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Introductory

Raspberry Pi 5 is the latest member of the legendary small computer family, which was released in October 2023. The Raspberry Pi Foundation released this model after several years of development and anticipation, which represents a significant improvement in both performance and functionality compared to previous generations. The new Raspberry Pi 5 aims to provide even greater freedom and flexibility to those looking for an affordable yet powerful device.

The Pi 5 is the first model created entirely based on the Raspberry Pi Foundation's proprietary system chip, the BCM2712 SoC. This chip is based on a quad-core ARM Cortex-A76 processor that can be clocked up to 2,4 GHz and thus offers processing speeds about three times faster than the Pi 4. The device is available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB RAM variants, which provides ample memory even for multitasking.

Among the significant innovations of the Raspberry Pi 5 is the native PCIe support, which allows the connection of an M.2 SSD or other PCIe devices, so that we can achieve a significant acceleration, for example, in data storage or during special tasks. In addition, thanks to Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3 and two micro-HDMI ports, you can easily manage videos with up to 4K resolution, which allows the device to be used as a multimedia server or even as a mini home server.

Another essential feature of the Raspberry Pi family is the 40-pin GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) connector, which allows the connection of external devices, sensors, LEDs, relays and many other components. This versatile GPIO header has also been retained for the Raspberry Pi 5, so prototypes can still be easily built with it and various hardware elements can be integrated into the system. This connector is particularly important for educational and hobby projects, as it is easy to program and is supported by many development tools, making the Raspberry Pi 5 an excellent choice for developing electronics and programming skills.

The Raspberry Pi family has always been one of the most popular devices in the DIY community, as it can be used extremely versatile: for educational purposes, for automation projects, for running servers, but it also holds its own as a simple desktop computer. The new Pi 5 takes these capabilities to a higher level and offers even more options with its versatility, making it the perfect choice for those who want a more powerful, yet compact and energy-efficient computer.

The other day I was lucky enough to get a model with 8 GB of RAM, so in this write-up we will go through the first unpacking and assembly of the Raspberry Pi 5, as well as the initial settings. I recommend this guide to those who are new to the Pi 5 and want to learn how to start it up and set it up for day-to-day use. I will try to help all those interested in getting started with photos and detailed instructions regarding the assembly of the basic package and the first launch.

 

 

Unpacking and assembly

A number of accessories are available for the Raspberry Pi 5, which can be used to customize the device for various tasks, but a basic package is sufficient for initial use.

I currently have the following basic components, which I selected on the website malnapc.hu, who are one of the largest domestic resellers of the Raspberry brand:

• Raspberry Pi 5 - 8GB RAM motherboard [ product page ]
• 27 W USB-C black power supply [ product page ]
• Pre-installed Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) - 32 GB microSD card [ product page ]
• micro-HDMI / HDMI adapter cable [ product page ]
• Pi 5 case, black [ product page ]

With this starter set, you can already use the basic functions, and in the future I will also expand the device, for example with an Argon case and an M.2 NVMe SSD, which I will also write about later. 

The ordered package arrived the next day, let's see what it contains!

What's in the box?

The Raspberry Pi 5 basic package I ordered arrived as shown in the picture, carefully packed, with the individual components placed in separate small boxes. The main box contains the Pi 5 motherboard, the 27 W USB-C power supply, the microSD card with Raspberry Pi OS, the micro-HDMI adapter cable, and the black Pi 5 case. These elements are basically necessary to start up the Raspberry Pi 5, so we can start using them.

Unpacked from the box, the parts are:

After unpacking the main components:

Here we can also see the housing opened, which contains a PWM (Pulse-width modulation) fan, the speed of which is controlled by the motherboard. Thanks to the PWM control, the fan remains quiet under low load and only increases the speed when the processor temperature rises, thus ensuring energy-saving and quiet operation. We can also see in the package a small self-adhesive cooling fin and a set of also self-adhesive pads. The heatsink promotes more efficient cooling of the processor, while the suction cups ensure that the device is stable on the table, which is especially important during prolonged operation.

Assembling the device

If we have all the parts, let's put it together!

Stick the self-adhesive pads on the bottom of the house:

Then stick the self-adhesive cooling fin on the processor, then connect the fan:

Here, to make it easier, we can snap the fan out of the transparent plastic frame until we connect it to the motherboard using the connector shown in the picture. Then make sure to snap the fan back with exactly the same side, so that the direction of the air flow does not reverse, so the sticker of the fan is facing the inside of the cover.

