U.2 to PCIe Low profile adapter

[compuwizz]

I want to use U.2 drives in a 2U server that doesn't have full height slots or an NVMe backplane.

I've seen what looks like full height U.2 to PCIe adapters for drives and physically there seems to be the ability for a half height/low profile adapter to be made but I haven't found one. Does one exist?

 

[NateS]

There's really not enough room physically though -- keep in mind that you're measuring not from the bottom of the bracket, but from the top of the motherboard slot. The usable space is only 2.536". While yes, technically, that's more than a 2.5" U.2 drive, the remaining 0.036" is not really enough space to route the traces properly and hold the capacitors and whatnot. Even if it's not completely impossible, it'd require a much more complicated multi layer board design, and I imagine most manufacturers decided that extra cost probably isn't worth it for a somewhat niche product.

 

[compuwizz]

Thanks, I was hoping I overlooked an option. U.2 drives are a lot easier to find than AIC.

 

[NateS]

Keep in mind that if your system has anywhere you can stick a 2.5" drive that's not already wired into a backplane, you can run a cable back to a PCIe or M.2 slot instead of using the kind of adapter that puts the drive in the slot directly.

For example,
Cable: https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Internal-SFF-8643-SFF-8639/dp/B0716K357W/
PCIe adapter: https://www.amazon.com/U-2-M-2-Adapter-Interface-Drive/dp/B01K1JSNLC/
M.2 adapter: https://www.amazon.com/U-2-M-2-Adapter-Interface-Drive/dp/B073WGN61Y/

 

[cookiesowns]

Another option is U.2 Ribbon cables.

 

[ano]

anyone figured this out yet?

 

[nexox]

There's just not physically enough space, the 2.5 in the name of the form factor is the diameter of the platter that mechanical drives use, the drive itself is 2.75" wide. You need an adapter with a cable and remote mount and power or a different form factor.

 

[mattventura]

anyone figured this out yet?

No, there simply isn't enough height in a LP slot to fit a drive. Take a 2U LP chassis, and place a 2.5" drive on top of a PCIe slot. The drive will stick out the top of the chassis.

 

[ano]

No, there simply isn't enough height in a LP slot to fit a drive. Take a 2U LP chassis, and place a 2.5" drive on top of a PCIe slot. The drive will stick out the top of the chassis.

was hopeing someone had made an offsett mount using som space between the pcie slots, need to do a testfit if that is even possible

 

[nexox]

Maybe with a 7mm thick U.2, I am pretty sure the more common 15mm won't fit between PCIe slots. You can, of course, get E1.S adapters that should fit fine if you aren't into that whole M.2 thing.

 

[ano]

e1.s stuff is on order, I just had some u.2 drives which would work out

some m.2 stuff on order as well, wonder if quad adapters 22110.. on gen4 works. found one for low profile, have some chassis with limited number of pcie slots, so need large drives, or many

 

[ElCoyote_]

I just discovered this:

PCIE U.2 to PCI 4.0 x4/x8/x16 Adapter PCI Hard Drive Convert Card SFF8639 New | eBay

Les meilleures offres pour PCIE U.2 to PCI 4.0 x4/x8/x16 Adapter PCI Hard Drive Convert Card SFF8639 New sont sur eBay ✓ Comparez les prix et les spécificités des produits neufs et d'occasion ✓ Pleins d'articles en livraison gratuite!

www.ebay.fr

This looks like the low-profile U.2 adapter I've been looking for (without finding it)

 

[ElCoyote_]

The above adapter might be the -reliable- solution for Lenovo Tiny PCs and (the P3/P360 Ultras).
I had managed to put a 30Tb Micron 9400 in my P3 Ultra but the adapter from ADT-Link was very flimsy and I settled on Oculink because I could not find a solution which worked reliably. This new adapter (that I just discovered) solves everything - if it works. I've ordered two.

Compare with my current mess:


I had tried every U.2 adapter from ADT-Link but they always proved too flimsy for my taste. Just opening up the machine would all the drive to move or so slightly and the adapter would start showing PCIe errors:

 

[nexox]

I just discovered this:

PCIE U.2 to PCI 4.0 x4/x8/x16 Adapter PCI Hard Drive Convert Card SFF8639 New | eBay

Les meilleures offres pour PCIE U.2 to PCI 4.0 x4/x8/x16 Adapter PCI Hard Drive Convert Card SFF8639 New sont sur eBay ✓ Comparez les prix et les spécificités des produits neufs et d'occasion ✓ Pleins d'articles en livraison gratuite!

www.ebay.fr

View attachment 45956

This looks like the low-profile U.2 adapter I've been looking for (without finding it)

If you compare the low profile bracket and screw hole locations on the board it appears the PCB (and u.2 drive) extends above the end of the bracket by a bit, maybe 10mm, so that isn't standard low profile, but may work depending on the chassis.

 

[ElCoyote_]

The new adapter:

All of the others:

(Look at the position of the hole...)

 

[ElCoyote_]

I'll report here when I receive the adapters...

 

[TRACKER]

what are the temps of that 30TB drive? i have 9200 pro 1.92 and it requires active cooling (not just a small fan, but really active cooling).

 

[etorix]

Better be careful when inserting or removing the adapter not to damage the traces going around this hole…

Overall, the safest bet is a low-profile card with SFF-8643 or SFF-8654 connectors and cables to well-ventilated 2.5" bays. Preferably a retimer card over a passive card for Gen 4.

 

[ElCoyote_]

Better be careful when inserting or removing the adapter not to damage the traces going around this hole…

Overall, the safest bet is a low-profile card with SFF-8643 or SFF-8654 connectors and cables to well-ventilated 2.5" bays. Preferably a retimer card over a passive card for Gen 4.

Do you have examples of retimers which would work in a Lenovo P3 Ultra? (SFF 3.9L chassis with low-profile slots)

 

[ElCoyote_]

what are the temps of that 30TB drive? i have 9200 pro 1.92 and it requires active cooling (not just a small fan, but really active cooling).

The temps on all my 9400 drives are usually pretty good but I usually use them in PowerEdge Towers. For the P3 Ultra, I tried to mod the fan shroud of a GPU heatsink assembly but lost a lot of time and energy with the flimsy ADT-Link PCIe to U.2 adapter. Without active cooling and under heavy load, the drive ends up throttling after a few minutes. It's been a bit better once I got the Oculink dock but even that will require a bit of cooling.

Once I receive the above adapters and if they fit, the idea will be to do something like this (drive orientation will differ):


In the Lenovo P3 Ultra: