If you do, then you’re in luck, thanks to the Suptronics X1013 expansion board for the Raspberry Pi 5, which adds ten USB ports for a total of fourteen USB ports!
The board connects to the 16-pin FFC PCIe connector of the Raspberry Pi 5 and adds four USB 3.0 ports and four USB 2.0 ports on the right of the Ethernet+USB side of the Pi 5, plus two extra USB 2.0 ports on the opposite side. This is what it looks like once installed.
Suptronics X1013 specifications:
- Compatible with Raspberry Pi 5
- PCIe to USB chipset – Via Lab’s VL805 PCIe Gen2 x1 to 4x USB 3.0 control chip
- USB Hub – Terminus FE 2.1 7-port USB 2.0 hub
- PCIe – 16-pin FFC PCIe connector; 37mm cable provided
- USB ports
- 4x USB3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) ports
- 6x USB 2.0 ports (480 Mbps)
- Misc – On-board push button for bottom (same behavior as the Raspberry Pi’s power button)
- Power Management
- 9 to 18V DC / 3A input via a 5.5×2.1mm DC jack
- 5.1V power delivery to the Raspberry Pi5 via pogo pins
- Automatically powering off all USB devices when the Pi 5 is shut down
- Dimensions – 107.5 x 85mm
The installation is pretty straightforward, as you just have to connect the PCIe cable, align the Raspberry Pi 5 with the four mounting holes (and implicitly the pogo pins), before securing it with the four screws provided in the kit. You’ll then need to make sure PCIe is enabled, and USB PD negotiation is disabled on the Raspberry Pi, and you’re good to go. You’ll find the hardware and software instructions on the Suptronics website.
I initially thought the X1013 board might also work with other SBCs featuring a compatible 16-pin FFC connector, such as the Radxa ROCK 5C or Kakip SBC, but it might not be the case due to power handling. (TBC).
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Don’t expect great performance for the additional ports, though. You’d have four USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) ports and six USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports for a theoretical combined 22.88 Gbps of bandwidth going through a 5 GT/s PCIe Gen2 x1 connection. For peripherals benefiting from 5 Gbps bandwidth, the USB 3.0 ports on the Raspberry Pi 5 should be used in priority.
I first found the Suptronics X1013 10-port USB expansion board on ThePiHut for about $49.5 (including VAT), but it’s also sold under the Geekworm brand on AliExpress for $35 and on Amazon for $39.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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