Turing Pi 2.5 "Isn't Just Another Iteration" of the Popular Cluster Compute Carrier, Company Says

Turing Pi has announced the start of production for its next-generation cluster compute carrier board — and while it's not calling the new version the Turing Pi 3, it says the Turing Pi 2.5 is more than just a tweak to its predecessor.

"After more than a year in the making, we’re beyond excited to announce that production of the Turing Pi 2.5 (V2.5.2) has started," Turing Pi co-founder Stan Nevedomsky says. "This isn't just another iteration — it's the culmination of months of design, testing, and invaluable contributions from our amazing community. Along the way, we faced countless challenges, from hardware delays to complex debugging sessions, but every hurdle pushed us to create something better."

As the name implies, the Turing Pi 2.5 is an updated version of the Turing Pi 2 — unveiled by the company back in October 2020 as a successor to the still-earlier Turing Pi. The idea behind all models is the same: providing a stable platform to host systems-on-modules (SOMs), including but not limited to the Raspberry Pi Compute Module family, for a compact yet flexible cluster computing setup.

The Turing Pi 2.5 has been in development for over a year, addressing feedback for the Turing Pi 2 with three major design iterations — the biggest change from which is an overhauled USB system. This includes the ability to access the USB interface in the board's mini PCI Express (mPCIe) connector from the first two nodes, providing they're not a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, an internal USB hub that provides simultaneous access to all nodes' storage for rapid flashing, a USB Type-A port and 4k-capable HDMI port for the first node, and a switch to USB Type-C for storage access.

Other tweaks in the design include the addition of eight-pin connectors for external hardware with I2C, analog audio, and general-purpose input/output (GPIO) buttons, increased storage for the on-board Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), a change that sees nodes staying powered-on while the BMC restarts, improved power efficiency, and work-in-progress improvements to the BMC firmware.

More information on the Turing Pi 2.5, which is expected to be in stock in the next two weeks, is available on the Turing Pi website; the company has also unveiled a redesigned mini-ITX case tailored for the Turing Pi 2 family, which will goes up for pre-order today.