Pineberry Pi HatDrive brings NVMe support to Raspberry Pi 5

Pineberry Pi HatDrive Top and Bottom are two new expansion boards for the Raspberry Pi 5. With support for NVMe technology, these are designed to increase the storage capacity and performance of the SBC.

Among the two, the HatDrive Top brings NVMe M-Key support, and it is compatible with drives that are sized 2230 and 2242. It sticks to the standard of the Raspberry Pi HAT dimensions, measuring 65 mm x 56.50 mm. This measurement ensures seamless compatibility with existing setups.

As for the technical specifications, the Pineberry Pi HatDrive Top can accommodate PCIe x1 in Gen3 and Gen2 standards. It also features a stackable design, allowing the board to work with other HAT solutions. For power, the expansion board is compliant with M.2 standards, offering up to 3 amps for the 3.3-volt power rail.

The Pineberry Pi HatDrive Bottom, on the other hand, can support larger M.2 drives, which include the 2280 NVMe SSDs. For this, the PCB is slightly enlarged, measuring 90 mm x 56 mm. But it still maintains direct compatibility with the Raspberry Pi 5 form factor.

Both the Pinebrry Pi HatDrive Top and Bottom come with an accessory kit. This kit bundles with spacer pins, a dedicated FPC PCIe ribbon, and a spacer pin for mounting M.2 card. The HATs are currently available for pre-order at EUR20 and EUR25.99, respectively. And according to the company’s Twitter account, the boards should start shipping in early December 2023.

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