Single-board laptop accent maker 52Pi has introduced a brand new model of its “Product W01” add-on board for the Raspberry Pi 5 — doubling as much as two 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet ports, alongside an M.2 M-key slot for Non-Unstable Reminiscence Specific (NVMe) storage or different PCI Specific gadgets: the U2500 HAT.
“This HAT board is a wonderful addition to any Raspberry Pi setup,” 52Pi claims of its newest {hardware} launch, “providing a handy solution to enhance each storage and networking capabilities in a single, compact package deal. The Raspberry Pi HAT ({Hardware} Hooked up on Prime) board […] is a flexible growth module designed to reinforce the capabilities of your Raspberry Pi 5.”
52Pi’s “Product W01” U2500 HAT is not any extra: say hey to the U2500 Twin, with twin 2.5-gig-Ethernet ports. (📷: 52Pi)
The U2500, dropped at our consideration by Linux Gizmos, is not 52Pi’s first shot at placing 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet connectivity onto a Raspberry Pi 5: again in Could the corporate confirmed off the “Product W01” U2500, which — like the brand new U2500 — featured an M.2 slot linked to the Raspberry Pi 5 over PCI Specific (PCIe) plus a 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet port linked over USB 3.0.
Product W01, nevertheless, has disappeared from the corporate’s web site — and the brand new U2500 is as a substitute. The general design is basically unchanged: there’s nonetheless a single M.2 M-key slot supporting 2230- and 2242-footprint NVMe drives and different PCI Specific gadgets, although it loses help for bigger 2260- and 2280-footprint gadgets, and the Ethernet continues to be linked over USB 3.0. This time, although, there’s not one Ethernet port however two — each supporting 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet connectivity, and each usable similtaneously the Raspberry Pi 5’s on-board gigabit Ethernet port.
The brand new board loses the unique design’s help for bigger M.2 gadgets (pictured) in change for a second 2.5-gig-Ethernet port. (📷: 52Pi)
To forestall bottlenecks, the brand new U2500 design connects one Ethernet port per USB port — that means that it takes up the entire Raspberry Pi 5’s two USB 3.0 ports, leaving solely the slower USB 2.0 ports obtainable for different equipment. This additionally means, although, that the 2 Ethernet ports run independently with out sharing bandwidth — maximizing efficiency.
A doubling of community ports has, nevertheless, come at a value: the U2500 is up on the market on the 52Pi retailer now at $49.99, up from the $29.99 of the single-port Product W01.