Pironman 5 NVMe M.2 SSD PCIe 2.0/3.0 Mini PC Case for Raspberry Pi 5 Hailo-8L AI Accelerator with Tower Cooler+Dual RGB Fans, 0.96'' OLED Module, Safe Shutdown, Standard HDMI, RGB Effect

What can I say about the Pironman 5 case by SunFounder: I absolutely love this case. It is definitely pricier than other alternatives, but I find the aesthetics and features more than make up for it. Once assembled, this resembles a mini gaming pc, giving it a unique look for the desktop. I enjoyed putting this together, and everything is nicely labeled and separated which makes building much easier. Just make sure to pay attention, as one of the first steps can easily be done incorrectly. This case also provides a few extra features. It converts the micro HDMI ports to full-sized HDMI, as well as gives a NVMe slot. Just make sure to read the documentation provided by SunFounder on which NMVe to purchase, as not everyone will work. I found that the TeamGroup MP33 works flawlessly. With the connected boards, it lines up all of the ports onto one side, making cable management much nicer. It also sports a small OLED display on the front (once the pironman software is installed and configured) that displays the device's IP address, the CPU usage and temperature, and RAM and storage usage. Once everything is built, installed, and configured properly, a dashboard can be accessed where you can control how the fans function as well as monitor system stats. Just a word of warning: If you don't install the pironman software, then the RGB fans will remain on and active, even after you shutdown the PC. Pros: + Transforms the Raspberry Pi 5 into a mini-tower PC with active cooling, NVMe SSD, and RGB + Great thermals and quiet operation thanks to PWM-controlled fans + Handy OLED screen displays real-time system info + Browser-based control panel makes customization easy Cons: - Assembly can be fiddly - the aluminum case was slightly bent, causing the final build to be a bit tougher to finish. Your milage may vary - Removing the Pi later is difficult. This case isn't meant for swapping the board in and out, so if you need constant access to the Pi itself, you may want to skip this case - Cost - At $80, it's about the same price as an 8GB Pi 5, doubling the total cost (not including an NVMe) - NVMe compatibility - not every NVMe is compatible, and once installed, it will run at Gen 2 speeds. There is a tutorial on YouTube on how to configure your Pi to run at Gen 3 speeds if you're interested Overall, I highly recommend this case for anyone who loves to assemble things like LEGOs and is absolutely obsessed with the Raspberry Pi environment. This is perfect for those who wants to use a Raspberry Pi as a PC and wants a visually appealing device on their desk.

