Hello Pi

Posted on Nov 27, 2025 by Iian Kehn

ConaKit Raspberry Pi 5 8GB

I can't believe I bought myself a Raspberry Pi 5. It's been out for a while now and I finally got one because the iPad Pro just wansn't cutting it for some of my productivity needs.

When I bought it, I had to buy some other things with it because naturally I didn't have a monitor or keyboard to use it with, but now that my setup is almost fully complete (minus good storage, more on that later). I have been playing with it for a little while and I have some thoughts.

Raspberry Pi OS with GNOME

Linux is overrated

Don't get me wrong, Raspberry Pi OS is the preferred choice because it's based on Debian, and it works really well when you yeet the default DWM out of existance. The default window manager is terrible and I would not recommend it to anyone simply because it is ugly and outdated. Yes, there is a purpose for it, but there's nothiing appealing about using an interface that came out of a distro from the early 00's. Luckily, installing another window manager isn't all that difficult if you know what you want out of it. I typically go with Gnome, but KDE and others do exist on ARM and you're free to install what you want.

The problem I have is mostly out of ignorance on my part and that is the lack of proper Windows on ARM support. Yes, WoR-flasher exists as well as other projects, but I found myself banging my head on the desk (OW!) because none of them worked in my experience for one reason or another. In the case of WoR-flasher specifically is a known issue where it cannot verify the SHA1 signature because the script is apparently missing a key component that the developer acknowledges. Another tool, Worli is fantastic outside of the fact that it doesn't natively support the Pi 5 as a configuration and the last update was in 2022 with no news on a new release.

Solid performance

I am not benchmarking a SBC, I don't see the point in doing so, but in terms of overall general performance, it is perfect for media consumption, coding, web browsing, entertainment and emulation (assuming you're mindful of the specs). It is more than performent for day to day tasks, but outside of that, it's generally not designed for that purpose.

Speaking of specs, the machine boasts an ARM64 processor, so if you are looking to run your favorite apps, you'll need to make sure that the vendor supports aarch64 out of the box, otherwise you're going to be out of luck.



I want to make it a point that how you use the system is going to vastly impact your overall performance, as well as cooling factors. I picked up the ConaKit that came with a case, heatsink, fan, and power supply. Depending on the options you choose will vastly impact your overall perfoance as the Raspberry Pi 5 does get warm.

Final thoughts

Here's the thing, if you need something small enough to fit in your pocket, or you want something that will work for all your general purpose needs, or you have a specifc need in mind. Outside of general producivity, you can do some amazing things with the Raspberry Pi 5 including gaming (emulation), entertainment, 3D printing, automation, and more. They're cheap and set up in minutes (assuming you have some knowledge of putting pieces together like I did with my kit).

Let me be clear, there is a learning curve to the Pi in general, and if you're not savvy there are resources out there for you to utilize, but some knowledge is required to make the most out of the hardware. Linux isn't 100% user friendly, but the customization options are endless.

Overall I am happy with the Raspberry Pi 5, even with its flaws. It serves its purpose and with more storage and other improvements, I am sure that it will keep me going for a while, or at least until the next one comes out.