Akasa Launches the Gem - Passively Cooled Raspberry Pi 4 Case

[AleksandarK]

Akasa, the maker of all kinds of cooling solutions, storage accessories, and cases, today launched a new type of case. Called the Gem, the case is a passively cooled design made for Raspberry Pi 4 in mind. Featuring a unique design that reminds of a gem, the case got its name from it. The case is made from 100% aluminium and its body is sturdy and provides efficient heat dissipation ensures the system runs optimally, even under a heavy workload. The case has an L shaped block that connects the parts that generate heat with an external shell. It covers the SoC and power management integrated circuit, which is a rare design decision. The other block is covering the USB controller. The case features precision cutouts so every bit of I/O is accessible including GPIO, microSD, Ethernet, USB, camera, and display connectors. You can purchase the case here for approximately $40.


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[Chrispy_]

Let's have a quick review of what I'm looking at here:

• It costs more than the Pi 4 it's supposed to house, in a market utterly dominated by the cost of entry.
• It passively-cools a Pi 4 that is designed to work without cooling at all, though a tiny $1.45 alloy heatsink adds a little performance, if you are mistakenly purchasing a Pi for performance.
• It is relatively large and heavy, for a Pi 4 that is usually chosen because it's a tiny, lightweight option.
• It is a pre-made product in a market segment dominated by customers who buy a Pi to create their own solutions.
• It doesn't look like it has DIN rail compatibility, VESA 100 compatibility, or in fact any kind of mounting compatibility. Not even magnetic mounting will work!
• It's competing against a $5 plastic box from the Pi Foundation
• It covers up at least three of the ribbon/pin ports that a Pi4 has. Plastic options can be easily Dremeled, many other metal options on the market generally have openings that this Akasa Gem lacks.
• The market is already saturated with better, cheaper, more functional, and more compact options. This is a vanity option for a product segment that shuns vanity by default.

So yeah, I think it'll do well. Great job, Akasa for understanding the market and fitting in perfectly!

 

[bonehead123]

Let's have a quick review of what I'm looking at here:

• It costs more than the Pi 4 it's supposed to house, in a market utterly dominated by the cost of entry.
• It passively-cools a Pi 4 that is designed to work without cooling at all, though a tiny $1.45 alloy heatsink adds a little performance, if you are mistakenly purchasing a Pi for performance.
• It is relatively large and heavy, for a Pi 4 that is usually chosen because it's a tiny, lightweight option.
• It is a pre-made product in a market segment dominated by customers who buy a Pi to create their own solutions.
• It doesn't look like it has DIN rail compatibility, VESA 100 compatibility, or in fact any kind of mounting compatibility. Not even magnetic mounting will work!
• It's competing against a $5 plastic box from the Pi Foundation
• It covers up at least three of the ribbon/pin ports that a Pi4 has. Plastic options can be easily Dremeled, many other metal options on the market generally have openings that this Akasa Gem lacks.
• The market is already saturated with better, cheaper, more functional, and more compact options. This is a vanity option for a product segment that shuns vanity by default.

So yeah, I think it'll do well. Great job, Akasa for understanding the market and fitting in perfectly!

So to summarize:

f.A.i.L...... hehehehe

 

[micropage7]

sometimes i wonder why many take the difficult way to design their product, normal fins performs pretty good

 

[Vayra86]

Let's have a quick review of what I'm looking at here:

• It costs more than the Pi 4 it's supposed to house, in a market utterly dominated by the cost of entry.
• It passively-cools a Pi 4 that is designed to work without cooling at all, though a tiny $1.45 alloy heatsink adds a little performance, if you are mistakenly purchasing a Pi for performance.
• It is relatively large and heavy, for a Pi 4 that is usually chosen because it's a tiny, lightweight option.
• It is a pre-made product in a market segment dominated by customers who buy a Pi to create their own solutions.
• It doesn't look like it has DIN rail compatibility, VESA 100 compatibility, or in fact any kind of mounting compatibility. Not even magnetic mounting will work!
• It's competing against a $5 plastic box from the Pi Foundation
• It covers up at least three of the ribbon/pin ports that a Pi4 has. Plastic options can be easily Dremeled, many other metal options on the market generally have openings that this Akasa Gem lacks.
• The market is already saturated with better, cheaper, more functional, and more compact options. This is a vanity option for a product segment that shuns vanity by default.

