Make a Pi 2 desktop PC

Use your Raspberry Pi as a desktop replacement PC thanks to the increased power of the Raspberry Pi 2

The Raspberry Pi 2’s increased power over its predecessor is well-documented by now. More CPU cores and more RAM making it six times faster is an impressive number, and you can see the actual changes that it makes to the experience.

This power actually enables you to conduct a very simple project that was just out of reach for the original Raspberry Pi: a Raspberry Pi desktop PC.

All the components for it were available, but the Pi was just a little too slow to properly give a fluid desktop experience. Now with the improved resources, many of the restrictions are gone – enough of them to be able to build a Pi desktop. So grab a Pi 2 and we’ll get started.

Top Android apps for your Raspberry Pi

Download the most useful tools for your Pi onto the device you carry the most

Mostly, our tutorials are about completing a specific project and reaching a particular goal. However, this time we’re doing something a bit different. We are showing you some Android apps that you can use along with your Ras Pi. These apps aren’t tied to particular projects - you can use them whenever and as often as you like - but we think they can add something to your whole experience with the Pi.

Some of the apps in our list are Pi-specific, while others are more general but have a Pi relevance. Chances are you might already know or use one or two, but we hope к that you can discover something new from the selection on offer. If you have an Android phone or tablet and have not explored the range of apps available for your Raspberry Pi, you might be missing out on some cool and very useful options.

Audio-Technica ATH-PDG1

Gaming spec cans from the big boys of studio sound

Step into any recording studio and you’ll see a raft of Audio-Technica kit. Indeed, the Japanese firm is beyond proving itself in the pro audio sector. But it’s a different story in the PC enthusiast market. After an uncertain first outing in the form of its ATH-AG1 gaming headset, A-T's still in away-game territory when it comes to gamers.

Turtle Beach Impact 500

The Tyrion bannister of the mechanical keyboard world. Only without the wenches. Or wine. Or wit

In these days of a UKIP government (we’re writing this before the general election, but briefly glanced at a newspaper the other day), it may seem odd to see such symbols, but this keyboard is proudly European. It even relegates the pound sign to third billing on the [3] key behind the hash, punishable by three years in prison, and adorns the [E] key with the insidious euro symbol.

Turtle Beach Grip 500

Like a kitten in your hand, but no pussycat when you get gaming

Turtle Beach is really onto something with the soft coating it's dipped the Grip 500 in. Its molecules spun and woven to feel like the firmest marshmallow beneath the hand, the mouse kisses your fingertips like a nymph newly spawned from a pool of inky black water, begging for protection from a pursuing satyr.

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

At last! A return to the series’ less-interesting past!

Last summer we fought Nazis on the Moon. We still impress people with that fact at parties, right up until they realise we’re talking about a videogame. But what a videogame! 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order was a globetrotting – and occasionally globe-leaving – tour de force. It used its fantastical premise (what if the Nazis won World War II? And had robot technology? And soldiers could carry more than two weapons at the same time?) – to take us anywhere it damn well liked. We’ve been to the Moon and back; where could the series possibly take us now?

Guild of Dungeoneering

An RPG card battler with a dungeon-building twist

You could call this a dungeon crawler, but you don’t do any of the crawling yourself. Your tiny hand-drawn adventurer has a mind of their own – or at least an approximation of one – and they explore a top-down dungeon that you’ve custombuilt with your own hand.

Guild of Dungeoneering is a cute indie RPG that combines elements of Dungeon Keeper with the turn-based card combat of Hearthstone. It’s your job to lure the hero to the dungeon’s boss, offering them gold to loot and enemies to slay. You’re not actually evil, though. You’re throwing giant bats and rats at a terrified adventurer, sure, but you’re ultimately doing it to help them.

Lumo

A charming compendium of platforming

After a decade making big budget games, and co-founding Crackdown studio Ruffian, Gareth Noyce has gone indie. Lumo is his first solo project, a cute isometric platformer that has echoes of Nintendo’s best 3D Mario games. You play a boy lost in a danger-filled castle, and must navigate him safely through 300 rooms of traps, puzzles, obscure game references and precise platforming.

The game’s rooms float against a colourful space backdrop, each presenting a different challenge or obstacle to traverse. It’s a series of self-contained platforming moments, reminiscent of the sublime Super Mario Galaxy games. But its roots go deeper: Noyce cites classic ZX Spectrum platformer Head Over Heels as his biggest influence. Lumo is steeped in gaming history, but with a modern sheen.