Argon Forty Prepares to Launch a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5-Powered Laptop

UPDATE (2/25/2025): Argon Forty has released a few more details about its upcoming Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5-powered laptop, now officially dubbed the Upton One — after Raspberry Pi's Eben Upton.

In the 30-second teaser video, embedded below, Argon Forty describes the device as a "true Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 laptop" offering "open-source power" and being "built for makers." The video shows a slimline device with a microSD Card slot in one side, for use only with the Compute Module 5 Lite range, which lacks on-board eMMC storage, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm analog audio jack.

A removable cover on the underside provides access to the CM5 computer-on-module itself plus an M.2 slot compatible with PCI Express devices — including Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) storage and artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators.

Raspberry Pi accessory maker Argon Forty has teased its latest device, designed to turn a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5) into a fully-functional laptop — complete with M.2 slot for solid-state storage or a machine learning accelerator. An island-style low-profile keyboard sits above a generous trackpad area — though, it must be noted, the entire video is rendered computer graphics, and may not reflect the final design.

The teaser does not include a launch date nor pricing for the device.

Original article continues below.

"We’ve been hard at work here at Argon 40, and we’re thrilled to give you a sneak peek of what's next," Argon Forty's Joseph Li writes of the company's work-in-progress design. "Here's a glimpse of the prototype board for our all-new laptop designed for the Raspberry Pi CM5."

Said "glimpse" is, admittedly, limited: a picture of an engineer's desk, monitor showing the familiar Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm desktop, and a pair of keyboards. It's what's below the keyboards that is of interest, though: an irregularly-shaped PCB, showing signs of having been hastily depaneled by hand, into which a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5) system-on-module has been installed.

Based on the same Broadcom BCM2712 system-on-chip, the Compute Module 5 is effectively a Raspberry Pi 5 in miniature — lacking the usual ports in favor of two high-density board-to-board connectors on the underside, designed to mate with the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 IO Board or third-party carrier. Argon Forty's creation is one such carrier, designed to drive a custom-built laptop — which, the idea goes, the user can upgrade at-will by simply replacing the CM5 module.

This isn't Argon Forty's first attempt to build custom PCBs, but it's the company's most ambitious by far: previous projects have focused on port redirection and expansion boards for use with its various Raspberry Pi cases, including the Argon Eon network-attached storage (NAS) device. A fully-functional laptop is a stretch, even if you're using an off-the-shelf computer-on-module — as MNT Research, creator of the open-hardware MNT Reform, MNT Pocket Reform and MNT Reform Next can attest, having taken on the challenge of not only designing everything from the COM up in-house but of releasing said designs under an open hardware license.

Neither availability nor pricing had been disclosed at the time of writing; interested parties are advised to follow the Argon Forty forum for more information.