3 Raspberry Pi Upgrades Actually Worth Paying For

I’ve tested so many accessories for RaspberryTips over the years that my closets and drawers are full of things I never use. But I also have a few ones that rarely leave my desk. They are essentials to my daily tests with Raspberry Pis. If you are looking for your next gadget, here are some suggestions.

In my opinion, the best Raspberry Pi accessories are the ones that make your life easier, or provide a significant improvement. I’m talking about saving time on your projects, avoiding common errors, and speeding up the Pi.

Don’t worry, I skipped the obvious stuff you already have (good SD card, official power supply, etc.). Let’s see how many of these you have already thought about 🙂

Save time on initial setup and debug

My daily routine looks like this: install a fresh Raspberry Pi, test something, break it, start again.

And so when you install things that have a low chance to work in the end, a way to quickly debug the initial setup is crucial. If the system doesn’t boot, doesn’t connect to my network, or anything else, I want a way to see what’s going on.

I don’t have time to waste by setting up a monitor, a keyboard with the right layout, or even the network settings sometimes. So, how can I quickly see what’s going on? With a device like this:

It’s a small device you connect to the Raspberry Pi’s HDMI and USB ports on one side, and into your computer’s USB port on the other side. The fancy name is “KVM” for keyboard/video/mouse.

Once connected, you just run an app on the laptop that shows you the Raspberry Pi screen all the time. Even if the OS doesn’t boot like in the screenshot below. And you can use your computer keyboard and mouse to interact with the Pi directly.

It’s super useful to me. Not only can I see what’s going on, but I can also interact with it, take screenshots or record videos for the community members.

If you’re interested, that’s the one I’m using. Typical KVMs are built to manage several servers with one set of monitor/keyboard/mouse. But this one just uses an app on your existing computer, so it’s pretty cool.

Avoid power issues and quick switch

This one is a no-brainer. If you use several USB accessories, especially on a Pi 4 or earlier, you need to get a powered USB switch.

I think it’s a bit less of an issue with Pi 5, but with many setups, as soon as you start plugging in USB accessories, you’ll get power voltage warnings. By having an external power for your USB devices, you can avoid this problem.

Some of them even have on/off switches, like the one in my picture, so you can plug in multiple USB sticks and USB boot on the one with the system you want right now.

It’s also great if you have several Raspberry Pis and don’t want to constantly move the USB dongles (for keyboard/mouse) from one to the other.

And obviously, you can use it for other things. I also use it to charge my watch or Bluetooth speaker. So it’s a pretty good investment (check the price on Amazon if interested).

Build a fast and reliable home server

The earlier suggestions were mostly for messy setups, but at some point, you’ll want to set things up properly, reliably, and if possible with the best performance. That’s when it’s a good idea to upgrade for a better storage solution.

Yeah, I’m talking about upgrading to an SSD, probably NVMe storage. It’s the fastest option for your Raspberry Pi and the most reliable choice for long-term projects. The only downside is that it requires a bit of hardware to set it up.

If you know your project is going to be in use for the long haul, I’d suggest getting a solid case with an NVMe slot and a decent cooling system so you can keep all your “tested projects” on it.

I love the Pironman cases for this, and we’ve tested a few on RaspberryTips. But other options might be cheaper, like the Elecrow alternative or Argon cases. If you can afford a stable setup with NVMe for your main home server and have another Pi for experiments, I think it’s the way to go.

I hope these suggestions were helpful. If you try one of them, I’m sure you’ll love it. Once you’ve got everything set up, be sure to check out my list of Raspberry Pi projects. That way, you can make the most of your new accessories. 🙂