Raspberry Pi 5 Nano-Computer with branded NVMe PCIe Gen 3 M.2 2230 SSDs and SSD Kits

In order to maximize the capabilities of the Raspberry Pi 5 nanocomputer, Raspberry Pi Ltd. is introducing a line of branded NVMe SSDs.

They come in ready-to-use SSD kits that may be purchased separately or in combination with M.2 HAT+.

Nearly a year ago, the company's top executive believed that the Raspberry Pi 5's three-fold performance boost over the 2019 model would be the main attraction for consumers. However, it soon became evident that the other novel features—the PCIe port and the power button—were what had piqued interest.

Ethernet adapters, AI accelerators, and standard PC graphics cards connected to the PCIe connection are just a few of the devices that Raspberry Pi have encountered. They provide their own inexpensive M.2 HAT+, which changes the FPC standard to the common M.2 M-key format. A large number of third-party adapters essentially do the same thing. Additionally, Raspberry Pi has produced an AI Kit that includes an AI inference accelerator from colleagues at Hailo together with the M.2 HAT+.

However, attaching an NVMe SSD is the most common use case for the Raspberry Pi 5's PCIe connector. Even branded A2-class SD cards are slower than SSDs. Users will want to run Raspberry Pi OS from an SSD if the firm wants to maintain performance without sacrificing any quality, and Raspberry Pi SSDs are the ideal option.

The entry-level 256GB drive costs $30 alone or $40 in a kit, while the 512GB drive costs $45 alone or $55 in a bundle. At least 4KB random read and write performance of 40k IO/s and 70k IO/s are provided by both densities.

While the 512GB models can be pre-ordered for delivery by the end of November, the 256GB SSD and SSD Kit are available for purchase.