[elsmandino]

Hi,

I need to buy another Pi and was wondering whether there are any recommended components to get the absolute best out of it.

I will be overclocking it to the max and running if off a USB3 stick.

Are there any bits that everyone generally agrees upon as being the best for the ultimate Pi experience?

Thanks

[popcornmix]

I've found the NOOBs sdcard is as fast as a USB3 stick, so you can save money there.
Benchmarks here. The 4K read/write numbers are the most important.

[elsmandino]

Hi,

Is there a chance that my overclocking the Pi might mess up the SD Card installation?

I had this problem before, which is why I had to switch to using the SD Card just get the Pi to boot from the USB3 stick.

[popcornmix]

Is there a chance that my overclocking the Pi might mess up the SD Card installation?

I had this problem before, which is why I had to switch to using the SD Card just get the Pi to boot from the USB3 stick.

Overclock related sdcard corruption was fixed in a firmware update about 8 month ago.

[elsmandino]

Thanks - had absolutely no idea that had problem had been sorted out.

Great to hear that I can obtain the same speeds as USB3 from that card - will make things slightly less bulky without the USB stick.

I note that there are a few types of NOOBS cards knocking around. So all I have to do is buy the one from the link you provided, wipe it, and then stick Openelec back on?

[popcornmix]

I note that there are a few types of NOOBS cards knocking around. So all I have to do is buy the one from the link you provided, wipe it, and then stick Openelec back on?

Yes. In theory NOOBS includes openelec/raspbmc (amongst others) installable from a menu, but that wastes some space, so I'd just wipe it and install yourself.

[MediaPi]

cheapest raspberry Pi that i've come across

£23.99 sold by amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raspberry-Pi-Mod...B008PT4GGC

[spjonez]

Overclock related sdcard corruption was fixed in a firmware update about 8 month ago.

Wow that's awesome, not sure how I missed that change. Good to know!

[elsmandino]

Excellent,

Well that is the Pi and SD card sorted (great find on the cheap Amazon deal btw MediaPi).

That just leaves me needing a power supply and a case.

I will probably get one of these for the power: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-AC-10X-Hig...kia+ac-10x

As this was recommended to me before and they work absolutely fine.

Turning to the case - are they all equal or do some offer better cooling than others?

[popcornmix]

Turning to the case - are they all equal or do some offer better cooling than others?

Unless you are in a hot climate I doubt it makes a difference.
I've had a heavily overclocked Pi in a PiBow case (which has zero ventilation) with no problems.

[elsmandino]

Great, I will just get any old cheap case then.

Thanks so much for the input - should have a brand new little Pi to play with next week.

[calev]

Case ventilation made a pretty big difference for me. Just cutting lines in the top of my cases dropped the average temps under load from around 145~155F to 135~145F I would get really hot temp spikes without the vents to sometimes around 170F and now I get no where near that. that's all with a 1ghz pi. I do live in a humid warm climate. But i have air condition.

[Milhouse]

That just leaves me needing a power supply and a case.

I will probably get one of these for the power: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nokia-AC-10X-Hig...kia+ac-10x

As this was recommended to me before and they work absolutely fine.

If you're planning on spending that kind of money on a charger (I mean £9.99, rather than £2.99 which is probably for a fake/knock-off Nokia) then you might want to consider something like this (Quad 2.5A UK) which has both higher output and more outputs than the Nokia. It's what I use with my Pi and it works really well, and of course can charge/power more devices than just the Pi. There's also a newer and more powerful version (Portapow Crystal 4.2A) which (for some reason) is cheaper still.