Raspberry Pi 5: 6 great tips, tricks & uses for the single-board PC

With more than 45 million units sold, the Raspberry Pi is not only by far the most successful single-board computer, but also the best-selling British computer ever. The single-board computer (SBC) has also won countless awards.

So it’s no wonder that the tiny developer board from the British Raspberry Pi Foundation is tempting numerous users to buy it. But what is the best way to optimize and exploit the single-board computer? We have summarized the six best tips and tricks for you and bundled them in this guide.

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Overclocking for improved performance

Overclocking the main processor, or CPU, of your Raspberry Pi 5 is an advanced method of increasing the performance of the single-board computer.

By specifically increasing the clock frequencies, you can optimize the response speeds, the so-called latencies, of your system and sometimes significantly accelerate the execution of applications. However, caution is advised here.

It’s important to sound out the limits of overclocking and respect them accordingly in order to avoid overheating problems and the resulting instabilities and crashes. Careful monitoring of temperatures and, if necessary, the use of additional cooling is recommended to ensure system stability. Experience has shown that more than 3GHz should not be expected of the circuit board on a permanent basis.

The Broadcom BCM2712 SoC (System-on-a-Chip) with four ARM Cortex A76 processor cores is operated at 2.4GHz by default and can be overclocked via the file /boot/firmware/config.txt with corresponding entries if required.

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In this example, the CPU has been overclocked from 2.4GHz to 3.0GHz, while the graphics processor has been accelerated from 800MHz to 1.0GHz. The voltage can also be adjusted using over_voltage_delta and adapted to the set overclocking.

Important note: By overclocking or undervolting the CPU and GPU, you change important parameters such as the heat development or the power consumption of the Raspberry Pi 5 SoC.

Please note that incorrectly set voltages can not only result in an unstable system, but can also cause irreparable damage. We cannot accept any liability for any defects in the hardware of your system.

When overclocking your Raspberry Pi 5, proceed with the utmost caution and in small steps. This applies in particular to changes to the voltage of the single-board computer.

Automation with cron jobs

Cron jobs offer an efficient way to automate regular tasks on your Raspberry Pi 5. By scheduling cron jobs, you can save time and have routine tasks such as maintenance, backups, system updates, or data cleansing carried out automatically without having to do it yourself.

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This automation makes system maintenance easier and ensures that your Raspberry Pi 5 functions smoothly.

For example, if you want to run a script every day, simply copy it to the folder /etc/cron.daily, for once a week to /etc/cron.weekly and for a cron job once a month to the folder /etc/cron.monthly.

Please ensure that the respective scripts for the cron job to be executed are assigned the appropriate rights via chmod 700 script.sh.

In order to have sufficient memory available for applications and tools at all times, we recommend using a sufficiently large memory card in the Raspberry Pi 5.

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Setting up a VPN server

Setting up your own VPN server on your Raspberry Pi 5 allows you to secure your internet connection and protect your privacy.

By using VPN protocols such as OpenVPN, you can surf the internet securely, even when you are travelling.

A self-hosted VPN server provides an extra layer of security and allows you to keep all your online activity encrypted and completely anonymous. Setting it up is no longer rocket science and can even be realized by beginners.

A Linux distribution such as Raspbian or Raspberry Pi OS, which is used on the Raspberry Pi 5, provides the software packages required to set up a virtual private network with OpenVPN. Installation is carried out step by step via the operating system console.

The OpenVPN project provides simple step-by-step instructions for installing the free VPN server on the Raspberry Pi:

Instructions: Install OpenVPN on the Raspberry Pi

Media center with Kodi

By installing Kodi, you can turn your Raspberry Pi 5 into a powerful media center. Kodi is a versatile and powerful multimedia software that allows you to stream films, music, photos, and live TV.

With a user-friendly interface, Kodi offers a comprehensive multimedia experience and turns your Raspberry Pi 5 into a versatile entertainment center for the whole family.

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Kodi can also be downloaded directly to the Raspberry Pi via the software sources of the Linux distribution Raspberry Pi OS and installed fully automatically.

Smart home control

Use your Raspberry Pi 5 to control and automate your smart home. With platforms such as Home Assistant or openHAB, you can manage your smart home devices centrally and create customized automations.

By networking your devices and setting up intelligent processes, you can increase your living comfort and save energy. The Raspberry Pi 5 thus becomes the centerpiece of your smart home, giving you more control and efficiency.

The two open source projects provide easy-to-understand installation instructions that even beginners can follow:

openHAB – Installation guideHome Assistant – Installation guide

Inexpensive cloud server

A Raspberry Pi 5 and an external hard drive or SSD — that’s all you need to create your own cloud server based on the popular single-board computer.

You also need the free open-source cloud software NextCloud, which you need to install on the microSD memory card of the single-board computer using the NextCloud Pi image.

The following step-by-step guide explains how to turn a Raspberry Pi 4 or a Raspberry Pi 5 with NextCloud into a genuine cloud server.

The cloud server on the Raspberry Pi then represents a centralized server resource pool that is hosted and provided via a network — usually the internet — and can be accessed by multiple users as required.

Once set up, users can access their Raspberry Pi and the server services realized via the internet while on the move.

This article was translated from German to English and originally published on pcwelt.de.

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