Expand your Argon ONE V5 build with up to four M.2 NVMe SSDs over a single PCIe connection from your Raspberry Pi 5.
The Argon ONE V5 Quad M.2 NVMe Expansion Board (SKU: ARG-ONE-V5-QUAD, Model: A25-025-V5-PCIe-Cable) is a PCIe expansion board designed to fit inside the Argon ONE V5 case and connect directly to the Raspberry Pi 5's PCIe FPC connector. It gives your Pi 5 build access to up to four M.2 NVMe SSDs simultaneously, transforming the Argon ONE V5 into a capable network-attached storage node, multi-drive workstation, or high-throughput embedded system — all in a compact, thermally managed enclosure.
The board is available in two chipset variants: a PCIe Gen 2 version powered by the ASM1182e PCIe packet switch, and a PCIe Gen 3 version powered by the ASM2806 — both routing the Raspberry Pi 5's single PCIe ×1 lane to four downstream NVMe slots. Supported M.2 form factors include 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280, giving you broad flexibility in drive selection. Thermal management is handled by the included THRML M.2 NVMe heatsink with blue silicon thermal pads, working in tandem with the Argon ONE V5 case's passive aluminum heatsinks on the bottom panel.
This page covers the Quad board purchased as a standalone expansion board. If you are building a complete Argon ONE V5 system from scratch, this board installs inside the V5 case alongside the Raspberry Pi 5 and the HDMI-USB2-Audio board. Full assembly instructions, software configuration, and troubleshooting are covered below.
📝 Note: M.2 NVMe SSDs are not included. This product is the expansion board only.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Product Name | Argon ONE V5 Quad M.2 NVMe PCIe Expansion Board |
| SKU | ARG-ONE-V5-QUAD |
| Model Number | A25-025-V5-PCIe-Cable |
| Product Family | Argon ONE V5 |
| Drive Slots | 4× M.2 NVMe |
| Supported M.2 Form Factors | 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 |
| PCIe Gen 2 Chipset | ASM1182e (1× PCIe ×1 Gen 2 upstream → 2× PCIe ×1 Gen 2 downstream, cascaded to 4 slots) |
| PCIe Gen 3 Chipset | ASM2806 PCIe Gen 3 Packet Switching Chip |
| Host Connection | U-shaped PCIe FPC connector to Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe FPC port |
| Thermal Management | THRML M.2 NVMe heatsink; blue silicon thermal pads; passive aluminum case heatsinks |
| Supplemental Power | Required — black power cable (connects internally to case power routing) |
| Compatible Case | Argon ONE V5 |
| Compatible SBC | Raspberry Pi 5 |
| Certifications | CE Certified, RoHS Compliant |
The Raspberry Pi 5 is the only supported host board for this expansion board. It is the first Raspberry Pi to expose a PCIe FPC connector — the interface this expansion board uses.
Source: raspberrypi.com
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Processor | Broadcom BCM2712, quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 @ 2.4 GHz |
| GPU | VideoCore VII; OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2 |
| RAM | 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB LPDDR4X-4267 |
| Onboard Storage | microSD (UHS-I) |
| PCIe Expansion | PCIe 2.0 ×1 connector (FPC) — interfaces directly with this product |
| Wi-Fi | Dual-band 802.11ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0 / BLE |
| Ethernet | Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbit/s) |
| USB | 2× USB 3.0 (5 Gbps), 2× USB 2.0 |
| Display Outputs | 2× micro-HDMI (up to 4Kp60 simultaneously), MIPI DSI, MIPI CSI |
| GPIO | 40-pin standard Raspberry Pi GPIO header |
| Power Input | USB-C Power Delivery (PD) |
| Recommended PSU | 5V 5A (27W) USB-C PD |
| Minimum PSU | 5V 3A (15W) USB-C PD |
| Real-Time Clock | Yes — battery connector onboard |
| OS Support | Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit recommended), Ubuntu, and others |
| Dimensions | 85 mm × 56 mm |
Compatibility notes for use with this product:
/boot/firmware/config.txt (see Software & Configuration).⚠️ Warning: Always power off and unplug your Raspberry Pi 5 completely before beginning assembly. Never connect or disconnect the PCIe FPC connector while the board is powered.
