A lot of the SlimSAS 8i to 2x U.2 or 2x M.2 adapters/boards are just as expensive as this motherboard. This board is just very cheap so you kind of have to forget about that comparison. Pricing on cables has gone up and these cables are of much higher quality in order to allow 12Gbps SAS and PCI express 3.0/4.0.
So one could use the SlimSAS 8i slot for a pair of NVMe drives and get that 10GbE M.2 adapter if you need faster networking. That is possibly easier to make fit in a standard case without doing modifications. Or...
The SlimSAS to PCIe slot boards seems to have the proper spacing and could possible be mounted next to the motherboard and align with PCI slots in cases but you would need to drill and tap for some standoffs at the correct location or just rely on the PCIe cards themselves holding the board in place. But I think this solution would cost a lot more since you need to buy the board and a suitable (expensive) SlimSAS 8i straight cable.
So one could use the SlimSAS 8i slot for a pair of NVMe drives and get that 10GbE M.2 adapter if you need faster networking. That is possibly easier to make fit in a standard case without doing modifications. Or...
The SlimSAS to PCIe slot boards seems to have the proper spacing and could possible be mounted next to the motherboard and align with PCI slots in cases but you would need to drill and tap for some standoffs at the correct location or just rely on the PCIe cards themselves holding the board in place. But I think this solution would cost a lot more since you need to buy the board and a suitable (expensive) SlimSAS 8i straight cable.
