Argon ONE V5 M.2 NVMe Case for Raspberry Pi 5 - Dual HDMI, DAC, Cooling

Good looking, high quality, and easy to assemble. However, the first time I pressed the power button, it was non-responsive. After the appropriate cursing, reseating then replacing the power brick, I removed the cover and put my meter on the power input to the circuit board and noticed that power did not reach to the RPi. I reseated the RPI and Argon circuit boards and tried it again. It worked! When I installed it, my gauge on how-hard-to-press the 2 circuit boards was visual and backed up by the screws fitment with the case. Don’t know if I fat fingered the installation. It’s been working for a week. Not my first Argon case but the best cooling, value and sound level.

Looks good, great cooling and functionality. Cast aluminum case is feels high quality. My only minor complaint is that Wifi signal gets significantly impacted by the aluminum enclosure, so figure on adding a USB antenna if you need a strong Wifi connection. I'm primarily using the wired connection so not a deal breaker for me. Setup takes some care, but instructions are adequate.

Very good quality. Keeps Pi5 cooler than many other cases. OLED allows me to check CPU temp and usage. Good sound quality from DAC and compensates for lack of an audio jack on the Pi5. TIPS: 1) Consider routing fan wiring carefully as the instruction method results in pinching the wires under the Pi ethernet/USB connections. Recommend running fan wires on top section along (but not in) the cooling fins (see photo). The NVME power wires are ok to run per the instructions. 2) Pay attention to the case cover when removing it. There is a tab on the side opposite the screws and the cover should be slid to the rear prior to lifting up. I broke the case recess because I lifted straight up! 3) If Pi does not boot - reseat the NVME ribbon cable or use the second cable provided to avoid shorts. Overall great case!

I found the value for money to be within the range I wanted to spend on a Raspberry Pi 5 case. It had one M.2 slot, 2 full size HDMI ports and added two additional USB ports. The first time assembling was easy. I was happy with the aluminum quality. I was not happy with how quickly the aluminum and plastic surfaces attracted finger prints/oils. Unfortunately, I could not get the Pi to power on. I discovered the PCIe cable and power supply were very finicky. I reseated both ends of the power cord for the M.2 board and used the second, included, PCIe cable. Miraculously, it booted. Until I lifted the unit to move it slightly. I couldn't get it to power on again with the PCIe adapter board connected. I ended up returning it. Too bad. This isn't the one.

I can’t imagine a better case for a Pi5 and M.2 SSD. The case is made of extremely high quality material, the fit and finish is perfect. When assembled, it has a substantial feel to it and just feels high end. After installing the Pi OS and running the Argon One script (which installs all the argon components), everything worked as advertised. This will be the only pi case I ever purchase. Note — I had a USB to M.2 adapter for my MacBook. I plugged the ssd into this adapter and wrote the Pi OS to it directly. I then installed the Pi and SSD into this case and it booted directly from the SSD — no SD card needed whatsoever.

The case looks great and has excellent cooling, but the PCIe/NVMe design is disappointing. The ribbon cable is fragile, difficult to install, and too sensitive to positioning. I experienced intermittent NVMe disconnects, filesystem errors, and boot instability that took many hours to troubleshoot. For a premium Raspberry Pi 5 case, I expected a much more robust PCIe connection. Until the cable and connector design are improved, I can't recommend it for NVMe boot.

Boy. So close. It's a great case, honestly. It fits well. The instructions are a little inscrutable, but with enough squinting you can figure it out. The fan conection on the RPI 5 has a tiny plastic sheild over the 2 pin connector from the factory. You need to remove that in order to plug in the fan. Also: the clips you route the fan connector under are just there for assembly to keep the cable out of the way: you don't need to keep the cable routed through those. Two points of contention: The magnets that hold the cover on are just barely strong enough to do so. That's why they use screws to secure the cover as well. This fit feels pretty sloppy, and the magnetic function feels like an afterthought. Would be great for a cover system that provided easy access to the GPIO, but as is? Its just not solid enough and requires the screws in order to feel secure. The other thing...this case is a *pain* to mate with a power supply. It does not negotiate well with any of the usb-c PD devices that I have: even those that are specifically designed for the RPI5. The only thing that's worked so far is a USB-A outlet on an Anker GAN 200w prime charger. I can only assume that this is done on purpose to funnel folks into using the argon ONE PSU. Thankfully that one's reasonably priced, but its a PITA. But...it's still one of the best cases out there for the RPI.

I didn’t have any major problems with my unit. I purchased the full set with all available accessories for this case — besides the case itself and the M.2 SSD expansion board, I also bought the Zigbee module and the OLED screen. Overall, it left a very positive impression. However, I agree that the connection between the Raspberry Pi board and the expansion board is a bit tricky. Tactile-wise, it’s unclear how much force you need to apply for the connection to lock in place and be stable. The first time I assembled the case, the Raspberry Pi didn’t boot. I’m not sure what exactly caused it — poor contact between the two boards (less likely), or a short circuit somewhere. After this initial failure, I disassembled the case and made two changes: 1) pressed the boards together more firmly (although I was afraid of breaking something by applying too much force), and it turned out there was indeed some extra room to connect them further; 2) repositioned the fan cable from underneath the heatsink to the top (visible in the photo). This cable is already arranged at the factory, but as some commenters have correctly pointed out, it’s better to route it over the surface of the heatsink. Because this cable can interfere with proper placement of the Raspberry Pi, which might cause shorting of contacts. I don’t know which of these changes helped, but after reassembly everything worked fine. The case is quite prone to fingerprints, as others have noted in the comments, but I’m still satisfied with it.

Great case. Very cool and stunning, the clip to hold the top is a little thin. Overall excellent utility and looks