ASUS delivers 512Gbps of SSD storage potential with their Hyper M.2 x16 Gen5 add-on card
ASUS unlocks the storage potential of PCIe 5.0 systems with their new Hyper M.2 x16 Gen5 add-on card
ASUS has launched a new and enhanced iteration of their Hyper M.2 x16 add-on card, a new PCIe Gen 5 model that supports up to four ultra-fast PCIe 5.0 SSDs.
Boasting 512Gbps of total bandwidth, ASUS’ new Hyper M.2 x16 Gen5 add-on card is the ultimate storage add-on. All you need is a spare PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, and you have an insanely powerful PCIe 5.0 storage arrange. Users can combine the performance of SSDs on this add-on card to deliver obscene performance levels through RAID.
With the add-on card supporting M.2 2242, 2260, 2280, and 22110 SSDs, ASUS’ new Hyper M.2 X15 PCIe 5.0 add-on card is usable with a wide range of SSD. ASUS’ Juan Jose Guerrero confirmed that the add-on card will be relatively affordable with an asking price of $79. It also includes a fan-assisted SSD cooling solution to keep your drives cool under heavy loads.
The Problem – Who has a spare PCIe 5.0 x16 slot?
For most consumer-grade PCs, your primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot will be occupied by your PC’s graphics card. Only High-End Desktop (HEDT) platforms feature enough PCIe x16 slots to make add-on cards like this usable. These platforms include Intel’s high core count Xeon platforms, and AMD’s Threadripper and Threadripper PRO platforms. Right now, only Intel’s Xeon Scalable Sapphire Rapids series of CPUs and their supported W790 series motherboards have space PCIe x16 Gen5 slots to spare. That said, AMD are expected to launch PCIe 5.0 compatible Threadripper PRO 7000 series CPUs soon.
ASUS’ Hyper M.2 x16 Gen5 card has a limited market
With ASUS’ Hyper M.2 x16 Gen5 add-on card only being readily usable on HEDT CPU platforms, this add-on card has a limited appeal to most PC enthusiasts. Unless CPU manufacturers start giving customers more PCIe lanes, this problem will remain relevant for all add-on cards like this.
You can join the discussion on ASUS’ Hyper M.2 x16 PCIe 5.0 SSD add-on card on the OC3D Forums.
