DeskPi Lite Pi 5 Case (DP-0038)
Description
The DeskPi Lite Pi5 Case is a precision-engineered enclosure custom-built for the Raspberry Pi 5. Molded from durable ABS material, it transforms your bare SBC into a sleek desktop mini-computer. It provides active Armor Lite V5 cooling, converts micro-HDMI ports to standard full-size HDMI, routes all cables to the rear panel, and integrates a high-speed PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD expansion board directly underneath the board.
Key Features
- Tailored Fit: Custom enclosure contour molded exclusively for Raspberry Pi 5 mounting holes, I/O cutouts, and thermal clearance.
- Armor Lite V5 Active Cooling: Integrated aluminum heatsink with a 3510 PWM auto-throttling fan that stops completely below 60°C for whisper-quiet idle operation.
- Full-Size Port Routing: Daughter board converts two micro-HDMI ports to standard full-size HDMI sockets and routes the USB-C power input to the back panel for clean cable management.
- M.2 NVMe SSD Expansion: Connects via a high-speed PCIe 16-pin FPC cable, supporting 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280 M-Key NVMe SSDs (compatible with PCIe Gen 2.0 and experimental Gen 3.0).
- Accessible GPIO Header: Dedicated daughterboard breakout with a protective rubber dust cover enables easy access to all 40 GPIO pins.
- Dual Power Management: Features a rear physical latching power switch alongside front access to the Raspberry Pi 5 official soft power/reset button.
Product Gallery
Thermal Performance
Tested under heavy multi-threaded benchmark load (sysbench --threads=4 + glmark2-wayland for 30 minutes on Raspberry Pi 5 8GB). The Armor Lite V5 cooler keeps peak SoC temperatures below 65°C, preventing thermal throttling.
Power Button Operation Guide
The DeskPi Lite Pi5 features two distinct power controls:
1. Front Soft Power / Reset Button (Raspberry Pi 5 Native)
- Single press: Displays the desktop shutdown/reboot dialog prompt.
- Double click: Immediately initiates an orderly OS shutdown.
- Long press (5 seconds): Forces hardware shutdown.
- Press while powered down: Wakes and boots the Raspberry Pi 5.
2. Rear Latching Power Switch (Physical Cutoff)
Always perform an orderly software shutdown first (via OS menu, sudo poweroff, or double-clicking the front button). Wait until the green status LED ceases blinking and turns off, then click the rear latching switch to completely cut off mains power.
Wi-Fi & Bluetooth Wireless Integrity
The ABS enclosure and daughterboard layout are designed to preserve wireless signal integrity. Tests confirm that internal M.2 NVMe SSD clock harmonics do not obstruct 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity:
Tested NVMe SSD Compatibility List
The bottom expansion board accommodates M.2 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280 NVMe SSDs. The following models have been tested and verified:
| # | SSD Model | Form Factor | Capacity | Interface | Verification Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lexar NQ790 | 2280 | 2 TB | PCIe Gen4×4 NVMe | ✓ Verified |
| 2 | Samsung 990 Pro | 2280 | 2 TB | PCIe Gen4×4 NVMe | ✓ Verified |
| 3 | Western Digital Black SN770 | 2280 | 2 TB | PCIe Gen4×4 NVMe | ✓ Verified |
| 4 | Kingston NV2 | 2280 | 250 GB | PCIe Gen4×4 NVMe | ✓ Verified |
| 5 | Fanxiang S500 / S101 | 2242 | 256 GB | PCIe Gen3×4 NVMe | ✓ Verified |
| 6 | KingSpec NE-Series | 2242 | 128 GB | PCIe Gen3×4 NVMe | ✓ Verified |
| 7 | aigo P3500 | 2280 | 512 GB | PCIe Gen3×4 NVMe | ✓ Verified |
| 8 | Netac N930E | 2280 | 128 GB | PCIe Gen3×4 NVMe | ✓ Verified |
Package Contents
- 1 × DeskPi Lite ABS Enclosure (Top and Bottom shell)
- 1 × Armor Lite V5 Active Heatsink Cooler with 3510 PWM Fan
- 1 × DeskPi V1 Daughterboard (HDMI & USB-C adapter)
- 1 × M.2 NVMe PCIe Expansion Board
- 1 × PCIe 16-pin FPC Ribbon Cable
- 1 × GPIO Expansion Riser with Rubber Dust Cap
- 1 × Assembly Screw Set (M2, M2.5) & Screwdriver
- 4 × Anti-Slip Rubber Feet Pads
- FPC Ribbon Orientation: Ensure the metallic contact pins on the 16-pin ribbon cable face inward toward the Ethernet/USB ports on the Raspberry Pi 5 motherboard (the colored stiffener tab faces outward). Gently lift the black latch collar, insert the cable squarely, and press the collar down until it clicks flat.
