Image: Premier Farnell

A new kit could help turn your Raspberry Pi into a Linux desktop.

The Pi Desktop kit from Premier Farnell -- the largest manufacturer of the Raspberry Pi -- includes an add-on board containing: an mSATA interface, an intelligent power controller (plus real-time-clock and battery); a heat sink; a USB adapter (Micro-Type A); spacers and screws -- and the box to keep it all in.

The company said the kit can help Raspberry Pi fans turn the board into a Pi into a "fully featured Linux-based desktop" computer "within minutes" which can then be connected to a display via the HDMI interface.

Premier Farnell said that, when combined with a Raspberry Pi, the £39.99 Pi Desktop provides users with "all the functionality they would expect from a standard PC", although the Raspberry Pi 3, a solid-state drive and a camera also need to be bought separately -- all of which is going to push the price up.

Image: Premier Farnell

According to Premier Farnell, using an SSD makes the system highly robust; booting the Raspberry Pi directly from the SSD also makes for a faster startup.

Plenty of projects aim to turn the Raspberry Pi into a desktop, including the Pi Top. You won't get the performance you'd expect from a high-end laptop, but according to TechRepublic's tests it's possible to get work done on a Raspberry Pi-powered PC -- so long as you're willing to make a few compromises.

Read more about the Raspberry Pi 3