In the next step, snap the cover apart into two parts, and attach the middle part (which also contains the fan) to the box separately, as shown in the picture:

It is advisable to perform this step separately to check that the fan cable does not get tangled in the fan blades, which would prevent it from rotating. So here we check with our finger that the fan can rotate freely. If the cable is creased, remove the cover and straighten it with a thin tool by opening a gap, and put the transparent cover back on.

Once the fan can spin smoothly, attach the outer cover to it as well:

Here, there is a gap of a few millimeters under the lid to ensure proper ventilation, so don't force the lid on it more. Therefore, when fitting the lid, carefully press down the outer part to avoid damaging the box.

Then insert the microSD card containing the Raspberry's operating system into the slot located at the bottom of the box:

Insert the memory card so that its contacts are facing the motherboard, so if you look from below, the label of the memory card should be facing you. Then push it in until it stops. The socket does not click, so just push the card in until it stops.

The device is now ready for use.

 

 

Putting the device into operation

After carefully assembling the components of the device, all that remains is to connect the cables. So let's connect these:

Connect all the necessary cables by definition:

• Power cable (USB-C connector)
• micro HDMI - HDMI converter, if we use a box that does not have a conversion, but provides direct access to the microHDMI connectors on the Raspberry Pi 5 motherboard
• Mouse and keyboard on the USB connectors, if we use non-Bluetooth peripherals
• Ethernet cable if you want to connect to the network or the Internet by wire.

Raspberry Pi 5 can also connect to wireless networks, so if you don't need a wired connection, you can access the Internet using Wi-Fi. For this, we can enter the parameters during the start-up and initial setting.

Once we have connected all the necessary cables, the Raspberry Pi is ready for the first boot, during which we will go through the initial settings of the Raspberry Pi OS.

 

First start and initial settings

Once the Raspberry Pi 5 is properly assembled and wired, it's time to boot the device for the first time. Raspberry Pi OS starts with a pre-installed operating system that helps you perform basic settings, so you can quickly get the device up and running. This section covers the most important initial steps, such as setting the language and keyboard layout, configuring the Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection, and updating the operating system.

Boot screen

As soon as we plug in the power connection, the Raspberry Pi starts immediately and the boot screen appears:

 

Welcome

After the system is loaded, the background image typical of the world of the microcontroller appears, and on it the welcome panel:

In addition to the welcome, we receive information here that we still need to do some things for the complete setup, and that we can start the wizard by clicking the "Next" button.

In addition to these, the panel also informs us that if we use a Bluetooth keyboard and/or mouse, we can now set them to pairing mode and the system will detect them.

I already have one above the Next button IP address also, since I connected it to my router with a cable, so the DHCP already assigned an IP address to the Raspberry Pi.

So, to get started, click a Next button.

Localization

The first step is to set the country, language and time zone:

When setting the localization, select the country, language and time zone. These will also affect the keyboard layout as well as the date and time format, so it's a good idea to specify the settings accurately.

Create a user account

In the next step, we create the primary user:

The user is automatically added to the sudo group, so they can use the sudo command to perform administrative tasks, such as installing software or performing updates.

Enter the username and password, then repeat the password.

 

 

Wireless network setup

In the next step, we can set up the wireless network:

Select your network here, then click a Next button.

Then enter your Wifi password:

When entering the password, be sure to enter the correct characters, because if you misspell them, the system will not connect to the network and you will have to enter the password again.

Those who connected with an Ethernet cable can skip this step, as the wired connection is set up automatically. Here, for the sake of the example, it now connects to the network in both ways, with separate IP addresses.

If the connection fails, you can always access the Wi-Fi settings in the system menu later and connect again.

Once the password has been entered, click a Next button.

The system is then connected to the network.

Choose a default browser

In the next step, we can select the default browser:

Later, of course, we can install any browser that can be installed on Debian-based Linux systems, here we only perform the default setting.

Once selected, click a Next button.

Enable Raspberry Pi Connect

In this panel a Raspberry Pi Connect service can be enabled.

With the Raspberry Pi Connect function, it is possible to remotely manage and access the Raspberry Pi device natively (with Raspberry's own service) from other devices, such as a laptop, desktop or even mobile. This can be especially useful if you want to use the Pi without a monitor, keyboard and mouse (in headless mode). With the help of the service, we can access the entire desktop from an external web interface, or we can even open a separate terminal window, which is also displayed by the system via a web window.

