👍 Recommendation 👍 Recommendation The Best Case for Raspberry Pi 5? Standard HDMI Ports NVMe Slot Included Front Accessible SD Card Slot OLED Display Features & Functionality What’s in the Box User Instructions & Documentation Ease of Use Availability Aesthetics Price Build Quality Packaging Environmental Summary Review Score The Best Case for Raspberry Pi 5? The official Raspberry Pi 5 case is great but becomes problematic if you want to add an NVMe drive and have it protected by the case enclosure. Pi 5s with an NVMe drive can also get quite hot. Enter the Pironman 5 case from Sunfounder; it is a great alternative, with a built-in NVMe slot and a large cooling fan to keep everything running smoothly. It has an aluminum case with see-through acrylic side plates and looks fantastic. The RGB lighting adds a nice touch. Standard HDMI Ports One of the nice features of this case is the two standard-size HDMI ports, which make it easy to connect to a monitor or TV without needing an adapter or special cables. NVMe Slot Included The NVMe slot is a great addition, and the case comes with all the screws and standoffs needed to install an NVMe drive. Be sure to check the compatibility list for supported drives, as not all drives are supported. Front Accessible SD Card Slot The front of the case has a slot for the SD card, making it easy to swap out the card without taking the case apart or flipping it over. The SD card slot is spring-loaded, so the card pops out when pressed. OLED Display The OLED display is a nice touch, displaying useful information such as CPU and RAM usage, temperature, and IP address. The display is bright and easy to read and can be turned off if needed. Features & Functionality The Pironman 5 case boasts: Aluminum case Large cooling fan 2x RGB fans with dust filters M.2 SSD slot with NVMe support 0.96” OLED display for CPU and RAM usage, temperature, IP address RGB lighting 2 standard-size HDMI ports Power switch IR receiver External GPIO extender What’s in the Box The box contains: Detailed instructions and assembly guide: https://pironman5.rtfd.io 2 aluminum case parts 3 acrylic plates Tower cooler (CPU fan) Power switch 2x RGB fans EVA foam pads (feet) Thermal pads Button battery OLED screen IO expansion board USB HDMI expansion board NVMe SSD expansion board 4-pin header Micro USB expansion board Screwdriver Cross wrench Light pipe Power switch expansion board FPC cables 2-pin wires M2 5x4 screws M3 5x8 screws SSD screws and rivets R3090 rivets M2 5x5 screws M2 5x6 standoffs M2 5x18+4 standoffs Please note, it does not include a Raspberry Pi 5, SD card, power supply, or NVMe drive. User Instructions & Documentation The assembly is fun and takes around an hour to complete. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the case is well-designed and easy to put together. The only issue I had was attaching the fans; the screws did not want to grip the fans, and I had to use alternative screws. Ease of Use Once assembled, the case is a delight to use, with the large front-facing button, easily accessible GPIO pins, and front-facing SD card slot. The only ease-of-use issue is with the CSI camera and DSI display connectors - they are obscured by the NVMe drive expansion board; this case isn’t really designed for use with cameras or displays other than HDMI. Availability The Pironman 5 case is available from Sunfounder for $79.99 and ships worldwide. Aesthetics The aluminum case, see-through side panels, and RGB lighting make this case look fantastic. Price At $79.99, compared to the Geeek Pi mini tower case, the Pironman 5 is more expensive, but the additional features and build quality make it worth the extra cost. Build Quality The case is very robust and solid, with nicely finished aluminum and no sharp corners. The acrylic side panels are thick and well-made, and the case feels like it will last a long time. The foam feet also provide some soundproofing, though it runs very quietly anyway. Packaging The packaging is good, with all the parts well protected and easy to find. The box is sturdy and well-designed, and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. Environmental There were lots of little plastic bags inside the box, which could have been replaced with paper envelopes for a better environmental score. The case itself is made from aluminum, which is recyclable. Summary Overall, the Pironman 5 case is a great case for the Raspberry Pi 5, with a lot of features and a great design. The case is well-built and easy to assemble, and the additional features such as the NVMe slot, OLED display, and RGB lighting make it a great choice for anyone looking for a high-quality case for their Raspberry Pi 5. 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 4.0 🎁 See the transparency notes for details.