Cheap 1U PCIe M.2 Riser - why don't they exist?

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anoother

Member
Dec 2, 2016
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These look awesome.

One question -- any reason the SSD is mounted on 'back' side of the PCB? (Protruding components would usually face down or left in a standard case, right?)

I'm sure works well for many systems, but any plans to do one that mounts the SSD on the other side?
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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These look awesome.

One question -- any reason the SSD is mounted on 'back' side of the PCB? (Protruding components would usually face down or left in a standard case, right?)

I'm sure works well for many systems, but any plans to do one that mounts the SSD on the other side?
You are correct. It is one of two odd parts to this design. The second is the massive extra PCB protrusions after the PCIe connector. Found one motherboard where those extra protrusions run into motherboard components.

These could certainly be designed much better and use less PCB, but are the best inexpensive option out there.
 

anoother

Member
Dec 2, 2016
133
22
18
34
You are correct. It is one of two odd parts to this design. The second is the massive extra PCB protrusions after the PCIe connector. Found one motherboard where those extra protrusions run into motherboard components.

These could certainly be designed much better and use less PCB, but are the best inexpensive option out there.
I quite like this aspect of the design, particularly the finger that can be locked into a full-length slot.

Having said that, maybe they could be designed to snap off for those without the room.
 

larryexchange

Active Member
Dec 27, 2016
86
128
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These look awesome.

One question -- any reason the SSD is mounted on 'back' side of the PCB? (Protruding components would usually face down or left in a standard case, right?)

I'm sure works well for many systems, but any plans to do one that mounts the SSD on the other side?
Actually I had the same feedback to vendor when they show me the design. According to vendor, it's all about cost. Put the SSD on other side would increase the cost a little bit.

Here is new design (v3). You could see they move the SSD to the other side.
WeChat Image_20171018102708.png
 

larryexchange

Active Member
Dec 27, 2016
86
128
33
48
You are correct. It is one of two odd parts to this design. The second is the massive extra PCB protrusions after the PCIe connector. Found one motherboard where those extra protrusions run into motherboard components.

These could certainly be designed much better and use less PCB, but are the best inexpensive option out there.
The reason having that extra PCB is to lock the board into different slots (x4, x8 or x16) w/o bracket. Amfletec's design is better. They use a patented mechanism. But this design is more cost-effective.
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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I think the snap -off would be best. The design right now is hard to ship since there is no retention anyway unless in a x16 slot.

I like the move to the other side in the new revision. Better cooling for the m.2 drives as well.
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
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Hey @larryexchange one other piece of feedback for the vendor: the space between PCIe connector slits is very tight. I have had issues with it being so tight against the ends of PCIe slots (e.g. installing the riser in a x8 slot).

@Hans Boot looks like that will be too high for a 1U.
 

bateau

Member
Jan 22, 2017
49
14
8
Hi, while I am also interested in those chinese boards, are there any people in Europe interested in sharing shipping costs on the amfeltec SKU-086-31 boards ?
The EU resellers seem to have euros in their eyes, they go for 2 to 5 times the price you can get then from canada. The shipping cost + import fee is a bit steep though, for 1 board it is roughly the same as the price of the board. It is not that I cannot afford it, it is just that it hits a psychological barrier. That is why I am looking for people willing to share shipping costs. Not knowing if I am allowed to shout out the price amfeltec decided not to show on their web site, consider that the unit price directly from amfeltec (excl shipping and fees) is about 40% of what "thedebugstore" sells them for (search for "Squid PCIe x4 Carrier Board for one x M.2 SSD Module").

PM me if you are interested.
 

zer0sum

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2013
849
473
63
Any extras? I need 2 of these for a couple of supermicro pizza boxes, if they are available :)