 is obviously the improved processor. It can prove useful for demanding self-hosted tools and modern workflows. The port configuration remains the same, but you get the option to add an NVMe SSD to the Raspberry Pi 5.

It requires a specific variant but it's miles better than relying on an SD card for your OS and tools. I've had SD cards fail multiple times, and if I were to buy a new board, the one with maximum storage options would be a priority. You can boot the OS from an external USB on both the boards, but it makes the setup cluttered.

The Raspberry Pi 5 needs a HAT module to connect an SSD, but you don't need to buy one instantly. You can try other storage options and understand their constraints before upgrading to it. If you pick a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, you cannot upgrade to an NVMe SSD in the future.

1GB memory capacity feels insufficient

But you can learn a lot from it

In an era where your smartphone has 8–12 GB of memory, laptops come with a similar capacity; the 1GB memory model might feel insufficient. For an experienced user, the memory capacity should be a little higher than the overall requirement. If the prices drop to the original levels, I would suggest going for a 4GB or 8GB Raspberry Pi 5. But that's a future-proofing approach, and it isn't feasible for a beginner.

There are multiple things that you can accomplish with just 1GB of memory. I have built several projects using a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, which has only 512MB memory. Compared to that, the Raspberry Pi 5 has double the capacity, which means tools like Nextcloud, Home Assistant, and Jellyfin can work. The board might not be capable of hardcore transcoding or other machine learning tasks due to limited memory. Yet, most of the self-hosted tools that draw a beginner to the SBC realm will run smoothly on the 1GB variant.

It’s one of the key learnings when using an SBC because you have to focus on minimizing the overall resource consumption. Rather than installing a full-scale GUI desktop, you can go with a lightweight option like DietPi for memory management. It needs less memory, leaving plenty for Docker and the tools you want to use. You can try multiple software alternatives, check which ones work without hiccups, and build a truly useful server with it.

Another overlooked aspect is memory generation. The Raspberry Pi Zero 2W uses LPDDR2 and the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B uses LPDDR4 memory. Both are older-generation memory with slower bandwidth and lag behind the LPDDR4X of the Raspberry Pi 5. It’s more of a performance improvement that some apps might benefit from while using less power.

Start small and scale up

It’s still a capable SBC

The 1GB Raspberry Pi 5 is not a weak SBC. It shares the same hardware as other models in the series with a lower memory capacity. You cannot use it as a regular PC and install a GUI OS on it. But you can run most of the self-hosted tools on it without any problems. Think of it as a challenge to build and maintain a small-scale server with limited memory. No other SBC in the Raspberry Pi family supports NVMe drives, which is an additional perk of the SBC.

Once you hit a wall with the memory capacity, you can repurpose the SBC for a single use case, like a Nextcloud server. It's even possible to pool it in a cluster along with other powerful SBCs using Docker Swarm or other orchestration tools. The board also supports AI HATs, which means even if you have less onboard memory, you can work on AI projects. The AI HATs with their own memory would be apt for your 1GB Raspberry Pi 5.

The most obvious pick

None of us can control the SBC or component prices. If you really want to learn embedded computing or build servers out of small computers, there’s no better, budget-friendly option than the 1GB Raspberry Pi 5. It won’t become your primary server, which is something every beginner hopes for with their first SBC purchase. Use it as a stepping stone to get into the world of small computing devices, and build projects that serve a role in your home.