Friday, July 22nd 2022
SilverStone Launches M.2 Riser Card for Two SSDs
For those with older systems, or for those just in need of additional M.2 slots in their system, SilverStone has launched the SST-ECM28 riser card. The SST-ECM28 is a low-profile solution that can house one M-key NVMe drive and one B-key SATA drive, as it allows a drive to be mounted on each side of the riser card. The SATA drive requires a SATA cable to be connected to the rear of the riser card and then to a SATA slot on the motherboard to function.
This isn't the first time we've seen a product that can handle two drives, but it's the first time we've seen one that is as compact as this. The downside is that there's no retention bracket and it appears that the only way to hold the SST-ECM28 is by fitting it into a physical x16 slot that has a locking mechanism for graphics cards, as the PCB has a retention hook, just as you get on most x16 cards. The SST-ECM28 uses a standard x4 PCIe interface, so it will fit in x4 slots as well, with the risk of it popping out of the slot if the system is moved around. Drives of all sizes from 2230 up to 2280 are supported for both SATA and NVMe drives.
Source:
SilverStone
This isn't the first time we've seen a product that can handle two drives, but it's the first time we've seen one that is as compact as this. The downside is that there's no retention bracket and it appears that the only way to hold the SST-ECM28 is by fitting it into a physical x16 slot that has a locking mechanism for graphics cards, as the PCB has a retention hook, just as you get on most x16 cards. The SST-ECM28 uses a standard x4 PCIe interface, so it will fit in x4 slots as well, with the risk of it popping out of the slot if the system is moved around. Drives of all sizes from 2230 up to 2280 are supported for both SATA and NVMe drives.
47 Comments on SilverStone Launches M.2 Riser Card for Two SSDs
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www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/expansion-cards/ECS07/
Since motherboard manufacturers likes to remove SATA ports its getting harder to find boards with 8 ports and some boards has as litte as 4 SATA ports (Asus)
I will probably buy one of those for my next build since i need at least 7 ports
They also like to remove PCI-E slots (Asrock) and adding M.2 slots so the ECS07 is a way to get more SATA ports without using a PCI-E slot
This could example come in handy for those that else only could get enough m.2 ports by going threadripper or buying a high-end motherboard to else get the needed m.2 ports or for that matter mini-itx that typically only has one 1 port on the front and maybe on on the back side of motherboard like my own Asus B550-i board.
But I do see one concern. Does not have any heatsink with the adaptor?
Some nvme does need a heatsink to avoid thermal throttle under heavy load. Example my own Samsung 980 pro get hot even with a heatsink on it.
They could have gone m.sata though with this method.
Specifically for older boards that lack bootable M.2 NVMe - or is that still very much a per-board question that relies on the BIOS and chipset?
I have no problem with SATA SSD performance for OS drives on older hardware but sometimes the convenience of not needing a drive bay or power/data cables spaghetti'ing up the inside of an SFF is worth a lot.
www.newegg.ca/asus-model-hyper-m-2-x16-card-v2-pci-express-to-4-x-m-2/p/N82E16815293043?Description=asus%20hyper%20x%20m.2%20card&cm_re=asus_hyper%20x%20m.2%20card-_-15-293-043-_-Product
With prices of 1TB NVMe models close to those of typical 2.5 SATA models, who really needs SATA? Even the PCIe x1 riser cards at even PCIe 3.0 will offer over 750MB/sec speeds.
The above product would have been great if it could split the available PCIe lanes and was giving the opportunity to use two NVMe drives on one PCIe slot. Now it's nothing more than a typical riser with a holder to mount another M.2 drive, considering you still need to use a cable to connect it on the SATA ports on the motherboard. Somewhat good idea saving the trouble to find a place to mount that second M.2, but on the other hand temps will probably rise for both M.2s considering they will be.... exchanging heat.
@Chrispy_
Can you boot off these? Specifically for older boards that lack bootable M.2 NVMe - or is that still very much a per-board question that relies on the BIOS and chipset?
C) Booting from an nvme on anything older than a Z97 board is iffy at best, even with W10 or 11 and a Sammy 950....so yes, it may work, it may not, just depends on the bios... But most of the older boards that do NOT have nvme boot support built in from day 1 will not be able to boot from one with this card installed...