Question External SSD enclosure?

[Deleted member 2838871]

Hey all... just built a new PC and have 4x 2TB m.2 drives installed.

I have the 3x 2TB m.2 drives left over from the previous build. Before I sell them I am just wondering... is keeping them an option? Is there an external enclosure with USB connection that I could get that would allow me to keep the 6 TB as storage and if so please recommend one! I'm thinking of just using them for mass storage and don't expect Gen 4 speeds or anything... I'm just thinking keeping them might be a better idea than selling them for $50 each.

Thanks!

 

[BFG-9000]

I would much prefer using an internal M.2 to PCIe adapter to retain more of their performance. I mean there's more latency and overhead with USB, though still better than putting them in a NAS

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

I would much prefer using an internal M.2 to PCIe adapter to retain more of their performance. I mean there's more latency and overhead with USB, though still better than putting them in a NAS

The only PCIE slot that isn’t blocked by the GPU is the bottom one… and I read something about 1/2 speed of the 4th SSD due to shared bandwidth.

Not sure what my options are… I have a 10GB and 20GB USB C 3.2 port on the back… and I saw a 4 drive RAID enclosure for $250 but I have no idea what RAID is and I don’t want to spend that much.

Just trying to see if it’s feasible to keep 3 pretty darn good 970 Evo Plus drives for extra storage.

I’ve seen a lot of random 1 drive units but ideally I would like something to make use of all 3.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

SABRENT 4-Drive NVMe M.2 SSD to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter Card [EC-P3X4] https://a.co/d/gx5FEZd

Would this work?

MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI

Powered by AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors, the MSI MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI is hardened with performance essential specifications to outlast enemies. Tuned for better performance by Core boost, memory Boost, Premium Thermal Solution, M.2 Shield Frozr.

www.msi.com

That’s my mobo. I also see this…


3x PCI-E x16 slot
Supports x16/x4/x2
1x PCI-E x1 slot
PCI_E1 Gen PCIe 5.0 supports up to x16 (From CPU)
PCI_E2 Gen PCIe 3.0 supports up to x1 (From Chipset)
PCI_E3 Gen PCIe 4.0 supports up to x4 (From CPU)
PCI_E4 Gen PCIe 4.0 supports up to x2 (From Chipset)
*PCI_E4 & M2_4 share the bandwidth. M2_4 will run at x2 speed when installing device in the PCI_E4 slot.

Doesn’t seem like a big deal?

 

[BFG-9000]

Should work but you really want to plug it into the x4 slot if possible, even if you have to use an extender cable.

Otherwise not only does the card run at 1/2 speed, but your last M.2 drive attached to the motherboard does too. Probably still not a big deal, even if that also drops to PCIe 3.0.

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

Should work but you really want to plug it into the x4 slot if possible, even if you have to use an extender cable.

Otherwise not only does the card run at 1/2 speed, but your last M.2 drive attached to the motherboard does too. Probably still not a big deal, even if that also drops to PCIe 3.0.

Makes perfect sense.

I went with https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093H3G3KF/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A31NGZFD720C02&psc=1 which has 2 day delivery and got 10% off https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BRYQH443/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A29Y8OP2GPR7PE&psc=1 so I should be good to go.

$211 and I get to keep another 6TB of SSD storage... much rather have that than the $150 I might get for selling all 3. What's funny is the review on the cable the guy mentions oversized GPUs as the reason for needing it... which is exactly the case here. I do think I'm gonna get a 4th SSD for it though... to take advantage of all 4 drive slots on the card. It's only another $129.

Thanks for the assistance! Very much appreciated!

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

By the way… was just reading some Reddit comments…

The ASUS card requires PCIe bifurcation. This one does not - it has a switch in it.

The ASUS one basically just connects the motherboard lanes to the nvme slots, whereas this one connects the 4 lanes to a switch, and then each NVMe slot is connected to the switch as well. This means your motherboard "sees" it as one bundle of lanes. Hopefully that explanation is helpful to someone lol.

This is a decent price for this type of card, although I do wish it was PCIe 4.0 for the price.

This card and the pricer ones all use an onboard controller to keep the PCIe Lane usage down to 4 lanes. This one "Switches" traffic between SSD's for PCIE 3.0x2 speeds on each card. A lot of boards that provide more PCIe lanes than CPU's support do the same,.

I personally use this one In my NAS after I got a bunch of 3.0 2.0 Tb drives for cheap, faster than a SATA SSD raid, but not faster than a directly connected nVME drive.

Imo the best use case for this card is if you already have extra NVME drives lying around after an upgrade and want the storage internal since according to the comments you can use various drive sizes and they all act independently of each other.

Looks like this was exactly what I was looking for. I don’t care that it’s Gen 3 because that’s what my leftover SSDs are. 👍

 

[Deleted member 2838871]

I would much prefer using an internal M.2 to PCIe adapter to retain more of their performance. I mean there's more latency and overhead with USB, though still better than putting them in a NAS

Up and running...

Amazon.de : SABRENT 4-Drive NVMe M.2 SSD to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter Card [EC-P3X4]

Amazon.com

Working great! 8 m.2 2TB drives! I love it! Thanks a lot!