I have 5.0V 3A and 5.2V 3A regulated supplies that I can repurpose for my Raspberry Pi 3B project. Am thinking of using the USB power jack. Which should I go with?
5.2V would seem to be within the specs but is there any benefit over 5.0V?
3 Answers
5.1 V is preferable if you are using a normal short cable. 5 Volt is good for a fast-charging cable. 5.2 V is good when you are using a poor quality of USB charger cable or a longer cable. The voltage is sometimes increased because there might be some losses through the cable. I gave you all the necessary information so far. You can now choose one easily.
answered Jul 27, 2020 at 15:08
Both should be fine.
The 5.2V one may be better if you have a poor quality USB cable between the PSU and the Pi. Some USB cables have flimsy wires and drop significant voltage.
Both voltages are tolerated by the Raspberry Pi 3B, but official documentation actually suggests 5.1V.
Higher voltages usually mean more power if the amperage is the same. Also a higher voltage might give a little more heat output, but 0.1V is very negligible.
I suggest using the 5.2V as some of it will be lost to the inefficiencies of cabling.
