X1208 expands Raspberry Pi 5 with NVMe SSD slot and UPS feature

We have already reported several times on add-on or expansion boards for the Raspberry Pi. Because the Raspberry Pi is one of the most popular single-board computers on the market, the selection of these boards is comparatively large. These boards add various functions and can expand the possible use cases of an already quite versatile SBC.

The SupTronics X1208 is a new board designed for the Raspberry Pi 5 B that essentially adds two features. For one, it's compatible with NVMe SSDs. Specifically, it supports M.2 SSDs in the M.2 2280, M.2 2242, and M.2 2230 form factors, with PCIe connection. A maximum data transfer rate of 8 Gbps is specified via PCIe 3.0. Modern SSDs generally support higher data transfer rates, so the Raspberry Pi 5's PCIe connection is usually a bottleneck.

The SupTronics X1208 can also be used to implement an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). For that, it utilizes a single 21700 battery with a capacity of up to 5,000mAh. The battery can be charged at up to 1,500 mA. Battery charging can be controlled via GPIO, and protection systems are intended to prevent issues including overvoltage and overcurrent. In the event of a power outage, the Raspberry Pi 5 can be placed into a safe operating state or shut down, which should help prevent data loss. As is often the case, the module plugs into the GPIO header. The board is already available to purchase on AliExpress for around $37.