CanaKitRaspberry Pi 4 Starter Kit - 2GB RAM

First of all, I'm brand new to Raspberry Pi. I loved the CanaKit Raspberry Pi kit. I had everything I needed to get up and running fast, except for a mouse and keyboard, which is clearly indicated in the description, so I was ready to go when the kit arrived (which it did VERY quickly!).INITAL HARDWARE SETUPThe design of the included case did not even require one single screw. The top and bottom of the case "snap" off from the middle easily and the board drops into place onto the bottom plate. Be sure to attach the three heatsinks on the chips and the wire connectors for the fan before snapping it all back together if you are going to use them (which I strongly recommend). It's much easier to attach them with the full board exposed. Then you snap the top and bottom back on onto the middle and you're done. It would have been a tiny bit faster to assemble than it was but I had to search the internet for the right pins on the board to connect the fan to. The two rows of pins were not numbered on the board nor referenced in the quick guide included. It took like 10 seconds to verify the board pinout and another 10 seconds to find which pins the fan connects to. There were lots of videos and diagrams available to help, including videos specifically for this brand and model. Since the fan has two power/speed options I wanted to be sure I was connecting to the right pins. I chose the higher power/faster speed. Some review comments mention more noise with the higher speed but I found the "noise" to be almost silent, even at the higher level. I can save you a bit of time on the fan pinout bit. The row closest to the outside of the board are the even numbered pins. Since this is a computer (one's and zero's) that row starts with 0, then 2,4,6, etc. The row towards the inside starts with 1,3,5,7. The numbers go higher as you move from the outside edge to the inside along the row. For the higher fan speed, connect the red wire to pin 4. For the lower fan speed, connect the red wire to pin 3. The black wire is ground and always connects to pin 6. Easy peasy once you know! Overall this part took about 10-15 minutes.INITIAL OS SETUPThe pre-loaded NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) was fast in helping choosing which operating system and what options you wanted. Choosing other options like new password. time zone, wireless and keyboard went fast. After the OS booted up it took a while to check for and install any needed upgrades (perfectly normal and expected for any OS). If you have a 5G wireless wifi, be sure to connect to it (or use an ethernet cable) to save download times for OS and application software upgrades that may be needed. Overall this part took about 30 minutes including downloads, then it rebooted and started working perfectly.CONSThe kit would be perfect if it included pin out instructions for the fan and a little more clarity on installing the heatsinks. That's the only parts that caused me any delay in putting it all together.SUMMARYGreat kit and good price. It's possible that searching for the individual parts might have save a few pennies or dollars, but having almost everything from one manufacturer in one box, assured me that everything would work together and there would be only one place to go if troubles appeared. I would absolutely recommend this kit if you are getting started in the PI world, and even if you're more experienced. This kit is GREAT!

This is crazy. This thing came with 3 heat sinks, a fan, a hard drive (albeit a microsd) preloaded with everything you could need, all the necessary wires, and even some extra stuff just because (a usb microsd reader). I put it together in minutes, had the software installed shortly thereafter, and was up and running in no time. I love Linux, but am used to Ubuntu - I know, I know its evil, corporate and lame, but I know that it works, so I use it, primarily the server edition. So I was thinking I needed to install Ubuntu on this, but once I fired up the terminal, all or most of the commands to install and setup, and navigate are virtually the same on Rasp Pi OS, if not exactly the same. The recommended Rasp Pi OS for install is really good, I was thinking I did not really need the desktop software, etc, but I actually really kind of like it! I configured the hardware during the build (which again, took only minutes) for the high performance fan installation, which is supposed to be noisy, but I don't hear anything at all. My plan is to use it as a linux server for the nginx/uwsgi/web applications I need to run. The extra usb microsd reader will allow me to expand the storage space, I just ordered a Silicon Power 256 gb microsd to mount it as extra drive(s). I ordered this CanaKit with the 32 gb Samsung NOOB microsd, but my recommendation for others would be to get the 128 or 256 gb version if its offered. Also, fyi the unit is pretty fast, not clunky at all. I was able to set up ssh into it from windows quickly. I probably will never buy another Windows desktop or laptop again, I have an older HP laptop that is perfectly fine that I upgraded with RAM and an SSD, so I can remote in to this Rasp Pi 4 machine to do what I need, super easy and love it so far!

Wanted to get into programming and making stuff for myself because i've been so bored. I've heard of the raspberry pi for a while but was really intimidated by it. I decided to watch one (1) YouTube video about how to set it up and get it started so I felt very qualified. I got this kit because its a good price and has everything that I need, I dont have to worry about getting more stuff and making sure its right, this kit has it. It works great, I was able to set up my website and host my domain for free which is what I really wanted. I've since formatted an old mini PC that I had to run more complex bots and python scrips and I now use this little Pi as a remote server for storage. If you're curious about trying something new, just get this!

I bought this to use as a media server, mostly local on hard drives. My TV runs through HDMI, which is good and the quality of playback is as expected. The drawbacks to this device are more to do with the Raspberry default OS, Raspbian. The mouse, by default, is extremely laggy due to the default settings, and HDMI is not automatically connected, although it is detected fine. I currently have two HDs and one external SSD running with it and have experienced no issues regarding its intended use other than those mentioned.