Raspberry Pi 2 B+ GPU Power, Performance, and Energy Implications

In this paper, we explore the Raspberry pi 2 B+ (RPI) graphics in terms of electrical power and energy. We use a novel method to correlate graphics processing, CPU load and electrical power consumption and total energy. By using different benchmarks both with and without the GPU rendering and a Power Gauge, the power consumption difference between GPU rendering and software rendering can be measured. Our results are showing that the number of frames rendered per second increases dramatically when hardware rendering is used, as does electrical power. Interestingly, because the hardware rendering takes less time, we have found that the total energy consumed per rendered frame can be lower despite the electrical power during hardware rendering being higher.