Raspberry Pi Compute Modules have developed in tandem with the many generations of Raspberry Pi single-board computers. These boards are in every right a microprocessor just like their bigger cousins however they are a very different form factor. This much smaller form factor is achieved by eschewing a number of conectivity options. There are even Lite Compute Modules which remove all on board flash memory.
All of these Compute Modules connect via a 200-pin DDR2 SODIMM connector. These connectors are often seen when when building a full sized computer as the connector between a computer motherboard and the computer RAM. So this guide will compare every Compute Module that the Raspberry Pi foundation has ever produced.
All the boards can easily be programmed using Compute Module IO Boards. However it is worth noting the Raspberry Pi Compute Modules are not as user-friendly as the Raspberry Pi Model A, Model B or Zero boards and are intended for more advanced users in industrial and commercial applications. Check out a break down and comparison on all these boards here.
The lore of the name Raspberry Pi was chosen with Raspberry as an ode to a tradition of naming early computer companies after fruit and Pi as a reference to the Python programming language. As always if you have any questions, queries or things to add please let us know your thoughts!
Compute Module Generations Table - Specs
Below is a table that will get you up to speed with all computational specifications to do with any Compute Module in any generations of the Raspberry Pi up to today. If your are holding one in your hands and have not figured out which one it is or what hardware it has this is the table for you. This table will also give the weight and dimensions of each of the boards. The have been ordered with the most recent releases higher up in the table.
Compute Module IO Board
The Compute Module IO Board V3, as seen in can be seen in the picture below, is the best official development kit for all the current Compute Modules. It is for those who wish to make use of the Raspberry Pi in a more flexible form factor whilst easily programming it. It is completely open-source and simple breakout board which you can plug a Compute Module into. The board has 120 GPIO pins, a HDMI port, USB2.0 port, two camera ports and two display ports. This is a great way to program each board to do exactly what you want before placing the board into the final application. Also great for testing Compute Modules.