Cover image for Pimoroni NVMe Base

Pimoroni NVMe Base

If you're looking for a superfast NVMe board with Gen 3 capabalities, then this is the board for you. It's a great price, and has a host of features.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

15 January 2024 by Kevin McAleer


👍👍👍 Recommendation

Buy buy buy! If you’re looking for a superfast NVMe board with Gen 3 capabalities, then this is the board for you. It’s a great price, and has a host of features.



NVMe Base

The Pimoroni NVMe Base enables you to connect an NVMe SSD to your Raspberry Pi 5. The Base sits underneath the Raspberry Pi, with a small cable connecting the two.

The NVMe Base supports the following NVMe SSDs:

  • 2230
  • 2242
  • 2260
  • 2280

Picture of the NVMe Base and packaging

Features

Here are a list of the features:

  • Supports M-Key NVMe SSDs (2230 to 2280 sizes)
  • Comes with Rubber Feet!
  • Compliant with the Raspberry Pi ‘PIP’ design guidelines
  • Supports PCIe Gen 2 or better
  • Sits nearly underneath the Raspberry Pi 5


Pros

  • Very affordale at £13.50 (at launch)
  • Optionally can be purchased with a tested and compatible 500Gb NVMe SSD
  • Great price for the functionality
  • Documentation is excellent, with examples of how to configure the drive, including an assembly video.

Cons

  • The cable is a bit fiddly and can be difficult to connect to the Raspberry Pi 5 / NVMe Base

  • The cable length means it can only be used with the Raspberry Pi 5 with the NVME base directly underneath as per the design. Other cases may not be compatible.

Review Score

Below is the Kevs Robots review framework. First, each product is scored out of 5 for each of the 9 areas. The total score is then calculated by adding the scores for each area and dividing by 9. The total score is then rounded to the nearest whole number.

Scoring area 1 2 3 4 5
Price Very Expensive, verging on not worth it Expensive, but worth it for the value add Affordable, similar in price to competitors Cheap / great value for the parts and features Free / Very low cost
Ease of use Hard to use, complex operations requiring multipe steps Many steps, some of which as complex. Some steps to construct or operate, some of which are complex Few steps, simple to do Very easy to use / use is obvious and clear
Functionality Very little innovation or usefulness Does less then you’d expect, but still useful Practice, does what you expect but no more Quite a few innovative functions, does more than you’d expect Amazing features & innovation, industry leading
Availability Very difficult to get hold of any variation or version Little available; some variations or versions are available Available in some countries and stocks mostly available Available in most countries & mostly in stock, short wait for stock replenishment All versions and variations widely available in all countries & in stock
Aesthetics Design is not pleasing to the eye; poor colour choice, parts do not fit together, no cohesive design Design is acceptable, some elements do not work together well Design is functional, no overall cohesion Design is functional with some flair, most elements work together well Very pleasing to the eye, complimentary colour choices, great fit and finish, with an overall cohesive design
Build Quality Poor construction, with gaps or overlapping parts. Poor quality materials used Functional construction, cheap materials Functional construction, acceptable materials used Durable design, some parts are high quality, most are acceptable Solid construction, parts fit together as intended with no unexpected gaps or overlapping parts. High quality materials and parts used
Documentation Single language instructions, no diagrams, basic features only Basic instructions, technical specifications in a few languages, little no diagrams, no example code Basic instructions, technical specifications in a few languages, diagrams for use. Some example code Documentation available in multiple languages, with all features covered and diagrams for use. Some example code Documentation available in multiple languages, with all features covered and simple diagrams for use. Mechanical and circuit diagrams also included. Example code. Advanced topics covered too
Packaging Little to no thought given to environment. Wasteful use of space leading to higher shipping costs. Excess layers of packaging Some thought given to environmental packaging & recycling. A few layers of packaging Some thought given to environmental packaging materials & recycling. Single layer of packaging Environmentally friendly, packaging designed for recycling with some effort. Packaging is has mostly efficient use of space to cut down on shipping costs Environmentally friendly, packaging designed for easy recycling. Packaging is small with efficient use of space to cut down on shipping costs
Environmental No consideration given to sourcing, production, supply, delivery or disposal of product, with toxic chemicals used in production No consideration given to sourcing, production, supply, delivery or disposal of product Product is efficient to operate, but may have poor environmental production or disposal impacts Most of the product is sourced from recycled materials, no toxic chemicals used in production, some thought given to production and delivery energy used Product is sourced from 100% recycled materials, with no toxic chemicals used in production. produced with clean energy, packaging designed to lower delivery costs and disposal of product is taken care of

total is 4.6


🎁 🤝 See the transparency notes for details.

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