DeskPi RackMate T1 is a U8 desktop rack designed for Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, mini-ITX motherboards, and more

DeskPi RackMate T1 is a U8 desktop rack especially suited to SBC users with support for Raspberry Pi SBCs, NVIDIA Jetson developer kits, Raxa ROCK 5B pico-ITX SBC, mini-ITX motherboards, and more.

The RackMate T1 chassis is made of aluminum alloy and acrylic frame and its 8U form factor (406 (H) x 280 (L) x 200 (W) mm) allows it to be placed either on a desk or a floor of a home lab.

DeskPi RackMat T1 highlights:

Mounting holes on all trays
- Raspberry Pi 3B, 3B, +4B, and DeskPi aux board bring HDMI and USB-C to the front (M2.5 screws) – star holes
- NVIDIA Jetson Nano developer kit (M2.5 screws) – square holes
- Radxa ROCK 5B pico-ITX SBC (M3 screws) – round holes
- 2.5-inch drives
Screw kits with M2.5 screws and standoffs, M3 screws, and a screwdriver
Dimensions – 406 x 280 x 200 mm (H x L x W)
Materials – Aluminum alloy and acrylic frame

The documentation is extremely poor with low-resolution images and confusion with “optional accessories” that are shown in all photos as if they were included:

Rack shell
Blank panel
SBC shell
Mini-ITX shell
10-inch network switch

For example, I can see at least three blank panels, one rack shell, and one SBC shell in the kit below. One would assume those are included, but it’s hard to tell since the company does not make it specific.

It’s not the first time we have written about rack solutions for Raspberry Pi and other SBCs, and we previously covered a 19-inch rackmount from MyElectronics taking up to 16 Raspberry Pi boards, which may be more cost-effective for European users although you’d need to bring your own rack/chassis.

The DeskPi RackMate T1, also called the “GeeekPi 8U Server Cabinet” can be purchased for $179.99 on Amazon and most users seem happy about it, except one that received a kit with a cracked top acrylic panel. The accessories mentioned above sell for $12 to $36 on Amazon. TheRackMate T1 can also be purchased on the company’s store, but they don’t recommend it due to hefty shipping charges from China…

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

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.