I am absolutely thrilled with this case. The assembly instructions are quite clear. After reviewing the instructions online, I was a bit intimidated because of advanced Parkinson's and my tremors. But then I watched the Wagner Tech Talk video on the Amazon product page along with the product images, and thought I could still handle it. I did need use a magnetic screwdriver, and I have to still use two hands to insert a screw. But, the clean and well-engineered design and build always allowed room to do so. Also, I needed a vice to hold the acrylic plates and had to use a razor knife steady with both hands to get a little piece of the paper peeled away, but then it came off easily. I did use a #2 Phillips for the screws for the fans. The case comes with spare parts, including the various stand-offs, screws, 2-pin wire connector , FPC cables, rivets, SSD studs, shorting pins, etc. The cooling tower is very impressive for ARM Cortex A-76. I did change a setting for the fans from being their default of always on to performance. This keeps the fans off until the temperature reaches 50° C. After doing so, I had to run a stress test to check it out as otherwise the temperature sits around 43° C to 47° C. The acrylic panel to be laser cut and etched. The detail was noted when peeling away the paper covering. Another attention to detail was with the thermal pads, which were cut to the precise size for their placement. They were also a good quality and don't fall apart as some thermal pads tend to do. The manufacturing of this case is really impressive. All the holes aligned, with just one very slight pull to get one screw in step 24. I inserted the screw in the lower left of the instructions first, and then the one in the upper right. I had to adjusted it maybe 1/64 of an inch to make it perfectly aligned. That, though, is on me as I didn't have the two piece perfectly aligned when I slid them together. This case is machined perfectly. With the small pieces, and like with any other project such as hundreds of other computer builds and upgrades, I use a large micro-fiber cloth on which I performed this build. In addition to a safe surface, it keeps the small pieces, such as the little M2-5 x4 screws, from rolling away if drop them. In addition to protecting the pieces, it saved time looking for dropped screws. The instructions, as mentioned before, are quite clear. The detail of the instructions matches the detail of the materials. For example, on Step 7, for connecting the 2-pin Wire between the USB HDMI Adapter and the battery connection on the Pi 5, it also includes zoom-ins of each so it is virtually chimpanzee proof to make a misconnection. The same is true in all other steps where there are wire or cable connections. When installing the Power Switch Converter in Step 14, it even indicates to be certain the pogo rods are properly aligned on the J2 jumper on the Pi (between the battery connector and the edge of the board). The only place where the detail is not precise is on Step 21 for connecting the cables for the fans. On that image, is shows the OLED screen already attached to the case, which does not actually happen until Step 25. But, that was most likely done to safe space to allow for the zoom-in on how the fan cables should be connected. The only thing I might add to the assembly instructions is in Step 17, when connecting the NVMe PIP to be certain to first align the pins from the 4-pin Header installed in Step 6 with the connector on the NVMe PIP and not forcing the PIP down to the standoffs. So far as the build, the only thing I might possibly change is to somehow have a tab to start the peeling off of the paper from the acrylic panels. The laser cut makes it virtually impossible to have a tab between the acrylic and the paper. But, maybe a pull-up tab such as on some ketchup and mustard bottles could help. Regarding some comments on the build… As one claimed, I have no doubt whatsoever that the one copper pipe one the cooling tower did indeed come "crunched up." However, if you look at the image on the product page, you will see it is crimped. It also shows as crimped on the instruction page. Had the reviewer referred to the SunFounder website, it explains, with an image emphazing the crimp, "The U-shaped heat pipes at the top of the tower cooler are compressed to facilitate the copper pipes passing through the aluminum fins, which is part of the normal production process for copper pipes." Some mentioned fan noise. The fans are actually extremely quiet, rated 22 dB, which is barely audible. Mine tested at 20 dB. The volume doubles every 10 dB. So a whisper at 30 dB is twice as loud as the fans; a babbling brook at 40 dB is 4 times as loud as the fans. From past experience, the most likely cause of fan noise on a new build is not checking that the wiring was properly aligned, and a wire is interfering with the blades. Later, it may become things like dust build up, worn bearing, etc. But, on new builds, it is almost always a wire or something else interfering with the blades. Related, one mentioned being confused on the airflow, not finding an air intake, and thought the fans could perhaps be intended to suck air in rather than blow air out. However, the SunFounder website also covers this. The "cold aisle" air intake is through the GPIO, which is strategically placed just above the fins on the cooling tower (another nice engineering feature), and the two fans in back blow the air out into the "hot aisle". Regarding the Micro SD connector, one seeming claimed the whole world is having the same issue, and then provided a screenshot revealing misconfigured firmware dependency/ordering issue on the Pi itself. Some mentioned the NVMe PIP module as an issue. However, none seem bothered to look at a solution on the SunFounder website, or provided any analysis. There is most likely a solution provided on the SunFounder website: • If the PWR LED is on but the STA LED is not blinking, it indicates the NVMe SSD is not recognized by the Raspberry Pi. • If the PWR LED is off, short the “Force Enable” pins (J4) on the module. • If the PWR LED lights up, it could indicate a loose FPC cable or unsupported system configuration for NVMe. If it is the second issue, shorting pins are provided with the case. Wrapping up… The very small minority had any issues, and by the way the are "diagnosed" and written, had any of those who had any issues had gone to the SunFounder website, on on its product page, read through the FAQs (last menu item on the vertical menu on the left of the page), their issues would have been resolved. If you can follow instructions, this is a quite easy build. The number of steps name seem large at 27, but they are all baby-step, each taking from just a few seconds to maybe a minute to perform. For me the most difficult step was peeling the paper off the acrylic panels, which too is covered in the FAQs, and gave me the idea of using the razor knife. To put it in more simple terms, had this been an $80 meal, the waiter would have gotten an $80 tip.

Very nice design. Quite a fun build. Nice little OLED. Super quiet. For SSD I used T-Force G50 and reads at 950 MB/s ( < 13 sec boot with Desktop Session. ) Preinstalled Trixie on M.2 using external M.2 enclosure. Tower Cooler keeps CPU so cool it takes a while to get the fan to come on even with 100% CPU. (37 deg. typ with CPU no load) Dashboard App has CPU usage. CPU Temp, Disk usage, Network usage, ( missing SSD temp, but it runs very cool.) Nice RGB LED and fans. Airflow is a bit restricted when GPIO monitor is used (fans might be backards). GPIO works fine. Easy access to TF slot, and everything. Has battery for RTC. Tech support excellent. Overall pretty awesome! I wonder if I can mod it with a DAC Hat ?

Good case simple instructions no errors and got it running in minutes after finishing build. Everything works good as of now. Easy build easy setup have tired the yahboom case and case from electro cookie but this is far superior in terms of software and setting up. I’ve bought many cases this is the best, if unsure just try it! Only give 4 stars because they cheap out on the foot rest and screw driver could atleast be magnetic, cheaper cases provide better ones so no reason why they can’t. Over all I’m happy with it.

