What case are you using on your Raspberry Pi4b?

[AudioDoctor]

Are you using the official Raspberry Pi case? A fancy aluminum case with heatsinks and a fan? Where did you get it?  Does the fancy case work to keep the Pi cooler?

 

edit: This is the case I am eying.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Flirc-Raspberry-Pi-Case-Silver/dp/B07WG4DW52/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=Raspberry%2BPi%2B4%2BCase&qid=1593576349&sr=8-10&th=1

[stefano_mbp]

I’m using the Flirc case (the same you’re eying) with my rpi4 ver1.2.

I find it very effective, the rpi4 temperature stays always around 46°

[firedog]

I'm using this:

https://www.amazon.com/Argon-Raspberry-Heatsink-Supports-Accessible/dp/B07WMG27T7

I'm running the Pi only as an audio endpoint and for that I'm very happy with it, looks "audiophile" and the Pi stays at reasonable temperatures (max in low 50's C, even when on 24/7 and in a pretty warm room).

[bluesman]

I have a Flirc on the Pi 4 in our living room system, because it looks great and cools well.  The core temp right now is 46C, after weeks of being on 24/7 in an ambient 22-23 room with low air flow.  But I bought a few inexpensive fan cooled plastic cases like this one

 

for the 3B+s and 4s I use to test and develop ideas and projects. There are several like this one complete with switched SMPS and heat sinks for $15 or less.  This one's a Kupton and now shows as unavailable on Amazon.  The ones I use on 3 B+ (branded Bonrob & bought in January) are also now unavailable - but there are several other choices almost identical in design and construction.  Many of these inexpensive accessories come and go, so you can't rely on finding the exact same one again.

 

These fan cooled plastic cases keep temps down very well.  An overclocked, ZRAM'ed Pi 4 running from a USB3 SSD (no SD card at all) pushed to its limits as a DAW (details in an upcoming article in the Value Proposition series) never tops 62 even at full tilt boogie.  My most aggressively rodded 3B+ idles in the 30s and is never above low 60s even with CPU usage above 95% for complex tasks.  I use a 40 pin GPIO extension ribbon through the side slot in the case, so I can keep the fan in place when using HATs (with the fan power wires either on tiny homemade ring connectors under the GPIO plug or extended and connected to the pins on the HAT end). 

 

 

Even if you don't want to use these switched PSs for audio, they're great for development and other frequent on-off use.  They keep your Pi safe when you're booting repeatedly by making it easy to shut down from the command line or GUI and restart by pushing the button.  If you get in the habit of plugging and unplugging, you will eventually corrupt your SD card and have to start again with a newly burned image.

[AudioDoctor]

5 hours ago, firedog said:

I'm using this:

https://www.amazon.com/Argon-Raspberry-Heatsink-Supports-Accessible/dp/B07WMG27T7

I'm running the Pi only as an audio endpoint and for that I'm very happy with it, looks "audiophile" and the Pi stays at reasonable temperatures (max in low 50's C, even when on 24/7 and in a pretty warm room).

 

I was looking at that one too.  Thanks.