LABISTS Raspberry Pi 4 8GB RAM Starter Kit with 64GB Micro SD Card (8GB RAM)

Item purchased: LABISTS Raspberry Pi 4 8GB RAM Starter Kit with 64GB Micro SD Card - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L7ZZB7K4I bought this kit as this is my first experience with RPi, although I’ve been working with computers for over 40 years. I know there are a lot of other kits available and you can purchase all the components separately, but I went with this so I got all the parts delivered together & ready to go, and I liked the look & style of the case. (Although if I were to build another, I’d go with the Miuzei case instead.) The instructions were easy to follow and it was a snap to put together, although as another reviewer pointed out, the font size used in the instruction manual is TINY.I didn’t think that any of the components were cheap or of low quality; the HDMI cables, while nothing fancy, were of good quality, the power supply seems decent (not under-powered), the case is nice and the heatsink/fan assembly is adequate. There are better cooling solutions available, but this one seems to work OK and I haven’t had any issues with the fans so far. From what research I’ve done, the Pi 4 runs in the mid to upper 30°C to the low-mid 40°C when idle or under typical workloads; mine idled at 45°. Under extreme load using Stressberry to test, I was able to overclock the Pi to 2.147 GHz hitting a max of 74°, which is 6° under the throttle limit of 80°, where the Pi automatically slows the speed to keep from overheating. I can verify the fans do help, as without them it hit 83° and idled 6° hotter.I really liked the included Micro SD card reader which is very compact and plugs into both USB A and USB C ports and has a read/write LED. The included card was a SanDisk Ultra, Class 10 U1 A1. That A1 designation is important, as it’s designed for running Applications as opposed to just being a mass storage device, meaning it has much faster random reads & writes for running operating systems and programs, as opposed to just storing a bunch of photos or videos. The pre-load of the Raspberry Pi OS was nice as well as it saved download time.Overall, I think this is a nice kit for those new to RPi; if you’re already familiar and looking to buy a kit to save money, I’d look elsewhere.

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  The Cliff Notes: Don't buy this overpriced model, the fans are garbage and will continuously fail and cause overheating issues. Only option is to exchange the unit on amazon, LABISTS even though they warranty the kit, They have no access to the heatsink/fans or just the fans to offer replacement under warranty.2 Units, Both Original and Replacement have this defect. Read my story below for full info.My Story:This has been my experience with this product. I do I.T for a living and build performance gaming PC's. I recently got into 3d Printing and saw this RGB option. Boom Sold.Unit arrived flawlessly packaged, Assembly was easy, Done. Installed my Octoprint, Configured, Done. In case you are not aware, 3d Prints take Hours upon Hours to print. Shortly after using the product as intended, I noticed that when I would shut down my system for the night. I would come back at some point within the next 8-12hrs and start everything up. I started noticing the fans making sounds like the bearings are worn. I didn't think this was possible with all the hardware being so new. After it powered up and ran the sound from the fans would go away and return to normal fan noise. Within the return period this got so bad that the fans sounded like a blender with a steel ball bearing in it set to "Puree" mode.I called up Labists, which was the worst customer service experience I've had. I deal with A LOT of customer service reps. I called support, as usual it wasn't a native English speaker so there was a minor communications barrier. I was explaining that I know what the issue is and if they would send me either new fans or the whole heatsink assembly I would be good to go. The response I got was "Please Hold", Then the rep came back and said they were willing to refund my purchase for the cost of the fan, and emailed me a link for a normal black fan to buy from Amazon. Which would have been fine had I bought one of the cheaper models that used that fan. I explained that the solution offered wasn't going to work because my unit had 2 of the color changing fans on it. I had to guide the rep through their site and help the rep locate the unit I purchased. Only to be told that they don't have access to parts for the unit and to just return it to amazon and swap it out. This process was pretty straight forward, I told amazon I wanted to return the unit for the same unit and even with prime they snail shipped it. It took 5 weekdays + 2 weekend days to arrive.New unit, worked fine out of the box for a week and the SAME EXACT ISSUE started again. At this point it's not worth my time to deal with the hassle of it all to do it again, it's still under warranty. This makes the custom clear case, and the RGB cost worthless because I now have to DIY my own case. What's the point of buying a kit to save on the time of doing it myself, if I end up having to do it anyways.Save yourself some time and google "DIY Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop Case With OLED Stats Display" and watch the video since you're going to end up Doing It Yourself anyways.DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT.