“Not very often I'd write a review about a case but this is different.
Simple to assemble, keeps the Pi cool : maxes out at 70C after a one hour stressberry session on standard clock settings; 75C on an overclock to 2.8GHz/900MHz (without over voltage) with an ambient room temperature of 23C.
Its a bargain when you look at some of the other stuff out there :)”
“I am normally a dedicated FLIRC case user, but a new Pi5 needed something whilst they were working on a new design. The NEO5 is a real blast from the 80's with its glorious red and black styling - I may even have to get an "Oric" sticker for it! The case itself is slightly unusual in that the bulk is a solid heatsink and fan assembly, to which you attach the Pi. The slightly more flimsy (removable) top and (fixed) bottom covers then attach to the central core, and there's even an SD card cover to keep it safe.
Overall, the case works well and the fan is unobtrusive (barely noticeable unless you work the Pi really hard, keeping temperature readings around the 50 degrees C mark).
So far, I am pleased with my new NEO5 case.”
“I've always gone for the white and red Pi cases, but took a punt on this one with my most recent purchase.
Exceptionally good case with great cooling. Worth every penny.”
“A very smart and well built case. The included active cooling keeps the pi running very cool (35 degrees at idle) without the fan running.
The heatsink is very nicely designed, giving you access to all the various pins and outputs on the the board.”
“This feels very solid and study. It fits together precicely. My previous Argon case enlarged the native micro HDMI to normal sized ones which I liked. This does not. However it makes the case more rectangular and a bit like a pack od cards or cigarettes. I have not stressed the RPi5 and I have no interest in overclocking. With that in mind, I can say importantly that it runs for me silently with the fan on only in the POST phase. The thermal transfer pads should be bigger. The micro SD card is tucked away and is accessible but only with the tinyest of cross head screwdrivers and the screw and cover could easily get lost. I'm sure an improvement could be made here. The on/off works well and the LED gives feedback.
I enclose three thermal camera photos of the RPi5 in the case with the power supply and a USB 3.0 regular hard disk in a caddy. Then I flipped them all over. Then the mouse and bluetooth keyboard are in too.”
“The case is thoughtfully designed, allowing easy access to all the GPIO pins, and camera and PCIe IO as well. The addition of an SD card cover is welcome, for those who are worried about opportunistic compromise of their Pi. Overall, cooling appears sufficient even without the fan, and when it does kick in it's almost inaudible at the RPMs it runs at(for my Nextcloud workload at least). The metal bits of the case have a nice, industrial look and feel to them.
My main gripes with this case are cosmetic - the low-quality-feeling plastic base, the lack of colour options, and the power button which feels kinda kludgy. In terms of functional performance however, this case is great.”
