Wednesday, March 6th 2024
Sparkle Intros PCIe Gen 4 Quad M.2 Riser Card
Sparkle introduced the PCIe Gen 4 Quad M.2 Riser Card. This single-slot, full-height card is meant to be installed on a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slot, which it wires out as four M.2-22110 slots with Gen 4 x4 wiring, and mounting bolt set to M.2-2280 by default. With the drives in place, the card is meant to be covered up by a metal shroud; there's no contact between this shroud and the drives underneath. Cooling comes in the form of two lateral-blower fans that guide airflow under the shroud.
The first (intake) fan is 60 mm in size, while the second one (exhaust, near the tail-end), is 50 mm. Both are controlled by a localized fan-speed control, with three speed settings that can be selected by a 3-way switch on the rear I/O shield. Next to it, are four LEDs that denote power/activity of the individual drives. The card is 28 cm long, and 12 cm tall. What sets Sparkle's card apart from other brands is that the card relies entirely on the PCIe slot for powering itself—unlike some other cards that use a 6-pin connector. The company didn't reveal pricing.
The first (intake) fan is 60 mm in size, while the second one (exhaust, near the tail-end), is 50 mm. Both are controlled by a localized fan-speed control, with three speed settings that can be selected by a 3-way switch on the rear I/O shield. Next to it, are four LEDs that denote power/activity of the individual drives. The card is 28 cm long, and 12 cm tall. What sets Sparkle's card apart from other brands is that the card relies entirely on the PCIe slot for powering itself—unlike some other cards that use a 6-pin connector. The company didn't reveal pricing.