Hello, I’m in search of a PCIE add-on card that takes 8 PCIE lanes and provides 2 M.2 slots that are raised/tall, and is preferably rated for Gen 4 or 5 link connection. And preferably under $80 or so. No PLX chip required, motherboard supports bifurcation.
The reason for the raised M.2 slots is because I have M.2 SSD modules that are double-sided (4TB with 2 NAND chips on the bottom), and that creates clearance issues with most adapter cards out there (I did buy one and try) that use low profile slots (and it seems like almost all of them out there do), especially if I use a heatsink that covers the bottom, which would I prefer to use because the drives are Gen 4 so those NAND chips can get somewhat hot.
So far I was only able to find only a few options that unfortunately are not suitable for me for one reason or the other.
Supermicro AOC-SLG3-2M2 - only advertised as PCIE Gen 3, although I’ve seen a video of it being used with Gen 4 drives that give full Gen 4 link speed, but that’s not a guarantee the link won’t be downgraded in my particular hardware configuration. Also, where I live, it costs $150 without shipping.
Great research job already for a very restrictive request.
I’m somewhat surprised that there actually are products which are rated for Gen 4, and positively astonshed that there is even an offer for Gen 5. Though it may very well work only in some designated slot of some designated motherboard, and fail elsewehre because traces are too long—unless the price is justified by the fact the adapter is actually active and sports some redriver or retimer.
I’d suggest you drop the price requirement—or live with cheaper products at safe PCIe 3.0 speed.
