[Raspberry Pi 3 Thermal Profile under load, Courtesy Microsoft]

Pushing Raspberry Pi 3 Limits

Abstract:

Embedded systems continue to gain in processing power, from MHz to GHz. The market had moved from 8, to 16, to 32, and finally to 64 bits with processors. Modern embedded systems like the Raspberry Pi 3 both work at high clock rates and process a lot of bits. When pushed aggressively, the Raspberry Pi 3 will shut down.

[Raspberry Pi Configurations, Courtesy Hackaday]

Variety:

The Raspberry Pi platform comes in a variety of different configurations, the most recent release provides the most compute power in an embedded system. The  most recent, on the left of the chart from Hackaday, provides the most compute power and functionality.

Conclusions:

If light duty embedded systems is desired, then there is much burst capacity available in the Raspberry Pi. If heavier duty loads are to be placed upon a system, proper cooling facilities most be considered.