[Hardware] Seeed Studio debuts Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe 3.0 HAT with dual M.2 slots for $45

[Mr.Ares]

Earlier this week, a notable entry-level Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe HAT was released, supporting the PCIe 3.0 standard instead of PCIe 2.0 while also providing dual M.2 slots. The Seeed Studio PCIe 3.0 to Dual M.2 HAT [h/t CNX] costs just $45 per the official store page. For that price, you get one PCIe 3.0 lane per M.2 slot, with 8 GT/s throughput across both slots.

Earlier this week, a notable entry-level Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe HAT was released, supporting the PCIe 3.0 standard instead of PCIe 2.0 while also providing dual M.2 slots. The Seeed Studio PCIe 3.0 to Dual M.2 HAT [h/t CNX] costs just $45 per the official store page. For that price, you get one PCIe 3.0 lane per M.2 slot, with 8 GT/s throughput across both slots.

Another compatibility concern, though likely a minor problem for much of the Raspberry Pi 5's target audience, is that you'll need to 3D print your own case for a Pi 5 setup with this adapter. It wasn't made to fit the default Raspberry Pi 5 case, unlike the official single-drive M.2 HAT.

So, does all that make this one a contender for the best Raspberry Pi 5 HATs? It's undoubtedly competitive for the price if you intend to increase throughput over the Raspberry Pi 5's default SD card, whose speeds are anemic in comparison. However, as CNX notes, if your tastes in storage veer more high-end, or if you have higher hopes for a proper mini NAS, the yet faster four-slot CM3588 computing module may serve you better.

In any case, this is a pretty nifty Raspberry Pi 5 HAT, and as the first one to use an ASM2806-based board. However, it remains to be seen how it will fare in the long run in a competitive market surrounding the Raspberry Pi 5.

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

Link: https://www.tomshardware.com/raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi-hats/seeed-studio-debuts-raspberry-pi-5-pcie-3-0-hat-with-dual-m-2-slots-for-usd45