// gear i actually run
Raspberry Pi boards, the CanaKit bundles worth buying, plus the power, cases and adapters that actually keep a Pi reliable. What I reach for building small network boxes and lab nodes.
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The grab-and-go Pi 5: board, active cooler, PSU and a 128GB card in one box. If you want a Pi 5 working in an hour without sourcing parts, start here.
Pi 5 with the essentials minus the SD card. The sensible middle ground if you already have storage you trust.
The bare 4GB board for when you already have cooling, power and storage. 4GB is enough for most network and service roles; jump to 8GB for containers or a desktop.
The Pi 4 is still the workhorse for low-power, always-on jobs. The 8GB basic kit covers board, case, PSU and heatsinks for the common projects.
The cheapest way into a Pi 4 for a single lightweight task — a DNS sinkhole, a probe, a script box. 2GB is the limit, not a starting point.
Bare 4GB Pi 4 board to drop into a project where you already have power and a case. The dependable middle option in the Pi 4 line.
Underpowering a Pi causes the weird, hard-to-trace instability people blame on the SD card. A proper 3.5A USB-C supply with an inline switch removes that variable.
The case uses its aluminum body as a passive heatsink, so a Pi 4 runs cool and silent with no fan. My default when I don't need GPIO access.
A clean enclosure for the Pi Zero when it's doing a fixed job and you want it protected and tidy rather than bare.
Same fanless heatsink design for an older Pi 3 that's still earning its keep. Worth it to keep an aging board cool and quiet.
Wired networking for a Pi Zero, or anything with USB OTG. 100Mbps is the ceiling, which is fine for a probe or a headless utility box.
The Pi 4 and 5 use micro-HDMI, and you never have the right cable when you need a screen. A cheap adapter in the kit saves the headache.
If it is your first Pi, buy a kit, not a bare board — the power supply and cooling are where cheap builds fail. Bare boards are for when you already have the rest.
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