New compute module CM5 is out

[le51]

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/compute-module-5-on-sale-now/

[riban]

Compute Module 5 is mechanically compatible with its predecessor, Compute Module 4…

There are a small number of changes to the pin-out and electrical behaviour of the module, mostly associated with the removal of the two two-lane MIPI interfaces, and the addition of two USB 3.0 interfaces.

[le51]

v5.1 use the 2 lanes MIPI/DSI interface, …

Power in a Tiny Package: A Hands-On Review of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5

Compute Module 5 is available with 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of LPDDR5 memory — but unlike the Raspberry Pi 5 this is Error Correcting Code (ECC) RAM

Neither the passive heatsink nor the active fan in the IO Case are enough to let the CPU and GPU run at full tilt for more than half a minute or so before it’s thermally throttled, …

[lanmower]

I’m kind of surprised about what they say about throttling… if I look at the ‘kinder’ pi5 case like the white and red one that I have, it’s fan is so tiny, and the heatsink is a single super tiny one… but I didn’t think it was throttling that much the fan seldomly has to go full speed, I wonder if it is because of the closer spacing here or maybe my tests arent really pushing the pi5 that far

let’s just take a moment to appreciate how sweet the new embedded io appliance is, I feel tempted to own one, full sized hdmi, embedded fan, metal case, wide (mostly) one sided design, external antenna it’s definitely the rolls royce of pi setups lol

Reminds me a lot of the size and shape of the embedded devices I used to have to make os’s for at work, we had to build 64mb cf card servers using pretty much the same size and shape applicance, only difference now is the 8gb ram computer is the size of the 64mb cf card lol

[Hans_JB]

I saw this news this morning and first thing I thought about is a smaller size zynthian with CM5. Hmmmmm

[stojos]

KiCad files for CM5 carrier board is here
I wander if there is a space to add audio in/out hardware, midi in/ou/thru and one mcp23107 for 4 rotary encoders 4 switches. That would be a proper zynthian mini.

[tunagenes]

I think there is definitely enough room for it, particularly if you’re willing to use mini eighth inch jacks for either (or both?) the audio or midi connectors. Alternatively, if you relax the requirement for all connectors on one side, that opens up plenty of space.

And I agree it would be a fantastic Zynthian mini, with the added benefit that it would allow you to use a variety of Compute Modules, perhaps even a RISC-V CM or switch to a future CM6 without having to change hardware!

[stojos]

Would zynthian run on cm5 without major surgery?

[tunagenes]

Yes, I and others have Zynthian running on CM4 with at least 2 different carrier boards - CM4IOBRD and Seeed Studio reTerminal. I don’t anticipate any major problems with CM5, it’s supposed to be compatible with RPi5. Of course there could be a glitch or two, but I’ll be surprised if there is. OTOH it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been surprised.

Edit: There was some discussion about this a while ago in Compute Modules and the next Zynthian
It left off with “we’ll have to talk about this when the CM5 is actually available”.

[le51]

@lanmower

I’m kind of surprised about what they say about throttling

this has been reported in at least three reviews

Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 Review: Cooler, Faster, Better? - bret.dk

For those curious, “Case with Fan” began throttling after 12 seconds and was down to the minimum 1.5GHz after 27. The “Bare Board” after 15s, hitting 1.5GHz after 28. “Heatsink” fared considerably better, only throttling after 11m20s, and “Case with Heatsink” after 12m29s. In those final two, neither got anywhere near the 1.5GHz when fully throttled, hovering around 2146MHz.

A first look at the Raspberry Pi Development Kit for CM5 - CNX Software

Looking at the log, The real CPU frequency dropped as low as 1.5 GHz during 7-zip:

Otherwise I fully agree with you: it’s a nice setup.
Maybe with a big thermal block going from the CPU to the top case lid, passive cooling could be doable.
They replace the PCIE slot found on CMIO4 with a M2 NVMe connector wich is an excellent idea IMO.

[fussl]

Well, let’s first have a thorough look at this thing, before breaking out into euphoria.
We could make a Zynthian base for the CM5 and a proper thermal management.

[le51]

@tunagenes

I think there is definitely enough room for it, particularly if you’re willing to use mini eighth inch jacks for either (or both?) the audio or midi connectors. Alternatively, if you relax the requirement for all connectors on one side, that opens up plenty of space.

Yes, and over the MIPI connectors, there is enough height and wideness for a couple of 1/4 jack.

[Hans_JB]

I have zynthian running on two CM4s one with seeed ReTerminal hardware with a CM4 and another with Waveshare CM4-disp-base-5a. You have to do some setting up but if I can do it, anyone can

ReTerminal: https://www.seeedstudio.com/ReTerminal-with-CM4-p-4904.html?srsltid=AfmBOorYEcg06J9uaXO91xvuJzrdEXYQK7FX0vm-ri8Db-T4lEeI7rT0

Waveshare: https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/CM4-DISP-BASE-5A

[lanmower]

That confirms my suspicions that the original Pi5 is actually a heatsink-as-a-board, and that’s why the design of the new case has a fan blowing on it, but the air escaping around and below the board, cause the whole board cools down the chip because of dense thermal coupling… now if you have a smaller board as in this case, its basically half the heatsink!

[le51]

Both of these gears are really good value IMO and should be, hopefully, totaly compatible.
Keep us informed if you’ll go with CM5 on these.

[Hans_JB]

Yep. Waiting on manufacturer’s reply to my messages.