I took the risk of blowing up a Raspberry Pi 5 to answer the most frequently asked question by readers

I really appreciate the Active Cooler of the Raspberry Pi 5. This is the best way to protect the operation of the Raspberry Pi 5, regardless of the workload imposed on it.

But after testing this cooling system, several of you have asked a question about the official Raspberry Pi 5 case. They wondered if this case would be enough to keep an overclocked Raspberry Pi 5 cool.

The test of the official Raspberry 5 case

I have a Raspberry Pi 5, components to customize it, and of course time to waste. And by the way, I am ready to sacrifice this Raspberry Pi 5 in the name of science!

And I got the official case to board the Raspberry. This case is equipped with an integrated fan and a heatsink glued to the processor of the Raspberry Pi 5. But it is as difficult to find this case as the Raspberry Pi 5 commercially at the moment. I hope that will change soon.

Note: if you want how to overlock a Raspberry Pi 5, you can find out here.

The mounting of the Raspberry 5 case

Well, I managed to get my hands on the official case, so let’s see what it is.

Everything that comes with the official Raspberry Pi 5 case, and a Raspberry Pi 5. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.

First point, it is easy to place the Raspberry Pi in the box.
Let’s see the following steps.

1. Install the heatsink

First, find the heatsink, remove the self-adhesive on the back. Then glue the heatsink to the Raspberry Pi 5 processor.

The heat sink. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.

The heat sink placed on the processor of the Raspberry Pi 5. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.

2. Place the Raspberry Pi in the case

At this point, I recommend removing the small plastic cover that is on the fan connector.

Wanting to remove it after putting the card in the case will be tricky and we usually end up having to remove the card (so don’t make the mistake I made).

Remove the fan connector cover. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Then slide the card into the case. The card is held in place by small tabs. You will know that it is well placed if the screw holes of the Raspberry Pi 5 align with those of the bottom of the case.

Slide the Raspberry Pi 5 into the case. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

3. Install the fan

The next step is to connect the fan to the board. The connector fits only in one direction (the yellow wire should be closest to the edge of the board).

Mounting the fan connector. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.

Then fix the top cover in place. It fits into a lug of the case, opposite the ports of the Raspberry Pi 5.

Clip the fan cover in place. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

4. You are ready to start the Raspberry Pi 5

There are a few small tasks to complete, such as putting the white cover in place, gluing the rubber feet to the bottom of the case (they not only prevent it from sliding, but also reduce noise and vibration), and inserting a microSD card into the slot (yes, there is a slot in the case for that).

Installing the microSD card. Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

5. Ready to run

All that remains is to plug the Raspberry Pi 5 into the mains and turn it on.

It’s working! Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET.

Can the official case prevent an overclocked Raspberry Pi 5 from overheating?

I would not run an overclocked Raspberry Pi 5 without sufficient cooling. And I tested the Active Cooler and I found that the system is excellent for keeping the Raspberry Pi 5 cool.

But what about this official case? It has a fan and a heat sink. Will it work?

With the Active Cooler and the Raspberry Pi 5, then running the Hashcat password cracking tool in benchmark mode, I could not get temperatures above 55ºC. And without the active cooler, Hashcat would have pushed the temperatures up to 71ºC.

With this official case with its heatsink, using the same test software, I pushed the temperatures up to… 80ºC, which is hot. But not enough to blow up the processor. So in conclusion, it’s really not bad.

Source: “ZDNet.com “