The Raspberry Pi 5, released on October 23, has already become an incredibly popular single-board computer. The official case is designed to keep it cool and safe, but what about looking good?
If you want good looks and passive cooling, then EDATec's range of cases could be the answer. But they aren't the only company offering Raspberry Pi 5 cases. The ever-popular Flirc has its own take on a passively cooled case, as does 52Pi. But, 52Pi also has the Pi 5 version of the "hot-rod" inspired cooling tower.
EDATec's Raspberry Pi 5 Cases
We'll start off at the cheap end of the spectrum. For $10 (plus shipping, or $14) we can get the ED-Pi5Case-OS (or OB), which sounds Robocop's operating system. This all-aluminum case comes in silver / aluminum (OS) or black (OB) and it secures to the Raspberry Pi 5 via the M2 mount points on the perimeter of the board. There are cutouts for the camera / display flat-flex cables and the POE header pins. The GPIO is unobstructed, but we would recommend a riser to ensure that any HATs are clear of the case. The aluminum cooling attaches to both the top and the bottom of the case and we have to assume that thermal pads or other thermal contacts are used to draw heat from the rather hot SoC.
Moving to the pricier EDATec case and we have the $18 ED-Pi5Case-BS (silver) and ED-Pi5Case-BB (black). We'd pay the extra $8 for this case. Featuring a two-part milled aluminum shell, we have a precision CNC made case with cut-outs for all of the ports, PoE, camera/display and the GPIO. There is also a cut-out for the new PCIe connector. We love the design and it would look rather good in our Picade setup.
How either of these new cases will affect Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is unknown right now.
Flirc's Raspberry Pi 5 Case
I own a Flirc case for our Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. Flirc's design aesthetic is simple, clean lines. The $14 (£14) Flirc Raspberry Pi 5 case looks very much like the Raspberry Pi 4 model, but with the obvious Ethernet port switcheroo and a power button. Under the case is an aluminum heatsink, which pulls heat from the SoC and into the case via a thermal pad. Holding it all together are four screws. No fancy magnetic holders or clips, just four M2 screws.
52Pi's Range of Cases and Cooling
52Pi has a slew of new cases and cooling for the Raspberry Pi 5, starting off with packs of copper heatsinks. Not the most exciting of purchases, granted, but they do work to keep your Raspberry Pi cool.
52Pi also has a selection of $16 acrylic (Plexiglas) cases which ape the Pimoroni Pibow form factor. These cases have a central cut-out designed for a cooling fan, which we can see uses the new fan connector on the Raspberry Pi 5. This means that your precious GPIO pins will be free for your own projects.
If passive cooling is more your thing, then 52Pi has a $15 aluminum enclosure that secures to the top and bottom of the Raspberry Pi 5 and makes contact with the SoC, RAM, RP1, and the PMIC.
Need a larger case? Well, the aptly named $20 aluminum case back brick is simply a brick of aluminum in black. We see cut-outs for the ports, but the camera / display and PCIe connectors are buried deep inside. We have access tot he GPIO via a side hatch, but the star of the show is a cooling fan suspended from an elevated case lid. Technically, this means that a HAT could be placed inside the case.
Missing from the 52Pi website is the Raspberry Pi 5 version of the ICE-Tower cooling tower. Luckily LeePSPVideo put us on to Seeed, who are stocking this $15 "hot-rod" inspired cooling unit. It looks just like the Raspberry Pi 4 version (which will fit the Raspberry Pi 5 if you are adventurous), but features a new mounting system to accommodate the component placement on the Raspberry Pi 5. It also features the new fan connector, keeping the GPIO accessible. We use the Raspberry Pi 4 model and the low-profile version on our Raspberry Pi 4s and they remain cool no matter what overclocking we throw at them.
We'll be getting all of these cases in for testing, just as soon as we place the orders!
