SilverStone Launches M.2 Riser Card for Two SSDs

[TheLostSwede]

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.



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[trsttte]

Silverstone never ceases to amaze, the design is pretty dumb requiring the x16 slot to secure the board but heck if it ain't nice to see something different

 

[TheLostSwede]

Silverstone never ceases to amaze, the design is pretty dumb requiring the x16 slot to secure the board but heck if it ain't nice to see something different

At least a lot of boards use x16 slots even for the physical x4 interfaces these days.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Silverstone never ceases to amaze, the design is pretty dumb requiring the x16 slot to secure the board but heck if it ain't nice to see something different

They make a lot of niche things and this is kinda cool. Though if I'm going to have enough m.2 sticks that I need to put one in a PCIE slot why not get one of those raid cards?

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

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.

Well, there is always duct tape, or black electrical tape, ya know, something ghetto.

 

[EatingDirt]

Silverstone never ceases to amaze, the design is pretty dumb requiring the x16 slot to secure the board but heck if it ain't nice to see something different

I don't see anything wrong with it. Not having a bracket is a cost saving measure that will have 0 meaningful effect on if the card will be secure or not. PCIe slots have a certain pressure retention, and 2 NVME's & a circuit board aren't heavy enough to simply fall out unless in the unlikely case that you hang your motherboard on the ceiling and live in an earthquake prone area or a earth blasting zone.
.

 

[milewski1015]

Seems like it would be really handy for a mini-ITX HTPC that's running on iGPU/APU. Cool stuff

 

[bonehead123]

They make a lot of niche things and this is kinda cool. Though if I'm going to have enough m.2 sticks that I need to put one in a PCIE slot why not get one of those raid cards?

Yep, they do make some cool stuff, which I have used over the years nottaproblemo, but as for the raid card question, cost is usually the biggest deal breaker for the average person, as most of them are somewhat pricey, especially the good ones with the higher-end hardware on them

 

[shilka]

SilverStone also has a new M.2 adaptor card with a Micron JMB585 controller and 5 SATA ports

ECS07

In order to meet the demands for Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX users with high storage needs and fill the lack of SATA ports, SilverStone created ECS07, a hardware-based SATA 6G Non-RAID M.2 PCIe expansion card. ECS07 offers expansion of up to 5 SATA Gen3 ports, capable of reaching 1700MB/s. Unlike...

www.silverstonetek.com

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

 

[zlobby]

At least a lot of boards use x16 slots even for the physical x4 interfaces these days.

You should see the slots on some broads! Err, I mean boards.

 

[Chaitanya]

SilverStone also has a new M.2 adaptor card with a Micron JMB585 controller and 5 SATA ports

ECS07

In order to meet the demands for Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX users with high storage needs and fill the lack of SATA ports, SilverStone created ECS07, a hardware-based SATA 6G Non-RAID M.2 PCIe expansion card. ECS07 offers expansion of up to 5 SATA Gen3 ports, capable of reaching 1700MB/s. Unlike...

www.silverstonetek.com

Since motherboard manufacturers likes to remove SATA ports so 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

I was about to add that M.2 card, also Gigabyte is also going down the route of Asrock in removing PCI-e slots on their consumer boards, and when it comes to castrating features Asus has a fetish to satisfy to push more "high end boards" under pretext of product segmentation.

 

[Jism]

Not really an ideal sollution, using ancient S-ata. You will cap your speeds to a max 600MB/ps compared to a 2.5GB up to 3.5GB a second.

 

[Tomgang]

I can see the benefits of this. The idea is not stupid I think. Specially for those with boards that has less than the needed amount of m.2 ports on there motherboard.

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.

 

[Chaitanya]

Not really an ideal sollution, using ancient S-ata. You will cap your speeds to a max 600MB/ps compared to a 2.5GB up to 3.5GB a second.

There is provision to add 2 drives one connected via PCI-e slot capped to top speed of that slot and other being M.2 Sata SSD. Its a solution for niche use cases but something that Silverstone does regularly.

 

[kapone32]

There is provision to add 2 drives one connected via PCI-e slot capped to top speed of that slot and other being M.2 Sata SSD. Its a solution for niche use cases but something that Silverstone does regularly.

This better not be expensive as these have been available for years and now some MB comes with adapter cards. I guess you could use it on the Gimped X570 boards though.

 

[Kohl Baas]

Not really an ideal sollution, using ancient S-ata. You will cap your speeds to a max 600MB/ps compared to a 2.5GB up to 3.5GB a second.

Well, it's most likely for storage, not for speed. And as that, it's not the GB/s you want to pu.p up but the TBs of space.

 

[chrcoluk]

Not really an ideal sollution, using ancient S-ata. You will cap your speeds to a max 600MB/ps compared to a 2.5GB up to 3.5GB a second.

600 is fine for most people and quite fast.

They could have gone m.sata though with this method.

 

[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?

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.

 

[bogami]

A great solution finally happened. I have been thinking about this for several years, but I would prefer PCI e 8 connection , for the possibility of using two fast M.2 memory units. Here, however, they have added a SATA connector for another M.2 card. and this limits bandwidth a lot .

 

[kapone32]

A great solution finally happened. I have been thinking about this for several years, but I would prefer PCI e 8 connection , for the possibility of using two fast M.2 memory units. Here, however, they have added a SATA connector for another M.2 card. and this limits bandwidth a lot .

This has been around for a few years now. There is even one from SuperMIcro that is only 2 cards. Even though it is 3.0 it will still accept 4.0 drives no problem.

ASUS Hyper M.2 x16 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe - Newegg.com

Buy ASUS Hyper M.2 x16 PCIe 3.0 x4 Expansion Card V2 supports 4 NVMe M.2 (2242/2260/2280/22110) up to 128 Gbps for Intel VROC and AMD Ryzen Threadripper NVMe RAID with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.ca

 

[Tartaros]

Seems like it would be really handy for a mini-ITX HTPC that's running on iGPU/APU. Cool stuff

In fact, I have my old ivy bridge pc in an antex isk case and this is just what I needed for it.

 

[Vario]

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?

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.

To boot on older systems from an M.2 NVMe, you need a Samsung 950 Pro, which has a legacy boot mode. I don't know of any other SSDs that have the legacy boot mode. The other way to do it is to use a bios editor to make a custom bios for your motherboard. Between those options The 950 Pro is the easiest route to booting on NVMe. I think I paid $60 for my 512GB one and it runs and boots on an Asus P6X58DE and Xeon W3680 from 2010. I have the Samsung 950 Pro on a PCIe adapter card. It doesn't boot particularly fast but once in Windows it performs full speed. It actually makes that system feel modern.

 

[john_]

I have a couple riser cards for PCIe x4 slots, but also a few riser cards for PCIe x1 slots. All cheap ones from China with cost lower than $5.

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.

 

[Solaris17]

I have several of the single NVMe cards from them and they have been great.

 

[bonehead123]

A) 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.

A) That would require an expensive PLX controller chip, which of course would raise the price considerably...

B) 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.

B) It seems that what is being overlooked here is that the 2nd slot on this card is for an SATA m.2, which is different (and slower/cooler) than an nvme m.2... thats why the SATA cable connection is needed.. It's still useful though if you have or wanna use 1 of each type of drive

@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...