# Official Image VS Raspberry Pi OS With Script Installation

**URL:** <https://community.umbrel.com/t/official-image-vs-raspberry-pi-os-with-script-installation/16402>\
**Category:** General Discussions\
**Created:** [April 17, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/official-image-vs-raspberry-pi-os-with-script-installation/16402 "2024-04-17T17:58:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![theo-brlle](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/theo-brlle/32/5159_2.png) [@theo-brlle](https://community.umbrel.com/u/theo-brlle)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/official-image-vs-raspberry-pi-os-with-script-installation/16402/1 "2024-04-17T17:58:56Z")

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Hello Umbrel community! ☂

I’m considering installing umbrelOS on my Raspberry Pi 5, but I wonder what the differences are between installing it using the official image, or first installing Raspberry Pi OS (Lite) and then installing umbrelOS using the script. At the moment, I know that the “script” installation is still in version 0.x.x, but I can wait for it to be updated to 1.x.x.

To be more precise, here are my questions:

- Will the performances be better using the official image?
- Are there features that are only accessible using the official image?
- What Linux distribution is the official image using?
- Will I still be able to install some programs in parallel on my Pi if I go for the official image?

Thanks in advance! 🙏

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**Author:** ![doingbobthings](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/doingbobthings/32/5555_2.png) [@doingbobthings](https://community.umbrel.com/u/doingbobthings)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/official-image-vs-raspberry-pi-os-with-script-installation/16402/2 "2024-04-25T12:28:44Z")

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I can only speak to a portion of this having just installed PiOS and Umbrel via CURL to run a bitcoin node on a Pi5 with a 2TB NVMe drive.

The reason I went this route is because to my surprise, the current Umbrel OS does not yet support NVMe drives, and given the 500+GB blockchain download, it’s recommended to have at least 1TB for future expansion.

I can’t tell you how painful it was over the nearly two dozen failed attempts to get that to work out with version 1.x over four days. I finally just went to the previous version (0.5.4) and it’s been working like a charm. So far.

- No, the performance is not ‘better’ than the Umbrel image, because if you’re planning on a Bitcoin node (or anything that requires storage), it doesn’t work at all with NVMe drives, you’ll need a USB SSD. /sarcasm
- Pi OS is running a few versions of Debian, either 32 or 64, the 64 version offers a ‘lite’ and a ‘with desktop recommended apps’ flavors.
- I haven’t tried to install any other apps on the Pi in parallel to Umbrel because I was relieved enough to just get this far. I guess the issue may become system resources and possible compatability confkicts. Perhaps someone else here can answer.

Hope this helps!

ETA: If you decide to go down the NVMe route, these two instructions are what got me to the point of booting off the 2TB drive directly. You’ll need to iinitially cofigure a MicroSD card with the OS, but it works.  
Guides:

1. Install PiOS on SD card  
[How to Set Up a Raspberry Pi for the First Time | Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/set-up-raspberry-pi)
2. Configure NVMe for boot as below:  
[How to turbo-charge your Raspberry Pi 5 with an NVMe boot drive (Updated) | Tom's Hardware](https://www.tomshardware.com/raspberry-pi/how-to-turbo-charge-your-raspberry-pi-5-with-an-nvme-boot-drive)
