Raspberry pi (as we all know) is a little mini computer, credit card sized, that plugs in your computer and magic. You can do all sorts of projects that require little electronics and lots of imagination. A great tool for learning programming. Here are our 10 best Raspberry Pi 3 starter kits
Have a look and start your magic.
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Kit with Premium Clear Case and 2.5A Power Supply ($49.99)
- Includes Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi3) Model B Quad-Core 1.2 GHz 1 GB RAM
- On-board WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity
- CanaKit 2.5A USB Power Supply with Micro USB Cable and Noise Filter – Specially designed for the Raspberry Pi 3 (UL Listed)
- Premium Clear Raspberry Pi 3 Case
- Heat Sinks (Pair of 2) and a quick-start guideNot many people reviewed it on amazon but here are a few customer reviews. One appreciated that it was made in United Kingdom and hence said it was the “Realpi”. The faster processor in this one is noticeable as compared to its previous version. This kit is abundant in itself hence you donot need parts from other kits. The case comes out to be excellent. And even if you add other hardware to your pi, your board is pretty well protected. User friendly and easy to operate.
You can find this product here.
SunFounder Project Super Starter Kit for Raspberry Pi 3, 2 & Model B+ ($45.99)
This starter kit comes without RaspberryPi and includes
- Tutorials to learn about Raspberry Pi, designed for beginners
- User manual containing around fifteen projects, code (C and Python), datasheets and Fritzing images
- Case for storing components properly.
- Raspberry Pi is NOT included.
- The 40-Pin GPIO Extension Board is for Raspberry Pi B Plus and Raspberry Pi 2
From 54 reviews on amazon, 72% rated it 5 star.
” It has a lot of different things in it, be prepared to do minor soldering. If you want to do any projects outside what is in the book, you will need to buy a resistor assortment along with some other things.Quality of the included hardware is good.
LCD: You have to get out the little 5watt soldering iron and solder the pins to the back of the LCD display before you can use it.”
This is a complete kit with sensors and gives you everything that you need to play around with Raspberry Pi.
” Positives: Really great kit with a fantastic selection of items you’ll probably use, good price.
– Negatives: Slow 2 full weeks to deliver, 40-Pin GPIO Extension Board/breadboard not interchangeable with Canakit’s (their +/- rail holes are between, vs even with inner lines), and I had a couple bent pins (easily bent straight)”
You can find this product here.
ThePiHut ($65.40)
It includes
- Latest Raspberry Pi 3 Model B (64bit Quad Core, 1GB RAM)
- 8GB or 16GB Sandisk Ultra Class 10 MicroSD (pre-imaged with NOOBS)
- Official Raspberry Pi 5.1V 2.5A International Power Supply (for UK, EU, USA & AUS)
- Black Raspberry Pi 3 Case
- 2M HDMI cable
- 2M Ethernet Cable
You can find this product here.
Raspberry Pi 3 COMPLETE Starter Kit, Black, Pi3 Model B Barebones Computer Motherboard ($68.99)
This starter kit includes
- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B the fastest Raspberry Pi to date, with built-in WiFi (802.11B/G/N) and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity which allows the user to get connected right out of the box.
- Improved power management which allow the Pi 3 to power USB gadgets like hard drives and cameras.
- Premium Black Pi3 Case
- 16GB Class 10 Micro SD Card pre-loaded with “NOOBS”
- SD Card Adapter-2.5A
- Micro USB Power Supply with Noise Filter (6-foot cable)
- Premium High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet (6-foot cable)
- Heatsink for Raspberry Pi – Pair of 2 Heat
The setup works great – Customer
This was again setup in 5 minutes of setup. The customers were satisfied with whatever came in the kit.
A customer reviewed this by saying:
“1. The kit came with everything I needed to get started – Well-packaged, professionally designed set. I liked the way the kit components were packed nicely.
2. Appreciated the HDMI cable being included. I used my big screen TV to get started. This all worked well.
3. The case is well-designed to fit the Pi snaps right into the case with no screws required accurately and securely.
4. Product started up perfectly.
5. All cables fit well into the product and thru the case
6. This is the PERFECT power supply for a Raspberry Pi
7. The heat sinks have an adhesive thermal paste already on them, so you just need to peel the plastic off and attach them to the chips.
8. The Micro SD card slot is not spring loaded (push-pull) but rather uses friction (push-push) to hold the card in the slot.
9. Speaking of SD cards, this kit comes with a tiny USB micro SD card reader. That’s nice to have, especially if you want to load anything onto the card.”
You can find this product here.
CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit – 32 GB Edition ($74.99)
This comes with a quick start guide along with
- Includes Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi3) Model B Quad-Core 1.2 GHz 1 GB RAM
- On-board WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity
- 32 GB Micro SD Card (Class 10)
- Raspberry Pi Recommended Micro SD Card pre-loaded with NOOBS
- USB MicroSD Card Reader
- CanaKit 2.5A USB Power Supply with Micro USB Cable and Noise Filter
- Specially designed for the Raspberry Pi 3 (UL Listed)
- High-Quality Raspberry Pi 3 Case, Premium Quality HDMI Cable, Heat Sinks (2)
- GPIO Quick Reference Card
NOOB supplied doesn’t allow to set the size of the screen and is set for a wider screen.
