{"product_id":"diliving-pci-express-x16-to-4-slimsas-8x-expander-8-u-2-nvme-ssd-adapter-with-sff-8654-74-pin-connector-and-broadcom-plx8748-chipset-for-servers","title":"DiLinKer PCIe x16 to 4x SlimSAS 8X Adapter, 8x U.2 NVMe, SFF-8654 74-Pin, PLX8748, Full \u0026 Low Profile","description":"\u003cp\u003eFour \u003cstrong\u003eSlimSAS 8x (SFF-8654, 74-pin)\u003c\/strong\u003e ports on a single PCIe x16 slot, enough for \u003cstrong\u003eeight U.2 NVMe drives\u003c\/strong\u003e. The switching is done on the card by a Broadcom PLX8748, so the motherboard does not need bifurcation support and the drives do not need to share one x4 link at a time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat the card actually does\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA switch, not a splitter.\u003c\/strong\u003e A PLX8748 is a PCIe switch: one x16 uplink to the host, 32 lanes out to the drives, all non-blocking inside the chip. That is why this works in a plain x16 slot on a board that knows nothing about bifurcation.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFour ports, two drives each.\u003c\/strong\u003e Each 74-pin SlimSAS port carries eight lanes, which is exactly two U.2 drives at x4. Four ports therefore address eight drives. The cables are not in the box: you need four SlimSAS 8x to 2× U.2 assemblies.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe bandwidth maths, honestly.\u003c\/strong\u003e The uplink is Gen3 x16, about 15.75 GB\/s shared across eight drives. Eight Gen3 NVMe drives can each pull ~3.5 GB\/s on their own, so this is deliberately oversubscribed. For capacity, for sequential work on a few drives at a time and for anything that is not simultaneous full-speed reads on all eight, it is fine — and it is a fraction of the cost of a Gen4 switch card.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBuilt for a chassis, not a desktop.\u003c\/strong\u003e Full-height bracket fitted, low-profile bracket in the box, 148 × 80 mm card. Designed for 2U and 4U servers where eight U.2 bays need feeding from one slot.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:14px\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHost interface\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003ePCIe 3.0 x16\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDownstream ports\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e4 × SlimSAS 8x, SFF-8654, 74-pin (8 lanes each)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDrive capacity\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e8 × U.2 NVMe (SFF-8639), two per port\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSwitch chip\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003eBroadcom PLX PEX8748\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003eDL-CNS44PE16\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCard size\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e148 × 80 mm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrackets\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003eFull profile fitted, low profile included\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWarranty\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003e2 years\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px;background:#f7f8fa;width:34%\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSKU\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"border:1px solid #e3e6ea;padding:7px 10px\"\u003eB0CG91X5ZG\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eCompatibility\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWorks with\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA free PCIe x16 slot — bifurcation support is not required\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eU.2 NVMe drives via four SlimSAS 8x to 2× U.2 cables (sold separately)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOcuLink (SFF-8611) backplanes, with the matching SlimSAS to OcuLink cable\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoes not work with\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSAS or SATA drives — this card carries PCIe only\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoards where the x16 slot is wired x8 — the uplink will not train as intended\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCables: none are included, and a plain SlimSAS 4x cable will only reach half the drives\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGen4 drives expecting Gen4 throughput — the switch is Gen3\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eTypical deployments\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEight U.2 bays in a 2U server.\u003c\/strong\u003e One card replaces four separate x4 host links and leaves the rest of the slots free.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAll-NVMe storage nodes.\u003c\/strong\u003e Capacity-dense arrays where the working set is spread across drives rather than hammering one at a time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWorkstations with a big case.\u003c\/strong\u003e Eight U.2 drives in the front cages, all fed from the top x16 slot.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently asked questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDo the cables come with the card?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. You need four SlimSAS 8x (SFF-8654 74-pin) to 2× U.2 (SFF-8639) cables. We stock them; order four with the card.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDoes my motherboard need bifurcation?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. The PLX8748 handles the splitting. The slot only has to be a real x16.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWill it work in an x8 slot?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe do not recommend it. The card expects x16; in an x8 slot it may link down or fail to enumerate at all, and eight drives on eight lanes is not a configuration we would ship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCan I run fewer than eight drives?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes. Populate one drive per port for four, or use both ends of a port for pairs. Empty ports cost nothing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAre Gen4 drives wasted on it?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey will run, at Gen3 speed. If you need Gen4 across eight drives, this is the wrong card — budget for a Gen4 switch instead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWill the drives show up in the BIOS?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUsually as NVMe devices behind a switch. Boot support varies by firmware; if you need to boot from one of these drives, tell us the board model and we will check before you buy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eIn the box\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 × PCIe x16 to 4 × SlimSAS 8x switch card\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1 × low-profile bracket (full profile fitted)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery cable is continuity- and pinout-tested before it ships and carries a 24-month warranty. If a link does not train, send us the controller model and the backplane part number before returning anything — in most cases the cable is the wrong variant for the port, not faulty, and we would rather tell you that up front.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eRelated\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/diliving-8-port-u-2-to-pci-express-x16-sff-8639-nvme-ssd-adapter-with-sff-8643-mini-sas-hd-36-pin-connector-and-plx8749-chipset-for-servers-lrnv9349-8i\"\u003e8-port U.2 card on SFF-8643 instead\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/slimsas-8x-to-2x-u-2-nvme-adapter-with-power-sff-8654-sff-8639-75cm\"\u003eSlimSAS 8x to 2x U.2 cable, 75cm\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/u-2-nvmesff-8639\"\u003eAll U.2 NVMe cables and adapters\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"DiLinKer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47981335019816,"sku":"B0CG91X5ZG","price":228.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0866\/1460\/6120\/files\/1111111.jpg?v=1712909873","url":"https:\/\/diliving.com\/products\/diliving-pci-express-x16-to-4-slimsas-8x-expander-8-u-2-nvme-ssd-adapter-with-sff-8654-74-pin-connector-and-broadcom-plx8748-chipset-for-servers","provider":"DiLiVing","version":"1.0","type":"link"}