CanaKit Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit PRO - Turbine Black (128GB Edition) (8GB RAM)

I picked up the Raspberry Pi 5 (8 GB) to run a few always-on home services, and it's been fantastic. It's fast enough for real work and the 8 GB of RAM gives plenty of headroom for a web app, a database client, and background jobs all at once. It sips power, makes no noise with the official cooler, and has been rock solid running 24/7. Setup was painless and it just works. If you want a tiny always-on Linux box that can actually pull its weight, this is an easy recommendation.

This is a great kit. It has everything you need to get the Pi up and running. The case is my least favorite part, but it’s serviceable. My biggest issue is that it’s glossy, making it a fingerprint magnet. Also, the power button leaves much to be desired. But, it will work until I get a better case. The little fan spins up sometimes, but it’s not super loud. The heat sink is solid and has what looks like nice thermal pads correctly placed to make contact with the chips. The microSD card, reader, power supply and HDMI cables do their job. The Pi itself is great. I have an older Pi, but it’s nowhere near as powerful. I didn’t bother with the included OS, I downloaded Batocera Linux for the Pi 5 and wrote that to the card so I could set up an emulation system. The Pi is powerful enough to run games up to the Dreamcast, which is the most powerful system emulator included in Batocera. Though, it does struggle with some N64 games, but that’s just the nature of N64 emulation. All said and done, this is a nice kit and a decent value for what you get. I follow tech and prices on PC components are skyrocketing, particularly RAM, but storage and other components are also going up. So, getting all of this for $160 wasn’t bad.

Very impressed with the CanaKit Pi 5 Pro bundle. It has been running flawlessly as my home network's primary DNS server, handling both Pi-hole and Unbound. The hardware is fast, the kit is complete, and it has given me a rock-solid, self-hosted setup with zero stability issues. Highly recommended for any DIY network project!

I bought this to run as a pihole initially, but I disliked the way things were working so it just sat around for a while doing nothing. Then I had a bright idea, installed Debian on it, and set it up as an NVR. If you want do something similar, just be sure to mask out any busy streets or swaying branches. With those things taken care of, I'm running 3 cameras and using less than 25% CPU, which is good since it's doing everything in software (the Pi 5 doesn't have any hardware to decode h.264 video, so if the cameras you're using stream that then you'll be in the same boat). It's working well for this, and I'm pleased with it. I'll have to get an external HDD at some point to have some more durable & expandable storage, but it's fine for now.

Been in the Raspberry Pie sphere from the first release and I'm actually pretty impressed with this one. Needed a little more horsepower than my Pi 4's could manage for kicking the tires on local AI LLMs and this kit is everything you need in one box. No muss, no fuss and at a reasonable price. Might need to get me another one.

I like the quality of the CanaKits for setting up a Raspberry Pi. All the parts are good quality and generally over spec'd to make sure you don't have any problems. If you take the time, you might be able to put together the parts for less, but you will probably spend more time than you saved. I used this setup for a home automation setup. Quick and easy and all the pieces were there to get the base install running in a couple minutes. Putting the kit together is easy and you can watch the video to follow along instead of interpreting the written directions. For almost any use the kit will meet your needs. I waffle on whether the value could be a little better, but it's probably a time saver.

Well thought out kit. Has everything you need to get started - heat sink, fan, case, micro SD preloaded with the OS. I was looking for a way to save my WEMO switches and outlets since Belkin has "thoughtfully" (sarcasm) decided to end all support. I looked into running Home Assistant using a Raspberry Pi. Given the outcome, I wish I would have done this sooner since my devices haven't been this stable before, ever. I also loaded Tailscale to control my devices remotely, so no more being dependent on the WEMO cloud. I am also able to control most of my other devices with this pi setup. Highly recommended. I have another Pi setup with Pi Hole to remove ad traffic on my network and it runs several other projects simultaneously. Again, nice kit, nice price and excellent function.

This is a very capable setup to run my home automation using Home Assistant. Run quiet and cool and does a good job!

This has been such a great purchase for my home! I've set it up as a pihole using AdGuard Home, with a combination of Tailscale and Wireguard/Proton VPN to encrypt my DNS traffic, move it through private channels, and even keep my ISP out of my business. Creating my own blocklist on GitHub has also helped me perfectly control how much of the unwanted Internet ends up in my private network. Tailscale lets me keep the filtering going, even on my mobile phone, while I am away from home. Best off, the Pi doesn't lag, complain, or even stutter. It just stays green-light on and runs the whole show without a peep! I'm even looking to use it for home control and my security grid, given how versatile this little box of dreams has become. If you don't have one... get one. Seriously! Worth every penny!

Kit arrived with a mismatch of components and not as advertised. No assembly instructions or documentation. False advertising. Very disappointing.

I was so happy with this and still am. I bought it cause I wanted to create a reliable offline HomeAssistant os smart home and I wanted to experience pi for the first time but was scared Id get the wrong fan or case or something and I had it together in like 5 mins and putting the operating system on it was soon quick, no issues seams to stay cool enough, I really don't have any complaints

This Kit packs everything you need to dive straight into advanced projects. With 8GB of RAM and a 128GB card, it runs smoothly even under demanding workloads, while the turbine-style case keeps it cool and quiet. Setup is simple, components feel premium, and performance is noticeably faster than older Pi models. Whether you’re building a media center, server, or coding workstation, this kit offers serious capability in a compact, well-thought-out package.

This has worked excellently as my Home Assistant hub for about a year now without any problems. If you're going to be using the Pi for anything storage-intensive, it might be worth ditching the SD card for a more long-term solution, but I have absolutely no complaints so far, and I'll be sure to update my review accordingly if I do.