Cooler Master Kickstarts Pi Case 40, Passively Cooled Raspberry Pi Case

[AleksandarK]

Cooler Master, a popular maker of computer peripherals, has today launched a Kickstarter campaign for its latest project - a Raspberry Pi 4 case. Called the Pi Case 40, it is made from 100% aluminium and provides passive cooling to the Pi chip. Designed exclusively for Raspberry Pi 4, the case has precise port cutouts so every port is accessible. The case has a hatch on the side for GPIO cutout, however, the use of HATs is prevented as it gets blocked. The case is capable of providing sufficient cooling to the chip, and the design files are open source. With the purchase, you get the VESA mounting adapter so you can attach the case to anything with a VESA mount. If you sign up for the waitlist now, you get a 25% off discount, however, exact pricing is unknown.


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[Space Lynx]

this is very cool. i have always wanted to try Pi, does it run Ubuntu easily enough? or do i have to use the Pi OS? I'd love to get this to try out some indie steam games through ubuntu

 

[Vayra86]

Wtf... CM didn't have the capital to 'kickstart' a tiny case themselves?!

 

[Space Lynx]

Wtf... CM didn't have the capital to 'kickstart' a tiny case themselves?!

it does seem odd... but on same hand it is very niche item and market. I can understand that, but they are a gigantic company you are right...

 

[Fourstaff]

Wtf... CM didn't have the capital to 'kickstart' a tiny case themselves?!

Some companies do this if they are unsure of the demand. Peak Design kickstarted their tripods for example.

 

[silentbogo]

Wtf... CM didn't have the capital to 'kickstart' a tiny case themselves?!

I'm usually opposed to such things as well, but few companies use this as a publicity stunt, just to get the attention to some niche product.
KS campaign isn't even live yet - they are just gathering interest by launching "pre-order" waitlist just to see what's the target volume they need to fulfill at launch.
Companies like Chuwi and GPD do it all the time for some their new (out-of-comfort-zone) devices, some case manufacturers like Cryorig and LianLi did it for limited runs of HTPC cases (unsuccessfully, btw) etc.

 

[The Quim Reaper]

it does seem odd... but on same hand it is very niche item and market. I can understand that, but they are a gigantic company you are right...

..I'd hardly call a potential user base of 30 million, niche.

 

[agatong55]

this is very cool. i have always wanted to try Pi, does it run Ubuntu easily enough? or do i have to use the Pi OS? I'd love to get this to try out some indie steam games through ubuntu

Ubunutu runs pretty well on it, its a bit of a pain to install but just make sure you get a pi with higher ram and from experience get a fan with a case, I would wait for reviews on this case before buying it though so you can see how thermals are.

 

[Totally]

I'm usually opposed to such things as well, but few companies use this as a publicity stunt, just to get the attention to some niche product.
KS campaign isn't even live yet - they are just gathering interest by launching "pre-order" waitlist just to see what's the target volume they need to fulfill at launch.
Companies like Chuwi and GPD do it all the time for some their new (out-of-comfort-zone) devices, some case manufacturers like Cryorig and LianLi did it for limited runs of HTPC cases (unsuccessfully, btw) etc.

In Lian li case the always launch those products in markets that don't sell. UK/Central America/Asia/Canada, the US f**k tthem they could look the product page.

 

[Mr McC]

I used a case very similar to this on my 3b (used an emery board to strip the paint off the bottom of the heat pipes and added a tiny amount of thermal paste on each), I am happy with it:

iuniker Raspberry Pi 4 Case, Raspberry Pi Case with Heatsink, CNC Metal Case with Heatsink Raspberry Pi Shell without Cooling Fan for Raspberry Pi 4B (Black) : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy iuniker Raspberry Pi 4 Case, Raspberry Pi Case with Heatsink, CNC Metal Case with Heatsink Raspberry Pi Shell without Cooling Fan for Raspberry Pi 4B (Black) at Amazon UK. Free delivery and return on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Not sure there is any need to improve upon that, but there are already a range of alternatives employing a similar approach to cooling.

 

[Vya Domus]

..I'd hardly call a potential user base of 30 million, niche.

How many of them are active users though ? It's not like the typical use case for a Raspberry Pi involves every day use, most of them end up in some cupboard after you're bored with them.

 

[Diverge]

I've supported many crowdfunded things over the years, but won't ever crowd fund an already established company. Crowd funding is for the little guys, who actually don't have the money to mass produce.

 

[Esse]

You get 25% off the product. I wish more companies done this.

 

[micropage7]

honestly, the design looks like generic case. i just wish they design it like this one

 

[Vayra86]

You get 25% off the product. I wish more companies done this.

Lol, yeah off the 125% MSRP.

News flash, a discount isn't there to make it cheaper. Its there so you buy more.

Some companies do this if they are unsure of the demand. Peak Design kickstarted their tripods for example.

Yes and I consider it highly questionable.

And its not like we're seeing ground breaking cool stuff for it either. A tripod... a Pi case... To each their own but i'm not falling for the sad puppy eye 'but what if its not successful' approach. This is standard product placement risk diverted onto customers. Its smart, definitely, because there are lots of people carrying money away to things that never see the light. Its also a sign I don't need to deal with those companies.

 

[Turmania]

Would not be suprised to see the case cost as much as the product itself.

 

[Alien88]

A few tech companies have been crowd funding new products, one notable failure recently was the Udoo Bolt, quality control was terrible and a scroll through the comments is illuminating, glad I pulled my pledge in time to get a refund. especially when things like https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000391642092.html turn up.

But this case looks nothing special either, and there are plenty around that will work better. I am using one of these on my HTPC Pi 4: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000219640239.html

There's also the fully enclosed version which I will be using for the next Pi (you can never have too many Raspberry Pis lying around I reckon): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000907704024.html (sorry about all the links, but they are useful devices).