“The case is generally very good. The materials feel high quality and the design is somewhere between modern and retro, which I like.
On getting it working and an OS booting from the SSD - I'm not a Raspberry Pi expert, so if I can do it, anyone can. And once the Pi is updated to boot from USB, that's it. I've found the OS can be changed to something else using Balena Etcher, with no further actions needed.
But it does have a couple of disappointing things. First is obviously the wireless performance, which is mentioned a lot. For me, WLAN and Bluetooth are completely knocked out using this case. Some people say it's the metal case, others say the USB3 bridge. I'm more inclined to go with the bridge because I've suffered similar problems on my Windows PC with interference from a USB3 flash drive stopping my wireless mouse working. Next is the USB3 bridge itself. It is shaped to make removing it easier, but this fouls the adjacent USB ports slightly and makes some USB devices difficult or impossible to fit.
Overall, a very good product with a coule of shortcomings.”
“The only bad thing is the access of the sd card slot. However if you buy this case im sure you are gonna use the m.2 slot, so easy peasy.
Buy a usb to usb cable, assemble m.2 ssd card in the argon one m.2 then just run usb cable from the argon case to your computer and write ubuntu or whatever operation system you want with balena etcher for example..
Dont even need to do anything else. Yeah top notch quality product im satisfied.”
“I'm impressed with the quality of the hardware and software. It was easy to put together and it's extremely robust. I have 5 different operating systems on it with berryboot os loader and the software for the fan and on/off switch works perfectly in all of them.”
“I am now the proud owner of two Argon ONE M2 Raspberry Pi4 cases, fitted with WD Green 240GB M.2 SSDs and 4GB Pi4s bought from Pi Hut. Booting the SSD without an SD took a bit of effort to work out, but now it works I am chuffed, and have two Pi4s running with 64-bit Lubuntu desktops. They are in effect, functioning “PCs” that I use for software development. I have seen people talking about the Argon ONE M2 having an issue with Wi-Fi, but for me I solved this by putting a metal plate on the table under the case to act as a ground plane, and all was good. That said, my Wi-Fi router was on the next floor up so that may have played into my solution.
The Argon ONE M2 allows you to create a “PC” for anything from office applications (I use Libre Office), emailing, browsing and even software development. With the on/off button, full size HDMI and an internal fan, it makes the Raspberry PI4 a real “PC”.”
“The Argon ONE M.2 has an intelligent fan, a passive cooling case, a programmable power switch, relocated ports and an integrated M2 slot for SSD drives. The SD Card slot is no longer accessible without opening the unit, but having a multi-os SSD installed makes this a non-issue. Absolutely brilliant product that allows my 8GB RPI 4 to operate at an optimum.”
