If your Raspberry Pi 4 project relies on a HAT, you may want to throw in this stackable Smart Fan HAT by Sequent Microsystems. It cools much more than a single heatsink and has full GPIO access.
There are already fan HATs available for the Pi 4, but the biggest draw to this one is the fully exposed access to GPIO pins. Because the full set of pins is exposed on top, users can stack several HATs together.
(Image credit: Sequent Microsystems)
The device is as wide as the Raspberry Pi 4. The HAT uses its own 32- bit processor, receiving input from the I2C interface. A step-up power supply is necessary to convert the 5V output from the Pi to 12V.
According to the dev team, it's possible to stack too many HATs, further compounding the heat issue. If necessary, makers can splice multiple Smart Fan HATs into a HAT stack for maximum cooling efficiency.
The team recently met their funding goal on Kickstarter; you can read more about the HAT and what to expect on the project page. Be sure to check out our list of Best Raspberry Pi Projects for more cool creations from the maker community.
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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.
It cools much more than a single heatsink and has full GPIO access.
Let's compare with a single CooliPi then...;) using stressberry https://github.com/nschloe/stressberry
