Key Takeaways
- Pineboards releases HatDrive Nano, a compact M.2 HAT for Raspberry Pi 5.
- Fits within official Raspberry Pi case, supporting PCIe Gen 2/3 speeds.
- Ideal for NVMe SSDs or other M.2 devices, costs $10.
Raspberry Pi HATs are a really handy way to squeeze more out of your board, but they don’t all play nicely with the SBC’s official peripherals. For example, if you want to add a HAT and use the official Raspberry Pi 5 case at the same time, you may find that the SBC becomes too bulky to fit. This isn’t a problem with Pineboards’s new product, which adds an M.2 HAT to your Pi 5 that’s so small that you can continue using your official case if you like.
Related
Raspberry Pi 5 review: The holy grail of DIY projects got even better (and rarer)
The Raspberry Pi 5 is one of the most powerful consumer-grade SBCs out there. Sadly, its limited stock means you’ll have a hard time finding one.
Pineboards releases the HatDrive Nano
As announced on X and mentioned on the website, Pineboards has released the HatDrive Nano as part of its range of HATs. This board’s size comes in at an impressive 55x34mm, which Pineboards claims is one of, if not the, smallest M.2 HAT for the Raspberry Pi 5. Its small size means that it can fit snugly within the Raspberry Pi 5’s official case, and gives the Pi enough room to use its active cooler to keep things running comfortably.
Once the M.2 HAT is installed, you can plug in 2230/2242-sized M-Key M.2 devices that comes in at PCIe Gen 2 or 3 speeds. This makes it a great pick for NVMe SSDs to expand your storage space, but as Pineboards puts it, “go ahead and install anything your heart desires (within reason).” You can check out all the details on the Pineboards blog, and grab your own HatDrive Nano for $10.
Pineboard HatDrive Nano
Looking for a Raspberry Pi 5 M.2 HAT that fits within your official case? So were we!That’swhy we worked on thePineboardsHatDrive! Nanoso that youdon’thave toleave your poor Pi exposed to the world.
Supporting both M.2 2230 and M.2 2242 form factor devices with an M-Key connection, you can install anNVMeSSD and enjoy the much fasterstorage over the Raspberry Pi’sPCIe Gen 2/3connection or go nuts and install that crazy M.2 adaptor board you just found in the depths of the internet.