YouTuber Jeff Geerling does some inexplicably weird stuff, like pitting a carrier pigeon against internet speeds. It’s why we like him. We’ve also never been able to confidently pin down what Red Shirt Jeff’s deal is, and the mystique is alluring. His latest trick, however, is our favourite yet. Jeff did an X-ray of a Raspberry Pi 5 to reveal the secrets within our newest, most powerful computer.
Jeff doesn’t own his own X-ray machine — that would be weird; he worked with a company that specialises in imaging electronics.
Jeff’s video offers a proper deep dive into the inner workings of Pi 5, from the RAM and the PCIe interface to our new RP1 chip and the Ethernet port’s “funny squiggles”.
What does the designer of Pi 5 think?
We decided to ask what James Adams, the person who designed Pi 5, thought of the X-ray. Would he be shocked to see his creation in its naked form? Or would he have a more suitably nerdy response to Jeff’s super nerdy endeavour?
“It’s nice to see the complexity of the Pi 5 exposed in this way — often people don’t realise how much stuff there is contained in a board like this, as it looks fairly small and simple on the surface, but every wire, trace, component and solder joint has a purpose. You can start to get a feel for the vast amount of engineer hours that have gone into each part of the system!”
James Adams, CTO (Hardware), Raspberry Pi
Insider secrets
Did you know that James’ signature features on every Raspberry Pi 5 board under the USB ports? True story. Pull yours apart and take a look. [Don’t do that. – Ed.]
X-ray merch
Jeff knows our love language is merch, so he produced a couple of special-edition items to commemorate this historic moment in medical science.
You can purchase a metallic print in three different sizes to display on your wall or desk for daily inspiration. Or, if you want to keep Pi 5’s insides closer to your heart, why not get yourself a t-shirt and wear your love for us on your sleeve chest. While white is more my colour, the X-ray looks ten times better on the black background, but don’t let me affect your sartorial choices; they’re very personal and I’ll understand if you go against my quasi-expert advice.
Oh my god, there’s also a hoodie. I need the hoodie.
