Raspberry Pi 5 Projects: 5 Cool Uses for the New Board

The Raspberry Pi 5 has officially changed the expectations for single-board computers. With a processor that is two to three times faster than its predecessor and the addition of a PCIe lane, this board is no longer just for tinkering. It is a serious tool capable of replacing actual desktop computers and gaming consoles.

If you have just picked up the new board or are considering an upgrade from the Pi 4, you might be wondering what to do with all that extra horsepower. Here are five specific projects that take full advantage of the Raspberry Pi 5 capabilities.

1. High-End Retro Emulation Station

For years, the Raspberry Pi 4 was the gold standard for retro gaming, but it hit a wall when trying to emulate the Nintendo GameCube, Wii, and PlayStation 2. The Raspberry Pi 5 breaks through that barrier.

Thanks to the 2.4GHz quad-core Cortex-A76 processor and VideoCore VII GPU, the Pi 5 can handle these more demanding consoles with playable frame rates.

  • Software to use: Batocera Linux or Recalbox are currently optimized well for the Pi 5 hardware. RetroPie is also an option, though setup can be more manual depending on the release version.
  • Performance targets: You can expect to play games like God of War II (PS2) or Mario Kart Double Dash (GameCube) at native resolutions.
  • Hardware requirement: You must use the official Raspberry Pi Active Cooler. Emulating 128-bit generation consoles pushes the chip hard, and passive cooling is not enough.

2. A Fast, Local Home Assistant Server

Home Assistant is the industry leader for smart home automation, allowing you to combine devices from Apple, Google, Zigbee, and Z-Wave into one dashboard. While the Pi 4 could run it, the Pi 5 makes the experience significantly snappier.

The real advantage here isn’t just loading dashboards faster. It is about data processing.

  • NVR Capabilities: If you run Frigate (a network video recorder) to monitor security cameras, the Pi 5’s CPU is powerful enough to handle object detection for a couple of cameras without needing an external Google Coral accelerator.
  • Voice Assist: The Pi 5 allows you to run local voice assistants (like Willow or Home Assistant’s native voice pipeline) strictly on the device. This means your voice commands are processed in your living room, not sent to a cloud server, ensuring total privacy.

3. The NVMe Desktop Replacement

The most significant hardware change on the Pi 5 is the introduction of the PCIe 2.0 x1 interface. This allows you to connect high-speed NVMe SSDs directly to the board, bypassing the slow MicroSD card speeds that throttled previous models.

By adding an M.2 HAT (Hardware Attached on Top), such as the Pimoroni NVMe Base or the official Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+, you can turn the Pi 5 into a legitimate desktop computer.

  • Boot speeds: Booting from an NVMe drive takes seconds.
  • Web browsing: With Raspberry Pi OS (Bookworm), you can open heavy web pages, run Google Docs, and watch 1080p YouTube videos without the stuttering common on older boards.
  • Productivity: This setup is powerful enough to run VS Code for programming or GIMP for photo editing smoothly.

4. Next-Gen Media Server with Transcoding

Building a media server using Plex, Jellyfin, or Emby is a classic Pi project. The Pi 5 upgrades this by handling transcoding much better than previous iterations. Transcoding is necessary when the video file format on your hard drive is not supported by the TV or phone you are watching it on.

  • Storage Speed: With the USB 3.0 ports now having dedicated bandwidth (not shared with other controllers), transfer speeds from external hard drives are more consistent.
  • Operating System: OpenMediaVault (OMV) is the standard choice here. It allows you to manage your storage drives and Docker containers (like Plex) through a web interface.
  • Cooling: If you are transcoding video files, the CPU will get hot. Ensure your case has a fan or use the Active Cooler.

5. Local AI and Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence is the current trend in tech, and the Pi 5 is the entry-level device for running it locally. While it won’t beat an NVIDIA jetson board, it is surprisingly capable for hobbyist AI.

There are two ways to approach this:

  1. CPU Only: You can run “small” Large Language Models (LLMs) like Llama 2 (7B quantized) using software like Ollama. It will run slowly, generating a few tokens per second, but it works completely offline.
  2. With the AI Kit: Raspberry Pi recently released an AI Kit that bundles the M.2 HAT+ with a Hailo-8L AI accelerator module. This hardware add-on provides 13 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of inferencing power. This makes object recognition, pose estimation, and image segmentation happen in real-time with almost no load on the main CPU.

Essential Gear for These Projects

Before you start any of these projects, ensure you have the correct accessories. The Pi 5 has different power and video requirements than the Pi 4.

  • Power Supply: You need the official 27W USB-C PD Power Supply. If you use an older 15W charger, the Pi 5 will limit power to the USB ports, which may cause your hard drives or peripherals to fail.
  • Cables: The Pi 5 uses Micro-HDMI ports. You will need a Micro-HDMI to HDMI cable (or two for dual monitors).
  • Cooling: Do not run the Pi 5 without cooling. The Active Cooler is cheap ($5) and clips directly onto the board.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use my old Raspberry Pi 4 case for the Pi 5? No. While the dimensions are similar, the Ethernet and USB ports have swapped positions on the Pi 5. You will need a case specifically designed for the new board.

Is the 4GB version enough, or do I need the 8GB model? If you are building a retro gaming console or a simple media server, the 4GB model is sufficient. However, if you plan to use it as a desktop replacement, run heavy Home Assistant setups, or experiment with LLMs/AI, the 8GB model is highly recommended.

Do I really need the NVMe SSD? It is not required, but it is the single best upgrade you can make. SD cards are slow and prone to corruption after long-term use. An NVMe drive is faster, more reliable, and makes the system feel like a modern computer.

Does the Pi 5 overheat? The Pi 5 runs hotter than previous models because it draws more power. It will throttle (slow down) if it hits 80°C (176°F). Using the Active Cooler prevents this entirely, keeping the board around 40-50°C under load.