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NVMe HATs for Raspberry Pi 5:

A Comprehensive Guide (ver B)

The Raspberry Pi 5 introduces a PCIe 2.0 x1 connector, enabling users to connect NVMe SSDs for high-speed storage. This guide covers everything you need to know about NVMe HATs (Hardware Attached on Top) for the Raspberry Pi 5, including setup, performance considerations, and advanced configurations.

1. What is an NVMe HAT?

An NVMe HAT is an expansion board that connects to the Raspberry Pi 5’s PCIe 2.0 x1 interface, allowing you to use M.2 NVMe SSDs. These HATs provide faster and more reliable storage compared to traditional SD cards or SATA SSDs.

2. Why Use an NVMe HAT?

3. Popular NVMe HATs for Raspberry Pi 5

Here’s a comparison of the most popular NVMe HATs:

HAT Model

Key Features

Price Range

Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+

Official product, supports M.2 NVMe SSDs, includes heatsink, PCIe 2.0 x1.

~

25–

25–35

NVMe Base

Budget-friendly, supports M.2 NVMe SSDs, no heatsink included, PCIe 2.0 x1.

~

15–

15–20

Pimoroni NVMe Base HAT

Supports M.2 NVMe SSDs, includes heatsink, PCIe 2.0 x1.

~

20–

20–30

Pineberry Pi Bottom HAT

Dual M.2 slots, optional cooling, PCIe 2.0 x1, requires external power.

~

25–

25–35

Geekworm X1001 NVMe HAT

Single M.2 slot, includes heatsink, PCIe 2.0 x1.

~

30–

30–40

Waveshare PCIe Adapter

Simple and affordable, supports M.2 NVMe SSDs, no additional cooling.

~

15–

15–25

SeeedStudio Dual M.2 HAT

Dual M.2 slots, supports NVMe SSDs, includes heatsink, PCIe 2.0 x1.

~

40–

40–50

4. Photos of Each HAT

Below are photos of the most popular NVMe HATs for the Raspberry Pi 5:

Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+













NVMe Base













Pimoroni NVMe Base HAT





















Pineberry Pi Top HAT






















Geekworm X1001 NVMe HAT













Waveshare PCIe Adapter



























SeeedStudio Dual M.2 HAT

















5. Setting Up an NVMe HAT on Raspberry Pi 5

Follow these steps to set up your NVMe HAT:

Hardware Installation

  1. Power off the Raspberry Pi 5.

  2. Attach the NVMe HAT to the Raspberry Pi 5’s PCIe connector.

  3. Insert the NVMe SSD into the M.2 slot on the HAT.

  4. Secure the SSD with the provided screw.

  5. Attach the heatsink (if included) to the SSD for thermal management.

Power Supply

Boot the Raspberry Pi 5

Software Configuration

  1. Open the terminal and check if the NVMe SSD is detected:

    bash

    Copy

    lsblk

  2. Format the SSD (if necessary):

    bash

    Copy

    sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0n1

  3. Mount the SSD:

    bash

    Copy

    sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1 /mnt/nvme

  4. Add the SSD to /etc/fstab for automatic mounting at boot:

    bash

    Copy

    /dev/nvme0n1 /mnt/nvme ext4 defaults 0 0

6. Performance Considerations

7. Advanced Configurations

Boot from NVMe

Configure the Raspberry Pi 5 to boot directly from the NVMe SSD:

  1. Update the bootloader:

    bash

    Copy

    sudo rpi-eeprom-update -a

  2. Set the boot order in the bootloader configuration:

    bash

    Copy

    sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

    Add the line:

    Copy

    boot_order=0xf41

  3. Reboot the Raspberry Pi 5.

RAID Setup

Use a Dual M.2 HAT to set up RAID 0 (striping for performance) or RAID 1 (mirroring for redundancy):

  1. Install mdadm:

    bash

    Copy

    sudo apt install mdadm

  2. Create a RAID array:

    bash

    Copy

    sudo mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/nvme0n1 /dev/nvme1n1



8. Recommended NVMe SSDs

9. Troubleshooting

10. Where to Buy

11. Conclusion

NVMe HATs provide an excellent way to expand the storage capabilities of the Raspberry Pi 5. Whether you choose the Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+, the budget-friendly NVMe Base, or a dual M.2 HAT for RAID configurations, these solutions offer significant performance improvements over traditional storage options.

If you have any specific questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!

This updated article now includes the SeeedStudio Dual M.2 HAT and photos of each HAT for visual reference. Let me (deepseek) know if you’d like to refine or expand any section!



The author uses and recommends the inexpensive NVMe Base for RPI5 Hat, mounted under the Rpi 5. This leaves the space above the Rpi board available for cooling devices and GPIO access.



Edit Notes:

As with most AI assistants, it was necessary to coax DeepSeek to include all of the hats listed.

This article was created by DeepSeek and copied into LibreOffice. Page Numbers were added. However all of the images appeared as placeholders. DeepSeek’s solution was a link to each supplier’s product page. So each image was manually copied and pasted into LibreOffice. Some images could only be copied using prntscr.com. Many Suppliers also offer multiple versions of each board, with very different capabilities.



Issues and Solutions:

Issue 01:

The web page (.html) created by LibreOffice: File:Send … Create HTML Document was invalid.

Solution: File:Preview in Web Browser

then Save this file as NVMeHATsForRaspberryPi5_verB.htm (not html)

This file is a valid web page.

Issue 02:

A separate copy of each image was given a unique name and was stored in the same folder.

Solution: The image file names were examined and only those matching the version number of the version letter should be copied into the final web page folder. A better solution is to use a macro that references only one image name.

Issue 03:

The .htm file that is saved should have a name with a letter and a number for the version.

Solution: Unknown



Source: https://chat.deepseek.com/

Author: DavidKCole (David@ColeCanada.com)

Date: 2025Cmar13

AI assistant: DeepSeek

Version: B

Saved on: LeNovo in D:/DocumentsD/2025/

Final file: NVMeHATsForRaspberryPi5_verB2.htm

/NVMeHATsForRaspberryPi5_verB.odt