There seems to be a long list of Raspberry Pi projects going on at any given moment and the latest to grab our attention is this Swap Pi Raspberry Pi 5 case. Perhaps the best (and most stylish) housing of a RasPi we’ll see for a long time.

We’d have to admit that we’re a fan of Fractal Design, particularly its range of PC cases, and nothing has stood out more recently than its range of wood front panel designs. They stand out against the RGB crowd – which is also why we were drawn to this Raspberry Pi case that follows suit. The Swap Pi is specifically designed for Raspberry Pi 5 and supports a few ports including USB-C PW and full HDMI.

How the Swap Pi Raspberry Pi 5 case came into existence

This project is courtesy of Rex Tang on Hackster.io – a community website for those who love to create and share their hardware-based projects. The Swap Pi case is originally based on the ‘North Pi’ concept which Fractal Design created for Computex 2024 just last month. So, it hasn’t taken long for someone to make the most of it. However, while Rex does note that it is inspired by the concept, “the structure is completely different”.

The video below from Rex’s YouTube channel gives you a fast-forward look at the build process from start to finish, with a nice demonstration of the final project – all under 25 seconds.

The case’s design allows for easy access to the rear ports, using a DeskPi KL-P24 Micro HDMI to HDMI expansion board to route USB and micro HDMI ports to the back of the case. In addition to that, there’s room for an NVMe expansion, useful if you’re looking for some fast SSD storage; it uses the NVPI5-2280B board.

There’s also space for a 4010 PI PWM RGB FAN, which is a 4-wire fan. It can even be controlled using a Raspberry Pi GPIO, allowing you to synchronize the fan speed to CPU temperatures accordingly and alter RGB color. The pull-out design (pictured below) allows for easy access, making it a very practical case for the Pi. So it’s not all just looks, and an alternative to something like the Pironman 5, not that we expect the Swap Pi to be mass-produced.

All in all, the build comprises of 7 parts:

• Swap Pi Case main part (3D print)
• Swap Pi Case front part (3D print)
• Swap Pi Case back part (3D print)
• DeskPi KL-P24 Micro HDMI to HDMI Adapter Board
• Raspberry Pi 5
• NVMe base board NVPI5-2280B
• 4010 FAN

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.