Yet Another Orange Pi 5 Desktop Case

Case for Orange Pi 5 with 80mm cooling fan, with space for cables to exit out the back, intended for desktop use
13
97
0
940
updated October 31, 2023

Description

PDF

Update - I don't like the access to the SBC in this case, please see my profile for the Orange Pi 5 Desktop Case Version Tres or use this link:

https://www.printables.com/model/628109-orange-pi-5-desktop-case-version-tres

 

I bought a second OPi5 to use to watch YouTube videos and some programming in a different room.  I was not too impressed with the single large heat sink that I used in my first OPi5 case, so I decided to try individual heat sinks and a cooling fan.  This case is only two pieces (top is separate, and technically the little access panel to the GPIO pins is a third piece), that snap together, and the OPi5 has to be installed before the fan.  There are holes in the front to access the lower screws for the fan.  It also has an open bottom which enables plugging in to the bottom sockets without opening the case (since it doesn't open anyway).

This arrangement is intended to have good cooling without noise by having some space between the fan and obstructions, and to allow the air to sweep past the board.  I used a Noctua fan, but hardware PWM is not enabled yet so I just powered it off of the 3.3 volt GPIO.  It is reasonably quiet.  I ran a thermal benchmark test like I did for the other (V2) case.  I attached the graph.  I would characterize the thermal performance as acceptable, since there was no throttling, but it basically worked as well as the large single heat sink with no fan and the new thermal pads.  So it was disappointing.  Notable is the much faster temperature rise with the smaller heat sinks, although I did not get the logging to synchronize with the stress test so the temperature readings start after about a 10 second delay.  The large single heat sink would still fit in this case, and the size of the case wouldn't change because of the cable bend radius.  The fan that came with the single large heat sink in the other case is starting to make a rattling noise, so I am probably going to have to replace it.

The front inset deflects some of the cooling air up past the SSD card and provides a place to keep microSD cards, USB sticks, etc.

This is a smaller case, with plenty of openings for ventilation, but still very strong.

Otherwise, for more information check out the description for the other cases.

Tags



Model origin

The author marked this model as their own original creation.

License