Originally published at: Stop trying to overclock the Raspberry Pi 3 B+
It’s been a while since I’ve written any Raspberry Pi-related posts. Primarily because I’ve been using used $200 to $300 Dell Optiplex Micro computers off eBay, they cost more than the same or less than a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ but can be custom configured with up to 8GB (3050 model), 16GB or 20GB of fast…
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Activating force_turbo=1 voids the warranty of any raspberry pi as it prevents it from throttling. When overclocking, make sure you have good cooling because nothing is as bad as the Pi crashing. Overclocking the pi too much will cause it to become more unstable and liable to crash.
My last advice about overclocking a Pi 3. Get a Pi 4. I mean this sincerely. Its memory is not very fast so you’ll be limited in speed by that too.
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I actually sold my pi4 and recently bought a RockPi 4C+.
It’s been a blast and I has an m.2 and optional spi flash.
The spec bump for the price was worth it. RPI’s are nice but you just can’t find them for a good price.
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I am actually now considering on getting the exact model. Considering I am going to be clustering, and I’ll have a bunch of pi’s lying around. Pi 3 and a Pi 4. Clustering could help keep them alive and not inactive.
The CPU clock speeds of RPi boards are already so slow, that there’s really nothing to throttle. It’s best to keep locked max.
Per the article regarding “Setting force_turbo=1”:
Also, the cost of Raspberry Pi 3 ( and 4) boards have been very expensive for a while now. $200+ in some cases. Please share if you are able to source for ~ $50.
Regarding the warranty bit for the RPI 3 B+ discussed in the article, overclocking docs says:
Values above 6 are only allowed when
force_turbo=1is specified: this sets the warranty bit ifover_voltage_*>0is also set.
As for the RPI 4 (not covered in this article):
Warranty bit is never set on Raspberry Pi 4.
That said, because specifically, the RPI 3 B+ is already overclocked, there’s not much benefit as with previous model boards. For example the earlier model RPi boards, I’ve yet to damage any from using overclocking best practices; but the gains were worth it.
The RPI 4s are very capable out of the box, but because of the crazy pricing now, I prefer to buy a used Lenovo Thinkcentre Tiny off eBay, which packs more punch per dollar, at least until RPI 4 boards pricing returns to normal.
Side note: The CPUs on stacklinux.com are also set up that way (no throttling) maxed at 3.9 GHz or 4.5 GHz. 
That’s part of why we complimentary-upgrade all clients’ hardware every 1 to 2 years; before they burn out. 
PiHut has a meh range but is in the below 200 GBP range. Yesterday I was looking and the had (in stock) RasPi 4s (2GB) at ~50 GBP, whilst being an authorised retailer. They are currently restocking and you can be notified when one a Pi 3 or 4 is available.
Nice to know that I’m wrong. 
Yes 50 GBP isn’t bad. However, it’s another $20 to $30 GBP to ship to the US. Yeah, if you are in the UK it’s not so bad!
I miss the good ole times of being able to buy off Amazon.com for $50 USD and free shipping. 
Checking my cart I was able to get all this for $73 USD:
and in 2020 
At those prices, overclocking and warranty were not major concerns. Today, that same $59 4GB RPi 4 from the same link/seller costs double that. 
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I would recommend the Rockpi 4C+.
I sold my RPI4 for that. I really needed a ssd on the board, and the C+ takes a m.2 2230. I purchased it for $80 shipped from allnet. 6 core / 4gb ram, not bad.
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And FB marketplace has 256gb 2230 for $25 shipped. So under $100 you get a beast.
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I have now been officially ogling at that for 2 weeks. Looks really good… Is it good to create a cluster with perhaps?