Andrew Heinzman
Forget about throttling. The official Raspberry Pi 4 fan case lets you push your single-board computer to its limits without overheating. At just $5, the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s Pi 4 case fan fits in the official Pi 4 case and comes with a small heat sync.
While not necessary for casual users, the official Pi 4 case fan allows you to perform power-intensive tasks without throttling. It also makes overclocking the Pi 4 a bit easier, as you can push past 1.8GHz without hitting the 80C throttle point.
Unlike 3rd party case fans, the new Pi 4 fan comes with a plastic bracket that snaps into the official Pi 4 case. It also has a PMW input, allowing you to set a temperature for the fan to kick on. That said, the fan runs at all times by default, and temperature settings are hidden behind the Raspberry Pi Configuration tool.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation says that its official case fan and heat sync should be enough to prevent overheating. It’s a solid alternative to 3rd party cooling solutions, especially if you’re an educator or a fan of the official Pi 4 case’s neat design. Still, the official Pi 4 case doesn’t have the best airflow, and a 3rd party case with a built-in fan may be a better solution for hardcore Pi 4 users.
Source: The Raspberry Pi Foundation