- Power Supply Requirement: We strongly recommend using the official 27W USB-C PD power supply (5.1V / 5.0A). High-performance NVMe SSDs draw significant peak current during heavy write bursts; an underpowered supply may trigger USB port current throttling or kernel drive dropouts.
Software Configuration Guide
1. Enable PCIe External Interface on Raspberry Pi 5
To enable the PCIe FPC connector, open /boot/firmware/config.txt in a terminal:
sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt
Add the following directive under the [all] section:
[all]
dtparam=pciex1
Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X), then reboot:
sudo reboot
2. Force PCIe Gen 3.0 Speeds (Optional)
The Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe interface is officially rated for PCIe Gen 2.0 (5 Gbps). To unlock Gen 3.0 speeds (~8–10 Gbps) with compatible NVMe drives, append dtparam=pciex1_gen=3:
[all]
dtparam=pciex1
dtparam=pciex1_gen=3
While most modern Gen 4 and Gen 3 SSDs run stably at Gen 3.0 on Raspberry Pi 5, some drives may experience bus errors under prolonged heavy throughput. If you observe I/O errors or kernel warnings in dmesg, remove dtparam=pciex1_gen=3 to revert to certified Gen 2.0.
3. Configure Direct NVMe Boot (Without MicroSD Card)
To boot Raspberry Pi OS directly from your NVMe SSD without requiring a MicroSD card:
Step A: Update Bootloader Order
Open the onboard EEPROM bootloader editor:
sudo rpi-eeprom-config --edit
Locate the BOOT_ORDER configuration line and set it to:
BOOT_ORDER=0xf416
(This configuration instructs the bootloader to attempt NVMe boot first (6), falling back to SD card (1), then USB (4).)
Press Ctrl+O, Enter, and Ctrl+X to save and apply the new boot configuration.
Step B: Write OS to the NVMe SSD
- Option 1 (Host PC): Place the NVMe SSD into an external USB-to-NVMe enclosure and write Raspberry Pi OS using Raspberry Pi Imager.
- Option 2 (Direct Clone): Boot your Pi from an existing MicroSD card, attach the NVMe SSD via the DeskPi Lite board, and run the built-in SD Card Copier utility (
piclone) to clone your active OS onto the NVMe drive/dev/nvme0n1.
Power off the Pi, remove the MicroSD card, and turn on the device. Your Raspberry Pi 5 will boot directly from the NVMe SSD with ultra-fast read/write speeds.
Recommended Pairing & Homelab Setup
If integrating your DeskPi Lite Pi 5 into a larger workspace or homelab:
| Application | Recommended Solution | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| 10" Rackmount Conversion | 10-inch 1U SBC Shelf (DP-0033) | Mount up to two Pi 5 units side-by-side in a 10" RackMate rack |
| High-Density Rack Mount | 1U PCIe NVMe Mount (DP-0039) | Dedicated 1U front panel with integrated NVMe expansion |
| All SBC Comparisons | Hardware Compatibility Matrix | Compare M.2 NVMe vs. SATA compatibility across all models |
| Pi 4 Alternative | DeskPi Pro for Raspberry Pi 4 (DP-0001) | Flagship aluminum set-top enclosure for Pi 4 Model B |