So yeah, I think it'll do well. Great job, Akasa for understanding the market and fitting in perfectly!

You did miss the technical side of it and it is, among Pi4 power users, well known that the newest iteration gets hot and throttles pretty hard without a well designed heatsink on top of it.

Also the product is still light weight and tiny form factor, a few bits of alu won't change that, and the case is still mountable, something as simple as double sided tape will fix the problem... And it does look a lot better than the, well... ghetto style alternatives or plastic uglies that fly around to date. Its not competing against a 5 dollar plastic box at all.

This is for example the first Pi you could reasonably use as a HTPC. In that case, you want the heatsinks because you need all performance you can get and you possibly also want it to not look like a dollar store pickup in the living room. I've explored the options but this case is certainly a lot better looking than most. Is it expensive, sure. But dead on arrival? Hell no. HTPC users would also not use the GPIO and if they use it as a mobile device for multiple screens the mounting options are irrelevant.

So I def think there's a market.

 

[Chrispy_]

You did miss the technical side of it and it is, among Pi4 power users, well known that the newest iteration gets hot and throttles pretty hard without a well designed heatsink on top of it.

Also the product is still light weight and tiny form factor, a few bits of alu won't change that, and the case is still mountable, something as simple as double sided tape will fix the problem... And it does look a lot better than the, well... ghetto style alternatives or plastic uglies that fly around to date. Its not competing against a 5 dollar plastic box at all.

This is for example the first Pi you could reasonably use as a HTPC. In that case, you want the heatsinks because you need all performance you can get and you possibly also want it to not look like a dollar store pickup in the living room. I've explored the options but this case is certainly a lot better looking than most. Is it expensive, sure. But dead on arrival? Hell no. HTPC users would also not use the GPIO and if they use it as a mobile device for multiple screens the mounting options are irrelevant.

So I def think there's a market.

When you can get these for $11 and $13 respectively I'm not sure there's a market for an inferior cooling solution at almost four times the price

I mean, maybe I'm wrong but the sort of people I know who tinker with Pi boards are tinkerers. I've never known anyone to buy one as a turnkey solution like an HTPC. They'd just get a Chromecast or one of those $100 Apollo Lake compute sticks that plug straight into an HDMI port on your TV....

 

[Vayra86]

When you can get these for $11 and $13 respectively I'm not sure there's a market for an inferior cooling solution at almost four times the price

View attachment 163382View attachment 163383

I mean, maybe I'm wrong but the sort of people I know who tinker with Pi boards are tinkerers. I've never known anyone to buy one as a turnkey solution like an HTPC. They'd just get a Chromecast or one of those $100 Apollo Lake compute sticks that plug straight into an HDMI port on your TV....

The point was this Pi is a version that might break into new markets and those do like something that doesnt look fugly. And yes, chromecast and other alternatives do exist, but theyre not open like a Pi. Tinkering can happen on different levels.

 

[Chrispy_]

The point was this Pi is a version that might break into new markets and those do like something that doesnt look fugly. And yes, chromecast and other alternatives do exist, but theyre not open like a Pi. Tinkering can happen on different levels.

There is that I guess. I'm not convinced the Akasa Gem isn't fugly, but that's subjective and I'm sure there are people who think it looks great.

 

[Vayra86]

There is that I guess. I'm not convinced the Akasa Gem isn't fugly, but that's subjective and I'm sure there are people who think it looks great.

Yeah there is that lol. Itx at least a closed box making it less of a dust bin. Great.. neh