Review on C4Labs Cloudlet CASE: Cluster Case For Raspberry Pi And Other Single Board Computers-Mist by Kenji Townsend

This case works well for an 8 node Raspberry Pi Cluster. It accommodates 8 Pis mounted on support plates that plug into the back of the case. There is a space on the bottom (or side if upright) that can be used for a switch or power supply. The manufacturer shows the switch, but I chose to go wireless with the Pi and used the space to house an 8-port power bank (USB charger) which fits perfectly. There are four fans which along with the heatsinks I have installed on the Pi seem to keep everything cool even under load. Yes, the fans are a bit noisy. I'm not overly mechanical, but I managed to put this together fairly easily. However, the instructions are quite small and it would be nice to be able to print them out on a larger sheet of paper. I guess I could enlarge it on a copier. The fan wires were a little tricky to attach to the Pi and then slide the Pi's support plates in without tangling the wires in the fans. I installed the fans inside, but it might be better to install them outside on the back. It wasn't clear to me from the instructions how to do this. The entire 'box' comes assembled and feels sturdy, if a little 'squeaky'. It is definitely strong enough for its purpose. You screw on the fans, mount your Pis on carrier boards, connect the fan wires to 4 of the Pis, connect all the other cables to the Pi and plug their carrier boards into the slots on the back of the box. The backing plates worked. Well, all the screw holes matched my Raspberry Pi 3B+ and Raspberry Pi 4B devices perfectly. The bottom of the Pi 3B+ has a cutout for cooling a small chip, but the bottom circuit board of the Pi 4B is slightly different. However, the Pi 4B installed without any problems and there are no problems. Other SBCs with the exact same mounting hole pattern can also work as long as they don't have components on the underside of the board that need cooling. You may be able to use standoffs if you need to place a heatsink on the bottom of the board. I think C4Labs can also make holders with mounting holes in different places that fit in the same box. For example I would like to see them for ODroid XU4. There are several different 4 and 6 SBC stackers on the market that all stack SBCs. This unit differs in that it mounts in a box, allowing room for a switch or power supply in the same box. And you get room for 8 SBCs, not 4 or 6. I would recommend this unit to anyone looking to build a Raspberry Pi cluster. PROS: - Can hold up to 8 SBCs - 4 fans - Easy organization of SBC and PSU (or network switch) - Flexibility to accommodate different types of boards (with different baseboard designs) CONS: - Outer "box" creaks a bit - The assembly instruction paper is small, highly depend on the picture - The fan wiring can be very thin to avoid the wires getting caught in the fans