I purchased a DGT Smart Board and DGT PI together in August of this year. You can access the many features of the computer through the button driven menu system on the front of the DGT PI such as setting the clock and the engine you wish to play against and its strength. No special technical knowledge is needed to use these options, and as I said, there are many options.

DGT PI is built from a DGT 3000 clock, and two "open" components: a Raspberry PI computer and a software package called picochess. As a result, it is highly customizable for the technically inclined. For example to connect the DGT PI to your wireless network and email the games.pgn file to you after each game, or do an automatic update of the software on boot up, you will need to modify a file in the DGT PI named picochess.ini. However, this technical tinkering is not needed to enjoy using the DGT PI.

In my case I have a background in Computer Science and was able to set up these additional customizations. I had to do some research on the Web to figure it all out, and if you have the background you can get it to work as well. But to be clear, you don't need a technical background to enjoy the vast majority of the DGT PIs features.

I currently am using the menus to set the Engine to Rodent III and am experimenting with it's many personalities (i.e. playing strengths and styles). I'm loosing a lot of these games so I'm going to adjust the clock to give me more time. There are YouTube videos on the web that demonstrate how to use the DGT Smart Board and PI to analyze a game or for training purposes. I'm also experimenting with those uses and having great fun. For me the selling point is to have all these options for playing chess "over the board" vs a computer screen. The physical act of moving the pieces I find helpful in learning and improving my chess.

In short I am very happy with this product and very pleased with the service I received from ChessHouse. Highly recommended.

I own this chess computer.
It is a really good chess computer/clock. To customize it further than the stock settings, you do need to know
Linux/command line prompt, and you can easily update versions and get it to continue to announce moves even under one minute time controls.
For those who want a simple, non-technical computer, the Centaur Chess computer offers powerful play with ease of operation.
I would have that one if I didn't have the DGT Electronic board and DGT PI. who knows, I may still get a Centaur Chess computer.
But the DGT PI has outperformed my expectations, in play and features. I did have to put my tech hat on to get at all the "extras' under the hood.Which meant modifying files and things like that. I don't recommend for the un-initiated.
You can power it with the AC adapter it comes with, or with a power bank. Attach a speak to hear it call out the moves.
It can be adjusted to update, announce down to the second, retrieve saved games, email you your games, do Ethernet connections,
it can do wifi with a wifi dongle, you can set customized time controls, and other things. Granted you do need to know some programming to get at some of this extra stuff. I even install endgame tables on it.

Even so, I do recommend this machine, especially if you like to tinker.
For most people, the stock settings will suffice.

I really I can play with a tournament size board and pieces, when paired with a DGT electronic board!! THAT was one of the biggest selling points for me.

There is a learning curve with the DGT Pi. I am certain once I learn how to navigate the different menus, this chess engine will be better than playing chess on an ipad or laptop. At the moment, I am still learning how to use it. The DGT with the Royal chess pieces are great looking and feel classy. The DGT e-board with the DGT Pi and Royal Chess pieces were less than $1,000, which was an excellent price. I recommend this product for those who enjoy playing chess.

THE ANSWER HERE IS EASY! THESE DGT Pi CHESS CLOCKS ARE LOADED WITH NUMEROUS, STRONG CHESS ENGINES; MANY ENGINES CAN BE SET TO LOWER LEVELS TO EVEN OUT THE PLAYING FIELD! I HAVE HAD TROUBLE CONNECTING LAPTOP PROGRAMS TO SEVERAL E-BOARDS; THE PROBLEM WAS ALWAYS THE SAME - EVENTUALLY DURING A GAME, THE LAPTOP SCREEN WOULD MALFUNCTION. THESE CLOCKS ELIMINATE THAT PROBLEM. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF USEFUL FUNCTIONS; YOU CAN SET AT LEAST 20 DIFFERENT TIME CONTROLS, FROM LONG GAMES WITH "FISCHER" INCREMENTS, BLITZ GAMES, OR G15, 30, 60, OR 90, ETC; THE POSSIBILITIES ARE SUITABLE FOR ANY TIME CONTROL. YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM A VARIETY OF OPENING BOOKS THAT DESCRIBE THE STYLE OF PLAY, FROM OPEN GAMES TO SEMI-OPEN GAMES, TO CLOSED GAMES AND ANYTHING IN BETWEEN. THIS FEATURE IS GREAT FOR PRACTICING SPECIFIC OPENINGS, WHICH IS MY PRIMARY USE. AND IT HAS A DOUBLE USE AS A REGULAR TOURNAMENT CLOCK THAT IS EASY TO SET FOR TIME FUNCTIONS. IF YOU WANT AN ALL PURPOSE CLOCK, LOOK NO FURTHER - THIS IS YOUR ANSWER. JUST CONNECT THE CABLES AND USE IT ANY WAY YOU WANT WITH AN E-BOARD, WITH OR WITHOUT BLUETOOTH. A GREAT VALUE FOR THE PRICE, WITH A CHESS HOUSE, USA-BASED STAFF THAT PROVIDES AN ANSWER FOR ANY QUESTION YOU HAVE. NO RESERVATIONS ON THIS ONE. I BOUGHT TWO! LEN

Very interesting way to play. Extremely easy to change configurations using extra queens. But,
Lag was disappointing esp during blitz. Voice announcement never works for faster time controls.(starts with voice then automatically stops later )..and in almost all cases computer lost on time, esp in 5-5 or 3-2 which is classical blitz controls...I had tried stockfish higher levels ...but even with good position it always lost on time...but for classical.time controls ..it's great..another negative is the update option
Updating dgt pi is very complex and I am surprised ,on that prize why can't they give wifi with auto update? Given the cost factor, there are lot of scope for improvement.