For the remote control service, the Raspberry center provides a relay server, which organizes the construction of the encrypted connection, and from there a direct connection is established between the remote control device and our Raspberry Pi device. Thanks to this, our Raspberry Pi 5 device is an accessible router NAT also behind the network.

Thus, if we use the device to control our smart home, for example, it becomes easy to manage the house or apartment remotely, such as remotely managing the cameras, shutters, sprinkler equipment or even the heating in the house.

A daemon running in the background on the device monitors incoming connections, so the device can be accessed remotely at any time during its operation.

It's very easy to get the feature up and running once we've enabled this feature here. We can find out more about this in a later description.

In addition, of course, any other remote control service can be installed, such as VNC, Chrome Remote Desktop, etc.

Update software

We have reached the final stage of the initial setup of the Raspberry Pi 5, in which the software installed on the system is updated by the installer. With this step, our device will be up-to-date, which is essential for both functionality and security.

So here we don't have to do anything, just wait until the system updates its own software.

Here, since many I/O operations are performed on the storage, it may take some time in the case of microSD card configurations. However, this process takes a fraction of the time for configurations with an M.2 SSD.

When the update is complete, the system will display a window like this:

Click OK to finish.

Finish and reboot your device

Finally, restart the device to apply the settings and updates:

With this, the settings have been completed, now we can use our Raspberry Pi 5 device!

 

The desktop environment

The Raspberry Pi OS desktop environment is called Pixel (Pi Improved Xwindows Environment, Lightweight), which is specially optimized for the Raspberry Pi. Pixel is based on a modified LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) desktop environment, which is known for its lightness and speed, making it ideal for making efficient use of the Raspberry Pi's hardware. The LXDE-based Pixel environment is fast, requires few resources, yet provides a modern and clean user experience.

The window manager used by the Pixel environment is Openbox. It's a lightweight and flexible window manager that fits well with the more limited resources of the Pi, while giving you the ability to set up a customized look and feel. Openbox is simple but allows fast and intuitive navigation between windows.

By default, there is a Wastebasket on the desktop. The left side of the default taskbar at the top contains the application menu, the default browser, File Manager, which is a lightweight file management application called PCManFM, and the LXTerminal terminal emulator. On the right side of the taskbar, in the notification area, you can find the Raspberry Pi Connect icon, Bluetooth for network management and the clock.

The Pixel desktop environment is based on the Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS, so all important applications and settings are accessible from the Pi's own application menu. Some useful programs are also installed by default, such as the Chromium browser, the Thonny Python IDE development environment and the LibreOffice office suite, so the system can be used immediately for everyday tasks or development / educational projects.

Some pictures of the table in action:

Here, I already saved the images with the PrintScreen button of the keyboard connected to the device, so they are again of good quality.

 

 

Application menu

Chromium browser

Terminal

LXTerminál also supports the use of tabs, making it a convenient and efficient terminal emulator.

Update repositories and packages

Install and run MC (Midnight Commander).

A Midnight commander an extremely useful two-panel file manager that can be run in a small terminal, which after installing the mc package is mc can be started with the command

Here, to demonstrate the desktop environment, I install it so that I can use it to copy the created images to the other computer, and at the same time we can see how it works.

Copy screenshots with MC via SSH

Right here I am copying the screenshots I took from the Raspberry Pi 5 to my desktop computer, which I will use here.

Copying:

 

As you can see, the desktop environment works exactly like the desktop environment of a regular desktop computer.

 

 

Conclusion

With the introduction of the Raspberry Pi 5, we can see how versatile and flexible this small but extremely powerful computer is. Whether it's educational projects, home automation, development, server operation or even simple desktop tasks, the Raspberry Pi holds its own in almost every situation. It can be easily customized thanks to the various accessories and expansion options, so we can adapt it to our needs, whether it is about increasing performance or running specific applications.

Thanks to the increasing popularity of the Pi, there is also an active and supportive community behind it, which is constantly expanding. This means it's getting easier and easier to use and develop, with plenty of tutorials, forums and help available to help new users and inspire more experienced users. The Raspberry Pi community is constantly creating new ideas and projects that we can use to expand our own Pi knowledge and capabilities at any time.

Overall, the Raspberry Pi 5 is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a device that is flexible, accessible, and offers endless possibilities. Regardless of whether we are starting a new hobby project or looking for a solution to more serious technological challenges, choosing the Raspberry Pi is always a good choice!

In the future, I will also make additional tutorials on expanding the current configuration and other useful things.