Argon One Case Version 2 For The Raspbery Pi 4

The Argon One is one of the very best Raspberry Pi cases ever made for the Pi 4. It is the best case I have tried personally. The design moves all the I/O to the rear of the case and, adds a power button, and more. As good as the Argon One is, there are still some drawbacks:

1. The continual use of micro-HDMI. Granted this is not a problem of the case itself as Argon is simply doing what the Pi 4 is already doing. I have a lot of different length HDMI cables. But only 1 micro-HDMI, this is small form factor port is a very limiting factor for me.
2. The power button is not flexible enough. The Argon One cases I own (I have 2) do not allow me to override the power button. I want some of my Pi to power on automatically but this cannot be done.
3. The Pi 4 is a a tight fit inside. You need to align the Pi board just right, and insert at an angle to fit. This is not a difficult task to do at all but it's more difficult than it needs to be when assembling.

Happy to report that the Argon One V2 addresses all the issues above, and more.

This V2 unit is purchased off Ali-express. My local B&M store only carries the older V1, and the new M2, but not v2. At the princely price of around AUD$33.76 (Inc GST and shipping), it's a punt I cannot refuse. I did not check where this is shipped from when I made the order, so am pleasantly surprised the item is delivered within the week.

The quick delivery was unexpected. I don't have enough time to retire ny of my existing Pi 4 rigs. In the end decided to simply bite the bullet and get another Pi 4 (4GB) from my local Altronics.

This is going to be my last purchase from Altronics. There is a need to keep my finances in check with no foreseeable income.

This is the V2 semi unboxed. There is always a certain reservations when it comes to Ali-express purchases. Is this legit? So far so good.

Inside the case is a parts pack - 2 sets of screws, rubber feet and 2x thermal pads.

This is the new look expansion I/O interface board. Finally sporting full sized HDMI ports.

The HDMI ports are vertically aligned. I hope these ports can withstand constant plug/unplug of the HDMI cables. The outer case should provide adequate support, but it'll still be nice if these are reinforced for long term durability.

There are multiple changes with the top board. The fan sounds quieter version compared to the V1. If you look closely at the bottom left, there are also an IR receiver and a 3 pins (new in V2).

Here is the close up of the IR receiver and the jumper configuration. I am running all my Pi 4s via POE and using Home Assistant to turn POE on/off the network ports connecting to my Raspberry Pi. If I short pins 2 and 3, I can finally power the Pi automatically every time POE is enabled.

The IR receiver will come in handy as it means I can ditch my USB IR receiver and use this instead. Or add remote control to Snakeoil somehow as a Squeezebox like player.

Wonder if a V3 will include IR blaster support? One can only hope.

Connecting this I/O board is pretty straight forward.

Here's a look of the two from the sides.

I still love to see all the I/O at the rear. This just makes a neater setup. And now the full HDMI ports is really icing on the cake. Perfection!

And next comes a very pleasant surprise. The boards simply dropped into place! I no longer have to tilt the boards in at an angle. it's simply dropped down and done.

V1 is slightly more complex as one has to tilt the boards, while making sure the GPIO pins line up. V2 assembly is a lot less fiddly.

Looking at the rear everything still looks somewhat aligned. Thumbs up on making assembly easier. This is my third case, so maybe some experience helps. But it only took me 2 minutes to assemble my third Argon One 40 case.

The timing could be every quicker if the two long screws wasn't stuck together (Top left). This is about the only flaw I have with my V2 so far.

Finally here's V1 and V2 side by side. The power button has been moved to accommodate the full HDMI ports.

Fully assembled the V2 feels a few grams lighter to the V1. Perhaps they have thinned the materials or simply swapped to a lighter alloy. They look identical. I have disabled the fans on my V1 as I do not like the whirling sounds it makes. So far I'm quite tolerant with the fan noise on the V2.

This is a great upgrade, and at half the price of my locally purchased V1, I'm happier than ever.