SilverStone Launches SST-ECM23 Riser Card for M.2 SSDs
by Anton Shilov on September 17, 2018 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- SSDs
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
- M.2
SilverStone has introduced its new PCIe x16 riser card for M.2 SSDs. The SST-ECM23 risers are aimed at those who want to maximize the efficiency of their SSD cooling, or just install more SSDs into spare PCIe x16 slots.
As SSDs have transitioned from 2.5-inch drives to M.2 sticks, cooling high-end drives has been a sometimes uneasy prospect. The M.2 form factor along with NAND die stacking allows for a rather dense collection of electronics, and as high-end SSD controllers get more sophisticated, their heat dissipation has been increasing as well. To that end a number of companies (including ADATA, Cryorig, EKWB, and SilverStone, just to name a few) have released heat spreaders and even active cooling systems for M.2 drives over the past few quarters, and now SilverStone is ready with a yet another solution that promises to be more efficient than usual passive coolers for modular SSDs.
SilverStone's SST-ECM23 riser card can house a single PCIe M.2- 2230, 2242, 2260, or 2280 drive. The adapter come with two heat spreaders, a thermal pad, and is outfitted with two LEDs to monitor activity of an installed SSD. It is noteworthy that PCB design of the adapter is optimized for heat dissipation, as it has an additional copper mesh just to transfer heat form the back of an SSD to the rear heat spreader. As for specified thermal conductivity, SilverStone says it is around 1.5 W/mK.
An added benefit of SilverStone’s ECM23 riser card for owners of AMD X399 and Intel X299-based HEDT platforms is ability to install a larger number of M.2 SSDs into their systems. For those who need a high-capacity high-performance storage subsystem, such adapters may make a great sense.
Finally, it's worth pointing out that since the SST-ECM23 adapter is designed for PCIe x16 slots, it can only be used with AHCI or NVMe SSDs that use a PCIe bus, as it doesn't offer a means to support SATA M.2 drives.
SilverStone did not announce ETA and MSRP of the upcoming SST-ECM23 riser card.
Related Reading:
- SilverStone Launches SST-TP01-M.2 Thermal Pads for M.2 SSDs
- Cryorig Set to Reveal the Dual Heatpipe Frostbit M.2 SSD Cooler
- ADATA Announces XPG Storm: A Cooler for M.2 SSDs with a 16500 RPM Fan
- Alphacool Releases Two New SSD Coolers: Passive HDX-2 and Watercooled HDX-3
- EKWB Launches Aftermarket EK-M.2 Aluminum Heatsink for M.2 SSDs
Source: SilverStone
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Santoval - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
edit : M.2 *slot*Death666Angel - Tuesday, September 18, 2018 - link
The don't insert it in your X16 slot, just use the myriad x4 slots (physically x16) you have on most motherboards. And the adapter I have is x16 physically but even works in open ended PCIe slots that are lower.Having 2 or 4 M.2 NVME PCIe SSDs on one of these adapters would either mean the adapter needs a PLX chip to split the lanes (hundreds of dollars) or have the chipset support bifurcation (hundreds of dollars). If you want or need this, plenty of options if you have the dough.
And considering Silverstone makes a lot of cases, many of which are SFF, this makes perfect sense for them. Sure, it'll cost a premium, but their customers won't care too much, if they are reliable and fit in the aesthetic of the other Silverstone products.
us - Monday, September 17, 2018 - link
Waste of money, the x4 adapters have existed forever and are very cheap ($5-10)Targon - Tuesday, September 18, 2018 - link
Support for SATA M.2 drives has been around, but NVMe supporting cards are not easy to find.Billy Tallis - Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - link
No, PCIe to M.2 type M adapters have been easy to find since before PCIe SSDs started using NVMe. Adapter cards that support M.2 SATA drives are much less common and generally more expensive, because they either need to include a SATA controller chip or a SATA port to be cabled to the motherboard's SATA ports.erinadreno - Tuesday, September 18, 2018 - link
have bought similar product on aliexpress, cost like $6. There are plenty of small risers on the market, not sure why silverstone has to make another one.