Pineberry Pi HatDrive: The Raspberry Pi 5 already has its own M.2 SSD

The Raspberry Pi 5 is the latest and most advanced version of the Single Board Computer (SBC) marketed by the British foundation of the same name. It is also the first to include a PCIe 2.0 interface to extend components like the one we’re bringing you today.

The PCI-Express interface is of little use once it arrives on the board, as it is just a standard FPC connector to keep its cost down. Raspberry Pi Ltd is certainly selling its own HAT to take advantage of this. But one of its partners went ahead with the Pineberry Pi HatDrive.

The accessory measures 65 x 56.50 mm, is made on a 4-layer PCB and is compatible with the Raspberry Pi HAT. It includes an M.2 Key-M socket with PCIe x1 interface and support for 2230 and 2242 modules, so you can install an SSD for storage, an AI accelerator or another compatible M.2 module. Without a doubt PCI-Express This is a big leap forward for these small boards..

The HAT connects via a 40mm long 16-pin FPC cable (supporting up to PCIe Gen3), as well as the Raspberry Pi’s 40-pin GPIO header for the I2C EEPROM required by compatible HATs, plus power monitoring and diagnostics. The component would allow additional HATs to be added on top if the user deems it necessary. It also includes other hardware, pins and an optional HAT male-female connector to make the whole assembly easier.

The Pineberry Pi HatDrive has a voltage regulator that delivers up to 3A for a 3.3V power strip, compatible with the M.2 standard. It has a dedicated custom-made metal support and two LED indicators to indicate power and M.2 activity.

If you want to be able to add full-length M.2 2280 modules like the SSDs we install in computers for storage, the Pineberry Pi HatDrive has an additional 90 x 56mm expansion board designed to fit under the Raspberry Pi 5 and which provides plenty of room to add M.2 cards with a length of 80 mm. The 5V 4-pin connector allows up to 2A of redundant power supply.

Pineberry says it is already producing the pods and can reserve them for multiple people on its website 25 euros. As we said, it will be a leap in level that will be appreciated by a significant part of the projects that need an SSD or an AI accelerator.