Raspberry Pi 5 Macintosh Plus

Orders of magnitude faster than the real thing, this all-in-one case for the Raspberry Pi 5 lets you showcase computing power in a small package. Perfect for RetroPie or just a fun conversation piece.

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You will need:

• Raspberry Pi 5 (I used an 8GB model)
• Waveshare 3.5" DPI touchscreen display (640x480 resolution, 4:3 aspect, GPIO interface)
• Pimoroni NVMe base (plus your choice of M.2-2280 SSD)
• Active cooler (I used Argon THRML 60)
• Male to female 40pin GPIO ribbon cable (max 8" length)

Note about coolers - You will want to use a cooler that utilizes the dedicated cooler mounting holes, NOT the board mounting holes unless you can assemble the Pi outside of the case. Once inside, there is no room to access the mounting screws, especially with a large tower cooler.

Hardware needed:

• 2x M3x12 SHCS
• 1x M3x5x4 heat set insert
• 1x M3 hex nut
• 4x M2.5x10 SHCS
• 4x M2.5x10 standoffs (replaces the ones that come with the NVMe base)

Print instructions:

Print each model as oriented. The rear and front parts of the case are to be printed with tree supports (you may want to use support blockers for the holes on the rear part of the case). I used Polymaker natural ASA, which has a slight amount of transparency. If using natural filaments, be sure to print with 4 or more walls so it is fully opaque.

Remove the tree supports, and for the front, use a pair of flush cutters and a sharp craft knife (be careful) to remove the built in support.

Assembly:

Use a soldering iron to insert the M3 heat insert from the bottom for the front cover mounting screw. Assemble your Pi 5 and NVMe base, replacing the included standoffs with M2.5x10 standoffs (if you do not want to use an NVMe base, you can print some 1.5mm spacers or use washers to get the Pi to the correct mounting height). Do not install any screws through the NVMe base just yet - these will be installed when we put the whole assembly into the case.

Assemble the active cooler of your choosing to the Pi. Note that you will need to relocate the fan to the front if using the Argon THRML 60 or similar tower cooler as there is not enough clearance on the back side. Before installing the fan to the tower, plug in your GPIO ribbon cable, and mount the fan further up as needed and facing backwards (drawing air through the cooler to avoid the fan blades contacting the ribbon cable). See the last photo for reference.

The overall goal here is to assemble everything outside of the case, as you'll quickly see there is not much room to maneuver a screwdriver or even get some fingers inside the case once everything is in there.

For the front cover, assemble the faux drive by inserting an M3 hex nut into the slot, sliding it into position in the front cover, and using an M3x12 SHCS to secure it. Insert the Waveshare display with the GPIO header towards the bottom (remove the protective film first). You may need to slightly sand/file down the mounting tabs to get a good fit.

While holding the still loose NVMe base with the rest of the Pi, careful slot the assembly into place (be very careful with the fragile FPC ribbon cable for the NVMe base). You may need to tilt it in from the top for the tower cooler to clear the top.

Once seated, make sure everything is aligned and thread in the M2.5x10 SHCS from the bottom. Plug in the other end of the GPIO ribbon cable into the screen (the cable facing up), then install the front cover into place and use the M3x12 SHCS to complete the assembly.

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For the original project, additional detailed instructions, and different front covers, refer to the Instructables post.

For instructions on setting up the Waveshare touchscreen display, refer to the wiki here.