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In the previous article “Experience Raspberry Pi 5 Ahead of Time”, after actual assembly, I felt it was necessary to add a case to effectively protect the components on the back, preventing wear on the table, and making it easier to handle and plug in various cables.

The official Raspberry Pi case is priced close to 100 yuan on various platforms, which I think is a bit expensive. Additionally, the official case is a full enclosure design and comes with a cooling fan, but I have already purchased the official cooling fan, so buying another seems redundant.

Although I am new to Raspberry Pi, I still hope to have more of a “geek” spirit, so I prefer third-party designed cases.

I also considered whether to be more of a geek and design my own structure, then make a more original one through 3D printing. However, I am not very skilled in structural design and have not bought a 3D printer. Additionally, the cost of self-designing and manufacturing is actually higher, and comparing several major shopping platforms, the existing products are likely to have differences in fineness and beauty.

So, I decided to go with existing products.

Previously, I intended to buy the Raspberry Pi 4B version and pair it with a black aluminum passive cooling case, which is both cool and practical. Therefore, I initially looked for a similar route for the Raspberry Pi 5.

However, perhaps due to the short time since its launch, the peripheral industry has not yet caught up, and I did not find particularly satisfactory products. There are two products that look very similar, both made of transparent acrylic material, and are very affordable. Currently, if you search, you will likely see them.

I spent some time studying and comparing the differences between the two and found that one has 5 layers of acrylic and is a semi-enclosed design, meaning the cooling fan and other top components are exposed; the other has 9 layers of acrylic and is a full enclosure design, meaning both the top and bottom are covered.

From a daily usage perspective, the semi-enclosed design should be more convenient for accessing GPIO pins than the full enclosure, although it may be slightly less dustproof, but that is acceptable. Additionally, the 5-layer version is cheaper than the 9-layer version. Thus, I ultimately chose the 5-layer case.

I purchased it on a certain platform for just over 10 yuan, and I feel it was a good deal.

Here’s the unboxing picture.

The small particle in the lower right corner of the image is the power button.

Assembly is very simple and can be completed within a minute according to the vendor’s instructions.

Since I had already installed the cooling fan on the Raspberry Pi, I first needed to remove it. Then I placed the third acrylic layer from the 5-layer board over the Raspberry Pi; its opening matches the shape of the Raspberry Pi components perfectly, then I attached the cooling fan and finally secured it between the top and bottom layers with screws.

Lastly, here are pictures of the finished product from various angles.

Front:

Side:

Bottom:

Before adding the case, I used to gently place the Raspberry Pi on a small cardboard box, afraid of bumping it. Now with the case, I can happily place it on the table. Moreover, the craftsmanship is indeed exquisite, and this little thing is quite lovable; the joy of buying it for just over 10 yuan is great, haha.

That’s all for the installation of the Raspberry Pi 5 case, hope it helps my friends.

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