Argon One V5 Case for Raspberry Pi 5 – Finally a Proper RP5 Desktop Case
I have always been a fan of Logitech Harmony remote controls and, even with Logitech discontinuing the entire Harmony line, they continue to be the best smart remote available. Unfortunately, out-of-the-box, the only voice-agent they are designed to work with Alexa. With Logitech pulling themselves out of the smart remote business, expending beyond Alexa is not something they are going to do. Since I am firmly in the Apple ecosystem, for the last several years my solution has been to run a Raspberry Pi system and a software package called Homebridge.
Homebridge allows anyone to develop plug-ins that provide Siri voice-control for devices that do not natively support Siri or HomeKit. There are Homebridge plug-ins for vacuums, fans, thermostats, smart-speaker systems, and so on. Nicolas Dujardin has developed and maintained a great Homebridge plug-in, Homebridge-Harmony, which allows wide ranging support for Logitech Harmony remote controls. Raspberry Pi is a perfect system to run Homebridge, since they are small and energy-efficient, but more than powerful enough to provide snappy response with HomeKit.
Raspberry Pi hardware is designed to be extremely compact and are only slightly larger than a credit card. This allows them to be well suited for portability and easy of use, just stick it in your pocket between home and school, etc. However, this design does force the power and HDMI outputs to the side, with the USB2/3 and Ethernet ports in what would traditionally be the back of the system. If you want to use a Raspberry Pi in a traditional desktop configuration, with most or all of the ports on the back, and maybe some USB ports on the front, unfortunately there is a limited selection.
While running a Raspberry Pi 4 system, I discovered Argon40 and their Argon One V2 case1. Cast in aluminum the Argon One V2 itself acts as a large heatsink, which kept my system running cool and quiet. This is a critical component of my use-case; since Homebridge does not use that much CPU time, I have volunteered unused CPU cycles to various scientific research programs using BOINC. So, this means that the Raspberry Pi is running 60-70%+ CPU constantly and I want the system to be as quiet as possible.
Since upgrading from a Raspberry Pi 4 system to a RP5, I have been on the search of similar, but less wedge-shaped case. For about a year I have used GeekPi’s Desk Pi5 Lite2 and it has been fine. The Desk Pi 5 Lite includes a daughterboard that moves the HDMI and power ports to the back of the system and includes support for NVMe SSDs. But the ventilation for the system allowed too much noise to escape. Recently I went back to Argon403 and purchased their Argon One V5 case for Raspberry Pi 54. It is easily the finest Raspberry Pi case I have ever worked with. With the matte black finish and minimalist external design, it is also one of the best looking cases as well.
As with Argon40’s other Raspberry Pi cases, the Argon One V5 is top quality cast aluminum that acts as a gigantic heatsink for the Raspberry Pi 5 system. This is not a plastic case and you can tell immediately by the weight of the box. The Argon One V5 is also, finally, a proper desktop case for your RP5. The front features a power button that glows red when the system is off and green when it is on, two USB 2 ports, and access to the Micro SD slot. For audio buffs, the Argon One V5 includes a DAC on the daughterboard and a headphone plug on the front too. While the DAC may not be audiophile quality, it is miles better than what is built into the Raspberry Pi 5. On the back of the case you will find the RP5 USB 2/3 USB ports, Ethernet Port, as well as two full sized HDMI ports and USB-C power port.
In addition to quality components, the Argon One V5 is also intelligently designed. The bottom is plastic, to decrease some of the weight and to allow for more ventilation slots. However, built into the plastic bottom there is a solid aluminum heatsink for the NVMe SSD module to take advantage of. The middle section fits over the Raspberry Pi 5 and acts as a massive heatsink designed specifically to fit the RP5 chipset and spread heat across the rest of the case. The lid is also aluminum and allows for easy access to the Raspberry Pi GPIO and HAT modules as needed.
The included daughterboard plugs directly into the RP5 mini-HDMI and power port and was incredibly simple to connect. NVMe SSD support is not included with the Argon One V5, but is a reasonably priced option5 and I was sure to include one with my system. In fact, you can choose between a module that supports one NMVe drive and another that supports two6. Argon40 has a range of other modules, all of handily referenced on the Argon One V5 case; from Zigbee support to a mini-OLED that can be seated to the top of the case and display system stats7. It is a very well designed and thought-out Raspberry Pi 5 case.
To keep the system running as cool as possible, rather than using the thermal pads Argon40 includes with the Argon One V5 case, I opted to use Frost X45 thermal paste from ID-Cooling8 and it has done a very nice job. In my office, the temperature this summer has ranged between 78F and 80F. Between the Argon One V5’s giant heatsink and the Frost X45, my Raspberry Pi 5 has constantly maintained 135F while running between 60-70% CPU load, with minimal fan and system noise. It’s been a delight!
Argon One V5 case for Raspberry Pi 5 and NVMe Expansion Module9 –
Pros:
- An extraordinarily well designed and highly functional desktop case for Raspberry Pi 5 systems
- High quality components and construction
- Runs my Raspberry Pi 5 cool and quiet, exactly like I want it!
Cons:
- NVMe support is not included, and it frequently is with competing cases
Verdict = Recommended!
