Raspberry Pi 5: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB or 16GB? Which RAM to buy
Which Raspberry Pi 5 memory size should you buy? What each RAM option is good for, the cooling and power supply you also need, and a quick decision tree.
The Raspberry Pi 5 is built around the Broadcom BCM2712: four Cortex-A76 cores at 2.4 GHz, a VideoCore VII GPU and the RP1 I/O controller. It is also the first full-size Raspberry Pi with a PCIe 2.0 ×1 link, which opens the door to NVMe SSDs through an add-on board. Specs from the official Raspberry Pi 5 page.
This guide covers the memory options in the range (availability varies by country), what you must budget for cooling and power, and how to choose.
4. Accessories you shouldn’t forget
- Active cooling (official Active Cooler or the official case with fan).
- Power supply: official 27W USB-C or a documented equivalent.
- Fast microSD card, or an NVMe drive if you add a PCIe board.
- Micro-HDMI cables for one or two screens.
5. Where to buy
The Pi 5 is sold through Raspberry Pi’s approved resellers in each country. In the US, SparkFun is one of them: Raspberry Pi 5 at SparkFun (affiliate link).
Flash Raspberry Pi OS with Raspberry Pi Imager, exactly as on earlier models.
Key takeaway: choose the Pi 5 on RAM first (4GB or 8GB for most people), then on a good power supply and cooling.
See also: Raspberry Pi 3 vs 4 vs 5.
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