Elecrow Pitower Gen 1

The Elecrow Pitower Gen 1 is a Mini PC Case with 1.3-inch OLED Screen is designed to give the Raspberry Pi 5 (and Jetson Orin Nano) a compact and practical enclosure with added functionality. The case is built from aluminum and acrylic and includes three RGB cooling fans, a heatsink, and a 1.3-inch OLED display for real-time system information. It also provides a PCIe M.2 slot, making it suitable for projects that require additional storage and faster data access.

The enclosure maintains access to the standard Raspberry Pi 5 interfaces, including USB, HDMI, and Ethernet. It ships as a kit with the case components, PCBA board, fans, heatsink, and user manual but without the Raspberry Pi 5 or a power supply.

The Elecrow Pitower Gen 1 a straightforward option for anyone looking to improve cooling, expand storage, and add system monitoring to a Raspberry Pi 5 setup.

Where to Buy

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Technical Specification

The Elecrow Pitower Gen 1 is engineered to house a Raspberry Pi 5 (orJetson Orin Nano) within a compact and durable shell measuring approximately 120 × 120 × 72 mm, providing a high-density enclosure with a small desktop footprint. The chassis combines aluminum alloy with clear acrylic panels on the front and side, balancing structural rigidity with visual access to internal components and RGB lighting.

Integrated into the case is a 1.3-inch OLED display positioned on the top surface, which conveys real-time system metrics such as temperature, resource usage, IP address, and optionally date and time. It offers immediate feedback without the need for external monitors.

Convenience is further enhanced by the inclusion of a power button integrated into the top panel. Cooling is ensured via three built-in cooling fans that are arranged in a layout that enhances airflow across the Raspberry Pi 5’s heat-generating components. The original Raspberry Pi 5 connector ports remain accessible, including USB, HDMI and Ethernet.

The 40-pin GPIO header is also exposed, thanks to extender boards that route these interfaces to the case openings.

For storage expansion, the case includes a PCIe-compatible M.2 socket that supports various SSD form factors (2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280), allowing the Raspberry Pi 5 to leverage high-speed NVMe storage. Additionally, the PCBA board integrates functional pathways not only for the OLED display, fans, and power control, but also for optional modules such as a real-time clock (RTC).

Parts

The package ships as a DIY kit, providing all necessary physical components: aluminum and acrylic case panel, screws, cables, an OLED, a custom PCBA board, three RGB cooling fans, a heatsink for the Raspberry Pi 5 processor with cooling fan, and the user manual for assembly.

Technical Specification

Compatible Device	Raspberry Pi 5/Jetson Nano(Optional)
Screen	1.3” OLED
Power Button	Yes
PCIE Interface(Raspberry Pi)	PCIE M2
SSD Support Type(Raspberry Pi )	Solid state 2230,2242,2260,2280
RTC	Raspberry Pi Version support
Material	Aluminum alloy + acrylic
Fan	3x Cooling Fans
Dimension	120*120*72mm

Assembly Tips

The Pitower Gen 1 comes unassembled. How to assemble the PC Case is described in the User Manual. However, I added some tips to the individual steps of the assembly that I think will be useful.

Step 01

no tips.

Step 02

Rivets

Pushing the white Rivets through to attach the heatsink requires some force. Make sure the holes and the rivets are aligned nicely.

Thermal Pad

Don’t forget to remove the thin transparent foil from both sides of the thermal pads.

Step 03

Don’t forget to insert/connect the TF card adapter. I discovered close to the end that I had missed that.

Power Cable for Pi Cooler

Before attaching the GPIO Adapter connect the power cable for the Raspberry Pi Cooler. This is not described and almost invisible in the manual.

If you connect the GPIO Adapter first it will be more difficult to plug in the power cable for Raspberry Pi Cooler. Also note that there is a small cover over the socket for the power connector, which you need to remove.

Step 04

PCIE Cable

Make sure to pull the gray parts of the sockets up when inserting the flat cable for the 16Pin_PCIE. Once inserted push them down to lock the cable.

Power Control Cable

Also connect the flat power control cable (I) in this step. It is hard to see in the manual and easily missed. Since the cable runs under the main board it will be much more difficult to connect, once the main board is screwed in (Step 05).

When inserting the power control cable the blue side must show upwards and the cable is inserted from the white (not the gray) side of the socket. That is in contrast to the 16Pin_PCIE cable, which is inserted from the gray side.

