[JonSnow88]

Just curious to see if any Pi2 owners are upgrading to the Pi3? 50% speed boots is nice but I feel the Pi is fast enough as is so what are your other reasons to upgrade?

I like being able to boot via network and USB and maybe 1080P@60fps but not sure if it's worth the $50, yes about that much for where I live.

[nooryani84]

Not a Pi2 owner, only Pi1... I would generally say for all iterative tech that you should skip every other generation unless:

a.) Your current setup isn't getting the job done.
b.) There are vast improvements or new features added.

There's also the matter of potential extra costs such as the power adapter, which a lot of people will have to upgrade.

http://blog.pimoroni.com/raspberry-pi-3/

The Pi Zero draws a ridiculously small amount of current when idle (50mA) and even when computing primes on a single core it only peaks at 120mA. The Pi 2 idles at around 200mA which increases to 360mA when computing primes.

The built-in Wireless LAN and Bluetooth and the more powerful processor mean that the Raspberry Pi 3 draws about twice the current of its predecessor when under heavy CPU load (750mA vs 360mA).

This means it's more important than ever to have a good quality power supply for your Raspberry Pi.

There will most likely be another Pi at some point, so I would just enjoy your RPi2 until the time comes when it doesn't fulfill your needs. If anything, you could spend that cash on upgrading a NAS or something else that will improve your HTPC experience.

[katsup]

I am keeping my Pi2s for the time being. If I see significant improvements with Kodi on the Pi3, or I get one for cheap, I will stay with Pi2.

If you are in the US, you can get the Pi3 for MSRP plus shipping (~$7 I think) at MCM Electronics.
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/83-17300

[JonSnow88]

Power supply is a non issue since I use power bars with built in USB ports and a Y micro to usb cable. My NAS is an old Quad Core with 8 GB so won't need to upgrade that for a few years.

Well 1080P@60fps is an improvement as is 1080P H265 decoding, but as of now don't have a need for it just yet.

[nooryani84]

Well the other alternative is to use the Pi2 for something else or sell it. I understand the temptation, though I don't really know how much of an improvement you will see in pure media playback. I'd recommend checking out youtube for some comparisons, there's quite a few videos comparing Pi2 with Pi3. I skipped the Pi2 as I already had the first Pi. That's pretty much the only reason I'm getting the Pi3 now. The Pi2 is no slouch and handles media very well, so I would just wait for the next Pi.

[skylarking]

I've just ordered the RPI-3
I decided to get the RPi-3 only because i can now ditch/redeploy the BlueTooth and WiFi USB adapters and in the process also get rid of the USB hub i'm currently using.
The end result by upgrading is the setup is a little cleaner under the TV with an added benefit of a slightly snappier UI

OK, maybe the upgrade is not the most sensible but heck, i now have another RPi to play with
In any case it's a cheap buy and less than a tank of petrol for my car

And as a FYI, the old RPi-2 and power plug cost $43.18 and $11.51 respectively (not including 10% tax) back in Feb 2015, petrol was $1.50 - $1.60 per litre.
The new RPi-3 and power plug now cost $56.18 and $13.21 respectively not including 10% tax) in march 2016, petrol is $0.93 - $0.98 per litre.
That's a huge 26.6% increase in buying the RPi-3, meaning tech getting cheaper as time goes by is a myth (at least on this side of the pond).
In reality i can thank our government for the drop in exchange rates and hense our buying power

[Edited below]
Forgot that i need VC-1 and MPEG licenses for the new RPi since they are tied to the hardware and can't be transfered.
Oh well, now the set up will cost more than a tank of petrol

[SeVreN2013]

VC-1 license is £1.20 or $2.31 AUD
MPEG license is £2.40 or $4.61 AUD

Total: $6.92 AUD

Cheaper than buying any Snacks or Junk Food at the Petrol Station

P.S. I agree with everything you said .. ordered my RPi3 a few days ago, Element14 Australia "Out of Stock" re-stock 7th March
(yay, next week)

[nooryani84]

