Skip to contentThe global RAM shortage has driven up prices for all sort of computers in recent months, even models that were supposed to be super cheap, like Raspberry Pi computers – most of which saw price hikes in April.So it’s interesting to see that Cytron is now selling some Raspberry Pi 4 Model B boards at a discount. There’s a catch though – they’re not as fast as a typical Raspberry Pi 4.When the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B first launched in 2019 it was powered by a Broadcomm BCM2711 quad-core Arm Cortex-A72 CPU with support for CPU frequencies up to 1.5 GHz. And a few years later Raspberry Pi released a software update that added support for speeds up to 1.8 GHz.But the versions that Cytron is selling for discounted prices only supports frequencies up to 1.25 GHz. Why? Basically because it uses binned chips.Cytron says that the boards are sourced directly from Raspberry Pi, but they’re units that “did not meet the peak 1.8 GHz frequency specification” during testing, but Raspberry Pi has validated them as capable of running “flawlessly at a maximum stable operating frequency of 1.25 GHz.”As a result, it’s possible that some software that requires 1.5 GHz or 1.8 GHz speeds may not function properly. But most applications should run just fine… if a little slower than they would on a normal unit.So how much can you save by picking up one of these 1.25 GHz Raspberry Pi 4 boards? A little.A normal Raspberry Pi Model 4 with 4GB of RAM sells for $100, while an 8GB model is priced at $165. Cytron is selling 1.25 GHz versions for $87.25 and $147, respectively.via CNX Software