Raspberry Pi: HAT board enables the installation of an SSD and adds faster Ethernet

52Pi now has a new expansion board for the Raspberry Pi on offer in the form of a HAT. Such a board can be plugged in relatively easily and no complicated wiring is required. The W01 fulfills two functions: it allows for the installation of fast and large storage, and enables a faster network connection.

Specifically, an M.2 SSD in the M.2 2230 and M.2 2242 formats can be added via a PCIe lane. The 85 x 56 x 15.15 mm board is also equipped with a faster Ethernet port, which should achieve a data transfer rate of up to 2.5 Gbit/s. This can be useful, for example, when using the Raspberry Pi 5 as network storage. While the SSD is connected via the PCIe lane, a USB connection is installed for the Ethernet port.

The network solution is supplied with 5 volts and 650 mAh, while the power supply of the NMVe SSD depends on the SSD used. The GPIO pins can still be used and are looped through, meaning that various sensors and actuators can also be added when the board is installed. Currently, the board has a price tag of $29.99.

The range of HATs for connecting PCIe SSDs to the Raspberry Pi is very large. Geekworm, for example, offers the X1001, which is currently available on Amazon for just under $15. However, it lacks a faster Ethernet connection.