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MAXSUN Designs Arc B580 GPU with Two M.2 SSDs, Putting Leftover PCIe Lanes to Good Use

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rjohnson11
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2024/12/06 10:06:37 (permalink)
https://www.techpowerup.com/329584/maxsun-designs-arc-b580-gpu-with-two-m-2-ssds-putting-leftover-pcie-lanes-to-good-use
 
Thanks to the discovery of VideoCardz, we get a glimpse of MAXSUN's latest Arc 580 GPU with not only a GPU but extra room for two additional M.2 SSDs. The PCIe connector on the Intel Arc B580 has x16 physical pins but runs at PCIe 4.0 x8 speeds. Intel verified it runs only x8 lanes instead of the full x16 slot, leaving x8 lanes unsued. However, MAXSUN thought of a clever way to put the leftover x8 lanes to good use by adding two PCIe x4 M.2 SSDs to thelatest triple-fan iCraft B580 SKU. Power delivery for the M.2 drives comes directly from the graphics card, which is made possible by the GPU's partial PCIe lane utilization. This configuration could prove particularly valuable for compact builds or systems with limited motherboard storage options.

Interestingly, the SSD pair appears to have its own thermal enclosure, which acts as a heatsink. Having constant airflow from the GPU's fans, the M.2 SSD configuration should be able to maximize the full bandwidth of the SSDs without thermals throttling the SSD read/write speeds. The design follows in the footsteps of AMD's Radeon Pro SSG, which introduced integrated storage in workstation cards with PCIe 3.0 M.2 slots. Back then, it was mainly a target for workstation users. However, MAXSUN has envisioned gamers unusually expanding their storage space now. The pricing of the card and availability date remains a mystery.
 
It's a brilliant idea in my opinion. 
 


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    veganfanatic
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    Re: MAXSUN Designs Arc B580 GPU with Two M.2 SSDs, Putting Leftover PCIe Lanes to Good Use 2024/12/06 18:04:30 (permalink)
    Finally somebody has come up with a good idea for x8 cards
     

      


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    castrator86
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    Re: MAXSUN Designs Arc B580 GPU with Two M.2 SSDs, Putting Leftover PCIe Lanes to Good Use 2024/12/07 19:53:36 (permalink)
    Brilliant idea as long as they stay cool...



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    veganfanatic
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    Re: MAXSUN Designs Arc B580 GPU with Two M.2 SSDs, Putting Leftover PCIe Lanes to Good Use 2024/12/08 11:14:38 (permalink)
    castrator86
    Brilliant idea as long as they stay cool...




    Usually modern creampuff desktops have excessive numbers of fans so they should be fine

      


    Corsair Obsidian 750D Airflow Edition + Corsair AX1600i PSU
    My desktop uses the ThinkVision 31.5 inch P32p-20 Monitor.
    My sound system is the Edifier B1700BT
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