Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean what you think! Read on…
New from RISCOSbits is a new small-footprint Raspberry Pi 4-based system called the FOURtress – which, in an unusual move for the company, uses an off-the-shelf aluminium case, rather than something custom-designed. The case doubles up as a heatsink for the Pi, which allows the processor to be overclocked to 2.1GHz, yet remain cool.
The FOURtress includes a new Super Turbo Drive (STD) in a Dual Operational Storage Environment (DOSE), offering greatly improved disc access speeds over standard SD card access, especially where applications make frequent/heavy disc accesses – so this time, having a DOSE of an STD is A Good Thingtm.
The case includes power control, so the computer can be powered down (and up) in a more civilised way than reaching for the power lead, and while there is no room to install HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) boards, the GPIO array is exposed and usable, and a HAT box is in development to allow those devices to be used tidily.
Prices for the FOURtress start at £149 for a 2GB system with 80GB of storage (64GB STD + 16GB microSD).
Another new product from the company is the Pi-NotSo’ArdNow,AreYou? Delta Pi Lite, which is a cut down version of the PiHard, and comes in a slimmed down case made from glass-effect acrylic and walnut veneer – although there’s still room inside for a standard HAT and real time clock. There’s even room for active cooling, although according to RISCOSbits’ Andy Marks, it’s not necessary due to the layered ventilation provided by the case.
Thanks to the use of a custom daughter-board, full size HDMI cables can be used with Pi 4, which itself sports micro-HDMI sockets, and the Delta Pi Lite also comes with a USB STD to provide better/faster disc access speeds.
The snazzy-looking case shouldn’t look out of place next to the TV in most living rooms (so it may be a good choice for a media server, with a different choice of operating system – but this is RISCOSitory, so pretend you didn’t read that here), and prices start at £149 for a system with 2GB RAM and 80GB storage configured as above.
If you want more details about these machines and to order one, rather than pop along to the RISCOSbits website, try visiting the company’s new website for this family of machines – pihard.co.uk – which as well as having a more modern look than the typical RISC OS website, also allows the pre-configured systems to be more easily and quickly ordered, with payment handled by PayPal. And, of course, you can also request a quote for something a little more tailor-made.
If you subscribe to Archive magazine, copies of which should be landing on doormats around now if they haven’t already, there is a discount code for ordering the PiHard 4 system (hint: look at the bottom of the left-hand column on page 18), and with the launch of the new machines and new website, this is being extended to both the Delta Pi Lite and the FOURtress. If you wish to use the code with a one-click purchase of a pre-configured system, email RISCOSbits with the discount code mentioned int he magazine, order your chosen system, and the discount amount will be refunded to you.