I received a Pironman 5 on Oct. 8, 2024, and completed the assembly in about an hour. It is operating properly, and I am very impressed with the case. I am not new to the Sunfounder product line, as I also own a RasPad, which I use regularly. During the assembly, software installation, and making changes to configurations, I noticed some trouble points and issues in the instructions. In the interest of only helping make a very good product even better, I have suggestions for the assembly instructions, and other possible improvements. I am a retired engineer by trade, and am always critical of designs, to facilitate more efficient designs, and better products. First is air flow. The instructions do not clearly indicate the orientation of the RGB fans. Since you placed filters between the fans and “Plate B”, the unclear instructions indicate that air would be flowing into the case, rather than out, as outgoing air would not require a filter. So, I installed the fans for incoming air. I also noticed that the tower cooler fan would be blowing air towards the incoming air from the RGB fans, so I reversed it, to use the already accelerated air from the RGB fans, and draw air through the heat sink, and move it towards the front of the case. The only issue I had here was that since the rotating part of the RGB fans rubbed on the filter, and did not rotate properly. To resolve this, I replaced the M3.5x10 fan screws with M3x12 machine screws and nuts, with flat washers between the filters and fans. This works quite well, but one of the nuts is pressed against the NVME PIP board, but not adversely. Second, I noticed a difference in the number of thermal pads. The official Raspberry pi heat sink has a pad for the voltage regulator, but the kit does not supply one. The tower cooler has space for a pad, so I installed one. I expect that there was a reason for the inclusion of the pad in the official heat sink. Third, is the soft rubber foam that is meant for the case to sit on. With stiff HDMI cables, these “feet” do not support the case in any way, causing the case to sit in a not so vertical position. Because of this, I removed the foam pads, and replaced them with four low profile 3M stick-on feet. This has completely corrected the instability of the case. Forth, is the screw attachment. Many if not most of the people who will be assembling this kit are not familiar with proper assembly methods. In particular, the inexperienced builder will put a screw in, and tighten it before adding the next screw. As with all assembly, all screws in a single part should only be started, not even close to tightening, so minor adjustments can be made so ALL screws line up, and can be started. Only then should the screws be tightened. In the case of attaching “Plate A” to “Plate B”, there are two screws that are not in the same plane as the other four. These two screws should only be tightened AFTER the four screws are tight, so the holes on the “two screw side” are aligned before tightening. My thought is to keep a positive pressure inside the case, as I believe that having air flow directed at the tower heat sink is a plus. Since the filters block the majority of air flow, I have removed them, and tested temperatures. This resulted in a 9 to 10 degree reduction in CPU temperature, without the tower fan operating. My primary computer (operates 24/7) has a 3-bay liquid cooling radiator for the motherboard components, I only have to clean the dust out every 6 months. I expect that this will be the timing to clean the Pironman 5 case as well, so the filters are more of an airflow reduction than a real advantage. My personal preferences regarding case lighting is that I don’t really go for it. It’s just a bit too flashy for me. So, I have replaced the LED fans with a pair of dual ball bearing fans that run a bit louder, but not much. I have set the addressable LED’s (commonly called NeoPixels) on the IO Expander board to a solid bright blue with a bit more green and less red creating a slightly turquoise color to illuminate the inside of the case, which is very pleasing to me. In conclusion, I feel that this is an excellent case for the Pi 5. The aluminum parts are good quality aluminum, and were properly annealed before bending, so all bends are very clean. The OLED display is bright, and shows pertinent information, including multiple IP addresses (in my case the VPN IP as well as the LAN IP). The NVMe interface works well, and there were no issues installing the Raspberry Pi OS, and booting to it on the first attempt.

Great case, a tad on the expensive side. I actually spent more on this case than my Pi. But I'm a sucker for RGB, and also, the amount of thought that went into this case—how it's put together, its heatsink, the custom PCBs that add the M.2 NVMe SSD slot—in my opinion, this case is worth the money. Installation is great, and it looks great. I bought two: one for my Pi 5 8GB Forge Minecraft server and one for my Pi 5 4GB Jellyfin server. It looks great next to my gaming PC.

Looks like a pile of poorly thought-through boards and transition/adapter boards, in a significantly oversized case for a Raspberry Pi. If what you want is dynamically changing RGB colors in a see through case and lots of cooling -- 3 fans, one on a heat-pipe sink (thermal performance untested by me). It was highly recommended by Patrick, the Raspberry Pi guru. It has a nice power button. The display on mine was only usable momentarily before returning to a useless quiescent state each time. Their support seemed willing, but I was not able to satisfy them with an appropriate video format from my phone. I didn't really care about the display, and gave up on the entire case before we resolved the display issue. I much prefer cases like the Argon NEO 5 M.2 NVME PCIe case -- compact, neat, and professional-looking with a nicely integrated NVME PCIe with heatsink in it's separately accessible molded compartment on the bottom. As a follow-up to the above review: The Sunfounder support staff followed up with quite a bit of additional effort and offers. I'll give them an "A" for effort. In addition, I have a few other Sunfounder products with which I'm very happy. It's just that this particular case had very little FOR ME or for others with similar goals and interests.

Really fun and easy to build. Very solidly built and more than enough airflow. I have never even seen the cpu fan kick on because the design keeps it so cool naturally that it never gets warm enough to trigger the fan. At least in my use case. The only thing I have had an issue with is the RGB. I prefer no rainbow colors and just a solid white light, but even following the instructions and trying some troubleshooting steps from online, I have been unsuccessful in changing the color at all. Not a big deal, but would be cool if that worked as it is supposed to. The case is small enough that if you turned it into an emulator console, you would have no problem taking your countless thousands of potential games anywhere with little bother. Since the fans barely have to work, it is also really quiet. Although this case is certainly overkill for many raspberry pi use cases, it is really cool. I highly recommend this, if you are into this sort of thing.