Single-board laptop accent maker 52Pi has introduced a brand new model of its “Product W01” add-on board for the Raspberry Pi 5 — doubling as much as two 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet ports, alongside an M.2 M-key slot for Non-Unstable Reminiscence Categorical (NVMe) storage or different PCI Categorical gadgets: the U2500 HAT.
“This HAT board is a superb addition to any Raspberry Pi setup,” 52Pi claims of its newest {hardware} launch, “providing a handy solution to enhance each storage and networking capabilities in a single, compact package deal. The Raspberry Pi HAT ({Hardware} Connected on High) board […] is a flexible growth module designed to reinforce the capabilities of your Raspberry Pi 5.”
52Pi’s “Product W01” U2500 HAT isn’t any extra: say hiya to the U2500 Twin, with twin 2.5-gig-Ethernet ports. (📷: 52Pi)
The U2500, delivered to our consideration by Linux Gizmos, is not 52Pi’s first shot at placing 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet connectivity onto a Raspberry Pi 5: again in Could the corporate confirmed off the “Product W01” U2500, which — like the brand new U2500 — featured an M.2 slot related to the Raspberry Pi 5 over PCI Categorical (PCIe) plus a 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet port related over USB 3.0.
Product W01, nevertheless, has disappeared from the corporate’s website — and the brand new U2500 is instead. The general design is essentially unchanged: there’s nonetheless a single M.2 M-key slot supporting 2230- and 2242-footprint NVMe drives and different PCI Categorical gadgets, although it loses help for bigger 2260- and 2280-footprint gadgets, and the Ethernet continues to be related over USB 3.0. This time, although, there’s not one Ethernet port however two — each supporting 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet connectivity, and each usable similtaneously the Raspberry Pi 5’s on-board gigabit Ethernet port.
The brand new board loses the unique design’s help for bigger M.2 gadgets (pictured) in trade for a second 2.5-gig-Ethernet port. (📷: 52Pi)
To forestall bottlenecks, the brand new U2500 design connects one Ethernet port per USB port — which means that it takes up the entire Raspberry Pi 5’s two USB 3.0 ports, leaving solely the slower USB 2.0 ports out there for different equipment. This additionally means, although, that the 2 Ethernet ports run independently with out sharing bandwidth — maximizing efficiency.
A doubling of community ports has, nevertheless, come at a price: the U2500 is up on the market on the 52Pi retailer now at $49.99, up from the $29.99 of the single-port Product W01.