The Special Value Pi 4 was extremely short-lived
A Raspberry Pi reseller briefly listed a 'Special Value' Pi 4, which is only certified to run at 1.25 GHz instead of the usual 1.8 GHz. The product page has since been taken down, making the few units sold extremely rare collector's items.
Background
- Jeff Geerling is a well-known tech blogger and YouTuber who focuses on Raspberry Pi single-board computers, Linux, and open-source hardware/software.
- The Raspberry Pi 4 Model B was released in 2019 with a standard 1.8 GHz quad-core processor. It is widely used for hobbyist projects, home servers, and as a low-cost desktop computer.
- A "Special Value Pi 4" was briefly listed by a reseller in mid-2026 at a discount — but it was a binned chip that could only be certified for 1.25 GHz (roughly 30% slower than stock). These are essentially chips that didn't meet the normal speed grade during manufacturing and were sold at a lower price rather than discarded.
- Such chips are rare because Raspberry Pi typically doesn't sell underclocked "value" variants; they either sell at full spec or not at all. This makes the few that made it out into the wild collector's items.
- The article is about finding and documenting one of these unusual, short-lived products.