PROS:
1. Well-packaged.
2. Appreciated the HDMI cable being included.
3. The case is well-designed to fit the Pi accurately and securely.
4. Product started up perfectly.
5. All cables fit well into the product and through the case.
Minor nit-picks:
– I don’t recall seeing any notes about the heat sinks. It seemed pretty obvious where to stick them, but I was surprised they weren’t mentioned in the Quick-Start Guide.
– Slightly annoying to have to look on the internet for the instructions on putting the Pi in the case.
– Surprised that there wasn’t better precautions on static electricity. I went online to get some tips”
You can find this product here.
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CanaKit ($89.99)
It includes
- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Quad-Core 1.2 GHz 1 GB RAM
- On-board WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity
- 32 GB Micro SD Card (Class 10) pre-loaded with NOOBS
- CanaKit 2.5A Power Supply with 5 feet Micro USB Cable and Noise Filter (UL Listed)
- High Quality Raspberry Pi 3 Case
- High Quality 6.5 feet HDMI Cable
- Heat Sink
- CanaKit Full Color Quick-Start Guide
- CanaKit GPIO to Breadboard Interface Board
- Ribbon Cable
- Large Breadboard
- RGB LED, LEDs RGBD (8), Resistors (15), Push Button Switches (2)
- Jumper Wires
- GPIO and Resistor Colors Quick Reference Cards
Out of 120 people, 77 percent rated in 5 stars.
There was a problem with position of processor cut-outs. The heat sink was considerably smaller. The price was a little high than it should have been. The SD card gives just one choice of raspbian.
The instructions were fine and you could get it working if you follow the guide. There is available great flexibility because of the wifi and bluetooth module. Here is a critical review:
“I got it recently. First thing I did was to back up the micro SD card.
I configured one card with Raspbian. Wired Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, all work right away with no issues.
Next card was configured with Windows 10 IoT Core for Raspberry Pi 3, available from Microsoft. It worked once I switched from the cheap micro SD card to one approved by MS. I can develop in Visual Studio on my laptop and ship the code to the Pi for testing. On board WiFi and BT don’t work yet in this environment.”
You can find this product here.
Vilros Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Complete Starter Kit with Keyboard–Clear Case Edition ($84.99)
The Vilros complete starter kit comes with
- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
- INCLUDES MINI KEYBOARD–2.4G Wireless Keyboard with Built in Laser Pointer (keyboard Measures 6×2.4×0.5 inches)
- Clear Case
- 32GB Class 10 Sandisk Micro SD Card pre-loaded with “NOOBS”
- SD Card Adapter
- 5 AMP USB Power Supply (UL Listed) with Micro USB Cable
- CEC Compatible HDMI Cable
- Heat sink for Raspberry Pi (Pair of 2)
- Quick Start Guide guides on building an OSMC (XBMC) Media Center and gets you started with scratch
You can find this product here.
Vilros ($89.99)
This kit includes Raspberry Pi 3 model B. It comes with a 32GB micro SD card pre-loaded with NOOBS. 2 heat sinks and 65 male to male jumper wires and 10 male to female jumper wires. It also comes with a general purose input output board, LEDs, resistors and buttons.
Customer Reviews:
Great kit and sets up Raspbian really fast. It doesn’t come with a user guide.
Perfect for getting started with Raspberry Pi.
You can find this product here.
Vilros Raspberry Pi 3 Ultimate Starter Kit–Clear Case Edition ($49.99)
This kit includes Raspberry Pi 3 model B. It comes with a clear case which enable highly helpful covering enabling access to all the ports. The board comes with wifi and bluetooth.
From a total of 300 people around 93% rated it five stars. A great kit for this price. The Pi fits in the case nicely. The little thing that lacks is the case does not make for the Pi, space so it can power ON and OFF. Putting the Raspbian software on the SD card is fairly easy and after booting the Pi you are up and ready. The kit has upgraded features and is energy efficient. Heat sinks recommended.
You can find this product here.
Vilros Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit-Black Case Edition ($64.99)
It comes with a
- SD Card Adapter
- Micro SD card Class 10 Preloaded with
“NOOBS” (16GB) - 1GB RAM
- USB Power Supply (2.5 AMP) with Micro USB Cable
- CEC Compatible HDMI Cable
- Heat sink for Raspberry Pi (Pair of 2)
- Black case
- The preloaded micro SD card comes with a Raspberry Pi3 compatible version of NOOBS.NOOBS is the process of setting up the Raspberry Pi, with EXTREME ease.
About 86% of the 2200 reviews made it to five stars on amazon. The initial operating system starts without a hitch and the idea of pre-installing NOOBS was great. Quick start guide helps a great deal and a customer reviewed by saying ” I connected a wireless mouse today. NO problem! Then I connected an older Dell monitor using an HDMI – DVI adapter cable, which worked perfectly. I also plugged in my Airwolf3d printer today and it ran without a hitch! I am really happy with this little computer.”
Clearly there aren’t many bugs with the hardware.The system supports 1080p output but needs configuration to do so. Wireless adapter maintains a stable connection and has great range. There were problems with the case but amazon ships replacement too if you ask them. The same customer said:
‘However, be ready to buy new wifi dongles and power supplies.’
You can find this product here.
Let us know which starter kit you went with and why?
