According to Farnell, the 'Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+' has the same improved thermal performance and ease of use as the 'Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+' in a more compact form factor. It is based on Broadcom's BCM2837B0 series 64-bit application processor with 1.2 GHz and a 1 GB LPDDR2 SDRAM. The module enables different memory variants, which are intended to be suitable for a range of embedded applications - such as IoT devices and industrial automation, monitoring and control systems. Developers can choose between eMMC flash memory variants with 8, 16 or 32 GB as well as a "Lite" version without eMMC flash.

The 'Compute Module 3+' will be in production until at least January 2024 and is available from Premier Farnell as a standalone board or as a development kit now.

Hari Kalyanaraman, Global Head of SBC and Emerging Business at Premier Farnell and Farnell element14: "Over a third of our Raspberry Pi customers are using this board in professional applications. Developers no longer need to customize their board when they need additional memory with this new version of the Compute Module."

Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Trading, added: "The Compute Module 3+ is suitable for both makers and professional developers, offering improved thermal performance, a wider supported ambient temperature range, more memory options and access to Raspberry Pi's world-leading community and software ecosystem."

The most important features at a glance

Overview of the most important features of the 'Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+':

• Processor: SoC of the BCM2837B0 series from Broadcom, with quad-core Cortex-A53 processor with 64 bits at 1.2 GHz.
• Multimedia: H.264 and MPEG-4 decoder (1080p30); H.264 encoder (1080p30); OpenGL ES, 2.0 graphics.
• SD card support: With CM3+/Lite, the module pins can be used as an SD card interface, allowing users to either connect an external eMMC device or insert an SD card.
• Supports an ambient temperature range of -20 to +70 °C.