Icy Dock's PCIe card lets you swap M.2 SSDs without opening your case

[midian182]

In brief: There will probably come a time when you need to remove, add, or swap an M.2 NVMe drive. The procedure can be a little fiddly on some motherboards, but imagine if you could do it without opening the case. With Icy Dock's new ToughArmor MB842MP-B PCIe card, such a thing is possible.

Icy Dock's new card isn't the first to turn a PCIe 3.0/4.0 8x or 16x expansion slot into extra M.2 NVMe drive bays, but this one does have the unique feature of allowing the SSDs to be swapped without opening the case.

The ToughArmor MB842MP-B uses a tools-free design in which a drive slides into the small enclosures accessed via the rear of the PC. Installation and removal is simply a matter of sliding out the M.2 locker, removing the top cover, inserting the M.2 NVMe SSD, then replacing the lid and sliding it back in – no having to deal with tiny screws.

Users can fit M.2 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280, and 22110 SSDs inside the lockers, though Icy Dock states that the maximum allowed width is 3.8mm. The tray is made of thick aluminum to act as a heatsink, and it includes a thermal pad to improve heat transfer. It's also noted that the adjustable M.2 locker will clip into the SSD screw hole and ground the drive throughout the tray and the enclosure.

The card only works on motherboards that support PCIe bifurcation, though most modern mobos have this.

The ToughArmor MB842MP-B includes activity LEDs on each drive tray to show power and activity, which will automatically turn off when no drive is inserted. For those who would prefer these indicators elsewhere, Icy Dock sells an optional 2-pin HDD activity signal output cable that connects to the motherboard or front panel.

It's noted that M.2 SSDs are not designed for hot-swapping on most mainstream motherboards, so unless yours supports the feature, Icy Dock recommends turning off a PC before installing or removing an SSD.

There are two versions of the drive: The MB842MP-B can hold two SSDs and goes for $249.99, while the MB840M2P-B can hold a single M.2 SSD and sells for $105.50

h/t: Tom's Hardware

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/98472-icy-dock-pcie-card-you-add-remove-swap.html

 

[judda]

I'm not seeing no stinking heatsink Lucy, who the heck runs an NVMe and Doesn't have a heatsink on it?

I'm running 3 x 2tb on my Hero Z790, and then a further 2 x 2tb on my ROG Hyper M.2 ALL of them have heatsinks on and still get warm to the touch.

 

[TheBigT42]

Not for $250.00!!
It would be tempting at $99 for the two slot card.

 

[Uncle Al]

Agree ...... they have over priced it, but not to fear, it will come down fairly soon .....

 

[Kashim]

Oh yeah, awesome tech for all the people who need this. Both of them. Why not come up with a way to swap out your CPU and RAM too without opening your case?

 

[UdyrL]

It's noted that M.2 SSDs are not designed for hot-swapping on most mainstream motherboards, so unless yours supports the feature, Icy Dock recommends turning off a PC before installing or removing an SSD.

...and that's why this is a very niche (or completely unnecessary) product.

The average user won't need to swap drives that often to justify the steep asking price, and a reviewer would use an open bench, which is usually much cheaper than this thing, if they need to swap drives for testing.

 

[Phylop]

Imagine adding this as a front bay like back in the day.

 

[TheBigT42]

Imagine adding this as a front bay like back in the day.

MB852M2PO-B_2 Bay M.2 NVMe SSD PCIe 4.0 Mobile Rack Enclosure for 9.5mm Ultra Slim ODD Bay (2 x OCuLink SFF-8612 4i, no Tri-mode support)

global.icydock.com

MB720MK-B V2_4 Bay M.2 NVMe SSD PCIe 4.0 Mobile Rack Enclosure for External 5.25" Drive Bay (4 x OCuLink SFF-8612 4i, no Tri-mode support)

global.icydock.com

Although I am not exactly clear on the cabling

 

[Gezzer]

MB852M2PO-B_2 Bay M.2 NVMe SSD PCIe 4.0 Mobile Rack Enclosure for 9.5mm Ultra Slim ODD Bay (2 x OCuLink SFF-8612 4i, no Tri-mode support)

global.icydock.com

MB720MK-B V2_4 Bay M.2 NVMe SSD PCIe 4.0 Mobile Rack Enclosure for External 5.25" Drive Bay (4 x OCuLink SFF-8612 4i, no Tri-mode support)

global.icydock.com

Although I am not exactly clear on the cabling

This is one that I use for hot swapping.

https://global.icydock.com/product_41.html

Very straightforward. Rear of the product has normal SATA ports for each drive type, and a PSU SATA power port. It's as easy as installing a CD/DVD drive.

 

[yesnt]

I'm not seeing no stinking heatsink Lucy, who the heck runs an NVMe and Doesn't have a heatsink on it?

I'm running 3 x 2tb on my Hero Z790, and then a further 2 x 2tb on my ROG Hyper M.2 ALL of them have heatsinks on and still get warm to the touch.

I'm not running heatsinks and the hotter of the drives runs at ~60 degrees, which absolutely isn't an issue. In fact, you seem to have misconceptions about SSDs. You DO NOT want them to run cool under use. Flash is faster (but loses its contents faster, not that it matters in practice) when hot. It's the controller you want to keep at moderate temps, and even those can safely go to 80.

 

[Fastturtle]

To me, this and their other product that allows for a spinning disk to be inserted into a case - Requires an Open Slot - only has one purpose and that's to ease the theft of a drive and all the data on it. I personally use a quad 3.5 drive adapter in my front triple 5.25 bay. Much easier as it's a full pass through design with a 120mm Fan to pull air through - helps cool them and the system. Yes it does make it easier to steal a drive but it also allows me to upgrade drives easily as larger ones become cost effective.

 

[zulu53]

A solution in search of a problem? The "tiny screw" problem (which I agree does exist) could easliy be solved with the use of larger screws.

 

[TheBigT42]

This is one that I use for hot swapping.

https://global.icydock.com/product_41.html

Very straightforward. Rear of the product has normal SATA ports for each drive type, and a PSU SATA power port. It's as easy as installing a CD/DVD drive.

That is a SATA device. The thread is talking about NVME devices