Not too long ago, my colleague and I acquired speaking about creating sensible houses with Raspberry Pi 4 and Residence Assistant. You understand how it’s — tech lovers like evaluating devices. Seems, each of us have been counting on microSD playing cards for our Raspberry Pi 4 storage. Not your best option, although, as a result of these playing cards aren’t very sturdy. SSDs are higher for efficiency and lasting longer.
We each needed to make the change to SSDs, however the Raspberry Pi 4 doesn’t naturally help them. The newer Raspberry Pi 5 does with the launched PCI Specific, but it surely’s not fully supported by Residence Assistant but. Plus, getting a brand new Raspberry Pi 5 means spending more cash.
So, as an alternative of ditching my completely good Raspberry Pi 4, I considered utilizing a USB to SATA cable or getting a cool case to show my Raspberry Pi into a elaborate NAS station. Additionally, my present Raspberry Pi solely had passive cooling, and I needed the choice so as to add an energetic one in case after I want extra energy.
I made a decision to not go along with the USB to SATA adapter as a result of I didn’t like the concept of getting cables hanging from my Raspberry Pi. I most popular a neat and tidy look, so selecting a case was the right resolution for me — no messy cables, only a clear and arranged setup.
I narrowed down my selections to a few choices after a few hours of analysis:
- Argon ONE M.2 Aluminum Case
2. Pironman Mini PC Case
3. GeeekPi Mini Tower NAS Equipment
All three selections had good issues like energetic cooling and SSD help, however I didn’t decide the Argon ONE primarily as a result of the opposite two appeared higher to me. The Pironman appeared cool, however I noticed movies that made it look a bit onerous to place collectively, and a few individuals stated it won’t be made very nicely.
Lastly, I went for the GeeekPi Mini Tower NAS Equipment. It was simple to arrange, had worth, and got here with a greater energy provide than the unique Raspberry one to help the SSD.
After every week, I acquired the case, and I used to be tremendous pleased with my selection. Setting it up was a breeze, and it appeared similar to the images on-line. No complaints in any respect.
The one difficult half was making it work with Residence Assistant OS because it’s initially made for Raspberry OS. However, total, it was a constructive expertise.
The GeeekPi case stored my Raspberry Pi cool, and the fan didn’t make any noise. Try the thermal stats:
To sum it up, upgrading my Raspberry Pi 4 with the GeeekPi Mini Tower NAS Equipment was successful. It was simple to arrange, stored issues cool, and gave my Raspberry Pi a computer-like vibe. I’m pleased with my selection, but when you already know of different cool options, drop them within the feedback. The world of Raspberry Pi upgrades is huge, and I’m all ears for extra concepts.
Beneath are the hyperlinks to the merchandise talked about within the article:
- Raspberry Pi 4 Mannequin B (8 GB RAM): https://amzn.to/4bds6Av
- Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB RAM): https://amzn.to/3OisX9r
- USB 3.0 to SATA adapter: https://amzn.to/3Sh48fb
- Argon ONE M.2 Aluminum Case: https://amzn.to/3vLZBd0
- Pironman Mini PC Case: https://amzn.to/3u6uyIB
- GeeekPi Mini Tower NAS Equipment: https://amzn.to/42bPZ7L
- WD 500GB WD Blue SA510 SATA SSD: https://amzn.to/3Sxgbq8