I've just ordered the RPI-3
I decided to get the RPi-3 only because i can now ditch/redeploy the BlueTooth and WiFi USB adapters and in the process also get rid of the USB hub i'm currently using.
The end result by upgrading is the setup is a little cleaner under the TV with an added benefit of a slightly snappier UI

OK, maybe the upgrade is not the most sensible but heck, i now have another RPi to play with
In any case it's a cheap buy and less than a tank of petrol for my car

And as a FYI, the old RPi-2 and power plug cost $43.18 and $11.51 respectively (not including 10% tax) back in Feb 2015, petrol was $1.50 - $1.60 per litre.
The new RPi-3 and power plug now cost $56.18 and $13.21 respectively not including 10% tax) in march 2016, petrol is $0.93 - $0.98 per litre.
That's a huge 26.6% increase in buying the RPi-3, meaning tech getting cheaper as time goes by is a myth (at least on this side of the pond).
In reality i can thank our government for the drop in exchange rates and hense our buying power

[Edited below]
Forgot that i need VC-1 and MPEG licenses for the new RPi since they are tied to the hardware and can't be transfered.
Oh well, now the set up will cost more than a tank of petrol

Dont ditch the wifi until you test the integrated one! It's not that powerful and has a small antenna. Your milage will vary of course

I paid just under 60 USD just for the Rpi3 thanks to the exhange rate here in Norway, bloody expensive! The Pi, case, memory card, power supply came to 130usd after shipping. Don't tell me that's cheap Where are u based?

[ztarbugz]

I will go with a Pi3. But the only reason is I want to have a second Pi running a GitLab server at home. So instead of buying a new Pi2 I can buy a Pi3 and use my current Pi2 as personal small server (but I will wait until OpenELEC 7.x comes out for clean istall). If you you are happy with your Pi2 than you can save the money and spend it for the next version, maybe next year or whenever it will arrive.

[nooryani84]

I doubt we will see a new pi for at least 2-3 years. They don't want to alienate their customers who are buying mew RPi3. I reckon they have enough work to get done optimizing Raspbian and the firmware for the new 64-bit SoC

[nickr]

I have ordered a pi3, just cos I could. I have various pis, they are always useful. I think the 3 might end up as a car pc. The built in bt/wifi will mean less crap lying around my trunk.

Does anyone know if the built in wifi can be used as a AP?

PS rpi2 is capable of some hevc playback. With a faster cpu, hevc can only get better.

[nooryani84]

nickr: this guy seems to have got it working as an AP, see the post https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewt...77#p918477

Edit: interesting, have never even thought about this possibility http://elinux.org/RPI-Wireless-Hotspot

[speedwell68]

I won't be upgrading anytime soon. The only thing that an RPI 3 will bring to me is H.265. But I believe that is now possible with an RPI 2 anyway. My problem is that I still rely on RPI 1s and they are still perfect for what they do. I have an RPI 2 in the lounge and an RPI1 in each bedroom. The only addon I really use is YouTube and then only to receive 'casts' from one of my computers or a tablet. So all my PIs really do is play content from my media server, no real power is needed for that. My RPI 2 is quick and smooth without any real tweaking. My RPI 1s have been heavily tweaked and they are also quite quick and smooth in operation. So until any of my existing RPIs give trouble or become unsupported I will be staying as I am.

[da-anda]

It's quite tempting to grab the PI3, as a store settling them for 39,- € is just 5 min away, but for now I don't see the benefit. Well, 1080p h256 would be nice, but all my Android boxes that I currently use for Kodi+Netflix would have to be capable of that as well, which they are not. So I'll wait and see if what other PI3 specific features will come up in future and decide then.

[DarrenHill]

My Pi2 is doing fine in its current media player role (indeed I use a Pi Zero when travelling, and that does the job fine too). That said I usually only watch DVD rips, so I'm not pushing the envelope anywhere near as much as many are but it works for me.

Will be getting a Pi3 in a couple of months time with my PiTop Ceed (as they've been kind enough to upgrade all the Kickstarter pledges that included a Pi from a Pi2 to a Pi3), and I may quietly swap the Pi3 into my media box though, but maybe not as I don't use wifi on it and as it ain't broke maybe I won't fix it.