⚠️ Warning: Static electricity can damage your Raspberry Pi 5 and NVMe drives. Work on an anti-static surface and handle boards by their edges.
The steps below describe assembling the Quad M.2 NVMe Expansion Board into an Argon ONE V5 case with a Raspberry Pi 5. If you already have a partially assembled V5 system, refer to the specific step that applies to your current state.
⚠️ Warning: Failure to remove the transparent backing from both sides of a thermal pad will prevent proper heat transfer. The pads will appear to stick but will insulate rather than conduct heat.
Before placing the Raspberry Pi 5 assembly into the case, route the following cables through the cable management posts on the underside (or top) of the Argon ONE V5 case:
📝 Note: It is much easier to route cables before the Raspberry Pi 5 assembly is seated. Doing this after the board is installed significantly increases the risk of cable pinching or connector damage.
Connect the blower fan cable (coloured wire connector) to the FAN port on the Raspberry Pi 5. The connector is keyed; do not force it.
Connect the black supplemental power cable to the power input on the Quad M.2 NVMe expansion board.
⚠️ Warning: This power connection is mandatory — not optional. The NVMe expansion board and drives will not receive adequate power from the Raspberry Pi 5 alone. Skipping this step may result in drives failing to initialise, data corruption, or instability under load.
Route the cable neatly inside the case to avoid obstructing other connectors or the airflow path.
⚠️ Warning: The manual explicitly requires that all installed SSD drives are secured with screws. An unsecured drive can shift during use, causing intermittent disconnects or connector damage.
📝 Note: You do not need to populate all four slots. Unused slots can remain empty.
⚠️ Warning: Connector orientation is critical. The copper-coloured contact side of the U-shaped PCIe connector must face the WHITE side of the PCIe FPC terminal on the Raspberry Pi 5. Inserting the connector reversed will prevent the board from being detected and may damage the connector over time.
If you are adding optional modules to your V5 build, do so before closing the case:
📝 Note: Installing the Zigbee Module using the internal 6-pin USB port will disable the leftmost front-facing USB 2.0 port on the Argon ONE V5 case. Plan your USB peripheral connections accordingly.
Before connecting power, verify:
Connect your 27W USB-C PD power supply and proceed to software configuration.
The fastest way to configure your system is the official Argon ONE V5 setup script. It automatically configures PCIe settings, fan control, and power button behaviour.
curl https://download.argon40.com/argon1v5.sh | bash
After the script completes, reboot your Raspberry Pi 5:
sudo reboot
After reboot, open the Argon Configuration Tool (available from the desktop or terminal) and follow the on-screen instructions to enable full functionality, including fan curve tuning and power management settings.
If you prefer to configure your system manually without running the script, open the boot configuration file:
sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt
Add the following lines:
dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host
dtparam=uart0=on
dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host
dtparam=pciex1_gen=3
usb_max_current_enable=1
Save the file (Ctrl+O, then Enter), exit nano (Ctrl+X), and reboot:
sudo reboot
📝 Note: The automatic script adds all of these entries for you. Manual configuration is only necessary if you have a specific reason to avoid running the script.
If your Quad M.2 NVMe Expansion Board is the PCIe Gen 3 variant (ASM2806 chipset), you must add additional compatibility settings beyond the standard script output.
Open the configuration file:
sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt
Add or verify the following lines are present:
dtparam=pciex1
dtparam=pciex1_gen=3
dtoverlay=pciex1=compat=pi5,no-mip,mmio-hi
Save and reboot:
sudo reboot
⚠️ Warning: The
dtoverlay=pciex1=compat=pi5,no-mip,mmio-hiline is specifically required for the ASM2806 Gen 3 packet switching chipset. Without it, the Gen 3 board may not be detected or may fall back to Gen 2 operation unreliably.
After booting, confirm that your NVMe drives are visible to the operating system:
lsblk
NVMe drives will appear as nvme0n1, nvme1n1, nvme2n1, and nvme3n1 (numbering may vary). You can also get detailed information per drive:
ls /dev/nvme*
Or view PCIe device enumeration:
lspci
Method 1 — Desktop: Click the Argon ONE V5 icon on the desktop and select the uninstall option.
**Method 2 — Terminal