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| Pironman 5 Pro Max tower PC with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, camera support, and dual stereo speakers |
If you’ve been following the evolution of Raspberry Pi cases over the last year, you’ve likely noticed the rapid ascent of the Pironman series. What started as a sleek tower concept has quickly branched into a full family of enclosures, each catering to a different type of maker. Now, the company behind them is aiming for the flagship crown with the release of the Pironman 5 Pro Max, a feature-packed chassis that transforms the Raspberry Pi 5 from a simple development board into a desktop-worthy powerhouse.
To understand just how far this case has come, it helps to look back. The original Pironman 5 landed in mid-2024 with a compact tower design and support for a single NVMe SSD. By mid-2025, we saw the release of the Pironman 5-MAX, which doubled down on storage with dual NVMe SSDs and RAID support, alongside the option to bolt on an AI accelerator. Later that year, the company swung the pendulum the other way with the Pironman 5-Mini, a stripped-down, budget-friendly version for users who wanted the aesthetic without the complexity.
Now, SunFounder has unveiled what they are calling their "most advanced" iteration yet: the Pironman 5 Pro Max. It takes the robust cooling of its predecessors and layers on a level of interactivity and multimedia functionality that finally justifies the "desktop" label.
A Window into Your Pi: The 4.3-Inch Touchscreen
The headline feature of the Pro Max is undeniably the massive 4.3-inch touchscreen integrated into the side panel. This isn't just a static status window; it's a fully interactive IPS display with an 800×480 resolution.
In a typical home server setup, this screen becomes your command center. You can configure it to act as a Home Assistant dashboard, allowing you to control smart lights, locks, and sensors with a tap. For those using the Pi as a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, it can display real-time drive health, transfer speeds, and array status. Of course, it also handles the basics—displaying system diagnostics, CPU temperature, and IP addresses. And if you just want to show off, you can technically play simple games on it, though don't expect a vibrant, color-accurate gaming experience from the small panel.
Multimedia and Cooling: Built for the Desktop
Beyond the screen, the Pro Max makes significant strides in turning the Raspberry Pi 5 into a true multimedia hub.
- Camera Ready: A dedicated mount has been added to the top of the case, officially supporting the Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2 or the newer Raspberry Pi AI Camera. This opens up possibilities for security monitoring, time-lapse photography, or AI-powered object recognition projects right out of the box.
- Built-In Audio: For the first time in the series, you get a 3.5mm audio jack and a pair of 3W stereo speakers mounted on the back. Audio output is no longer an afterthought.
- Microphone Support: To facilitate voice assistants or recording projects, the case ships with a USB microphone dongle. However, there is a minor trade-off here: using the dongle occupies one of the Pi's USB 2.0 Type-A ports.
Of course, none of this hardware matters if it melts under load. SunFounder has overhauled the thermal management to keep up with the added features. The Pro Max now includes three addressable RGB PWM fans and six WS2812B addressable RGB LEDs. The entire lighting system can be synchronized via software, allowing for complex color patterns and lighting effects that react to system status. During stress tests, this cooling system keeps the Raspberry Pi 5 temperatures substantially lower than the official active cooler, ensuring sustained performance without thermal throttling.
The Core Experience
If you are familiar with the Pironman lineup, the rest of the layout will feel like home. The signature tower cooler with PWM-controlled RGB fans remains, flanked by the usual I/O: dual full-size HDMI ports, Gigabit Ethernet, dual USB 3.0 ports, and a single USB 2.0 port. The front panel retains the safe power button, IR LED, microSD slot, and the small 0.96-inch OLED display (which now supplements the larger touchscreen for basic status monitoring). It also features an auto-sleep function with vibration wake-up, an RTC battery, and a 40-pin GPIO expansion header for tinkering.
Given the power draw of the NVMe drives, the RGB lighting, and the touchscreen, SunFounder now recommends using the official 27W power supply to ensure rock-solid stability.
Pricing and Availability
The case itself features a dark anodized finish and measures a compact 140.9 × 77.0 × 138.7 mm.
You can find the Pironman 5 Pro Max listed on the SunFounder store for $145 (excluding the Raspberry Pi) . It is currently marked as "coming soon." Buyers have the option to configure a bundle that includes the Raspberry Pi 5, NVMe SSDs, an AI accelerator, a camera module, and accessories like a power adapter or keyboard. Alternatively, you can grab the case on its own as a barebones setup if you already have the components lying around.
For those who have been waiting for a case that combines desktop aesthetics with serious storage, cooling, and a built-in interface, the Pironman 5 Pro Max looks like the new benchmark for Raspberry Pi 5 enclosures.
Source: SunFounder Official Product Page
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| Pironman 5 Pro Max layout with cooling system, touchscreen display, camera module, and onboard expansion features |
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| Pironman 5 Pro Max tower cooling system keeps Raspberry Pi 5 temperatures substantially lower than the official active cooler during stress testing. |