“It's difficult to write a review for something that cannot be used as intended. I had been using a WD SN550 in a USB enclosure with my Pi 5 for a while now and was looking forward to plugging the SSD into a PCIe case such as this. I think I was one of the first to buy it from PiHut, before anyone had heard of 'incompatibilities'. The case seemed well built and would have been ideal but was returned.
I really hope Argon One publish a compatibility list - they told me on their support forum that the WD SN550 wasn't compatible.”
“Very nice product that could do with a bit of refinement. First thing to know is that unlike the non-NVME version, the base is plastic not aluminium. Second, and it would be very easy for them to rectify, the wires to the fan are much too long meaning for neetness you have to find a way of losing a lot of redundant wire. The temptation is to stow it somewhere that would obstruct air flow. Third, there is no good place to stow the RTC battery. I made a pocket for it in the lid, but that complicates disassembly. Fourth there is no obvious way for cables to the GPIO or camera/display ribbons to exit when the lid is on. This would be very easily rectified by removing the 'teeth' in the vent slots both sides. But this is good for a first-generation product and an excellent solution for for a Pi 5 with NVME storage. Note also that access to the CF slot is blocked without full disassembly, so prepare your M.2 drive first!”
“Fantastic case for the pi 5. The only drawback was that there were no instructions on how to fit the m.2 (slide the two black blocks to the side). Resolved after a few web searches.
Keeps fairly cool during heavy use.”
“Solid chunk of machine aluminium, you could probably drive a tank over the top and it won't deform. Top quality case. If you're adding nvme to your PI, setup can be a bit fidlly but most likely it will only be done once. Ample holes in the case to lead camera ribbons etc out. NVME drive can be removed without opening the main case - nice thought. In use, case is noticeably warm to touch but cpu at idle is around 52C - so nice and aside from boot time, I am yet to hear the fan swiching on.”
“Very neat design both internally and externally. Biggest issue is the M.2 SSDs that it will accept. Check the Argon forum for a list of compatable devices.”