Step 05

Don’t forget the screw for the TF card adapter, as I did ; )

Step 06

Watch out for the correct orientation of the CR1210 battery. And note, once the SSD drive is installed you only get it out by disassembling the case.

Step 07

Fans

Watch out for the orientation of the fans as shown in the manual. The single fan at the top (labelled A) is oriented differently to the two fans on the back. You will find that fan A is not easily screwed in and you will need some force to press it in but it is possible.

OLED

Be careful when screwing in the OLED. Don’t tighten the screws too much or it might brake. It is just pressed on the case and too much force might damaged it. Also watch out for the correct orientation – the connector points inwards.

Power button

I noted that the hole for the power button is a tiny bit too small and I had to file it open a bit to make the switch fit.

Connecting Fans and Power button

I would connect the fans and the button in this step and not in Step 09, since it will be more difficult after the case is assembled in Step 08.

Step 08

Some of the screws for the case are hard to get in. Get yourself a proper screwdriver with a good fitting bit.

Step 09

As mentioned, I connected switch and fans in Step 07.

Step 10

no tips.

Installing Raspberry Pi Operating System

Before you can run the Raspberry PI in your new fancy case, you will need to install the Operating System on an SD card. This is nicely described in the Raspberry Pi Getting Started tutorial, so I will skip the details here. Note that the SD card port is at the bottom of the case:

Installing Elecrow Software

With the Raspberry Pi Operating System installed, and the SD Card inserted, the Raspberry Pi will boot when you press the push button. But you will not see system information such as temperature displayed on the OLED nor will you be able to shutdown the Raspberry Pi by holding the push button.

Adding this functionality will require the installation of additional software as described in the Elecrow Wiki for the PC Case. For a detailed description have a look there. Here just the short version of what you need to do.

Start by updating and installing git. Then clone the git repo with the additional software:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/Elecrow-RD/Small-Mini-PC-Case.git

Change in the corresponding folder:

cd ~/Small-Mini-PC-Case/Raspberry Pi 5/

Copy the files in this folder to the specific locations as shown below:

sudo cp -rf rpi5-oled.py /usr/local/bin
sudo cp -rf rpi5-oled.service /etc/systemd/system
sudo cp -rf shutdown.py /usr/local/bin
sudo cp -rf rcshutdown.service /etc/systemd/system
sudo cp -rf rc.shutdown /etc

Next, change the file permissions and start the services:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/rpi5-oled.py
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install python3-psutil python3-smbus
sudo systemctl enable rpi5-oled.service
sudo systemctl start rpi5-oled.service
sudo chmod 777 /usr/local/bin/shutdown.py
sudo chmod 777 /etc/systemd/system/rcshutdown.service
sudo chmod 777 /etc/rc.shutdown
sudo systemctl start rcshutdown.service

Finally, modify the contents of config.txt as shown below

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

Add “dtoverlay=i2c0” to the last line of config.txt, save it (^O), and then restart the system.

Now, the OLED should display system information and you can shutdown the system by pressing and holding the push button.

Conclusions

The Elecrow Pitower Gen 1 is a Mini PC Case for the Raspberry Pi 5 that delivers a polished appearance with its aluminum and acrylic build, enhanced by integrated RGB lighting that gives it a modern desktop aesthetic. Beyond looks, it adds practical functionality by supporting SSD expansion through an M.2 slot, providing faster and larger storage options compared to microSD cards alone. The inclusion of a physical push button for startup and shutdown, as well as a 1.3-inch OLED display for monitoring system information, makes the case more convenient for daily use.

However, there are several limitations to consider. The case does not provide access to the Raspberry Pi’s two camera connectors, which restricts its use for vision-based projects. Audio support is also absent, but this is a limitation of the Raspberry Pi 5 itself, as it no longer includes a 4-pole stereo headphone jack. Cooling performance is aided by three built-in fans, but these fans are reported to be noisy, and it is unclear whether their operation can be managed or disabled via software.

Overall, the Pitower Gen 1 offers a balance of style and functionality, particularly for users who want better cooling, integrated system monitoring, and SSD expansion. Yet, developers who require camera access, quiet operation, or built-in audio connectivity should be aware of its compromises.

If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comment section.

Happy Tinkering 😉