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Hey maybe you or someone here can help me with this interesting problem I have. You see I wanted to put an Intel Optane SSD into an external enclosure to benchm

Hey maybe you or someone here can help me with this interesting problem I have. You see I wanted to put an Intel Optane SSD into an external enclosure to benchmark the absolute fastest Windows and Linux install and compare it to install times on other media(yeah I know i'm weird). So I bought one of these SSDs off of ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Optane-Memory-M10-SSD-M-2-2280-16GB-MEMPEK1W016GA-PCIe-3-0-3D-Xpoint-NVMe/233254154323 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Optane-Memory-M10-SSD-M-2-228... And put it in this enclosure: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MKCG5ZG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MKCG5ZG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... Instead of being recognized, one of the chips on the Optane ssd started to get very hot. Was wondering if anyone knowledgeable in Optane could explain where I went wrong here? Is it even possible to put Optane in an external enclosure and write to it like an SSD/external drive? I am excited about Optane because it just seems like such an exotic technology given the interesting performance gains you get in terms of small file throughput.

vel0city 6y ago
The enclosure you linked says it is SATA only. The Optane drive interfaces as PCI-E. Note this photo here: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61vzuDqQjJL._AC_SL1000_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61vzuDqQjJL... In the specs for the Optane drive you linked, it says its interface is a M.2 2280 (22mmx80mm) PCI-E 3.0 NVMe. The M.2 2280 is a physical port interface, the signaling is PCI-E, and the storage protocol is NVMe. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/135581/intel-optane-memory-m10-series-16gb-m-2-80mm-pcie-3-0-20nm-3d-xpoint.html https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/135581/... You'll want to get a different enclosure which mentions support for PCI-E NVMe drives. EDIT: I wonder what the impact of it going over USB and the additional USB to PCI-E controller. You should probably see about getting a Thunderbolt enclosure so theoretically the PCI-E interface doesn't have to go through yet another translation, otherwise you'll probably just kill the performance you'd hope to get out of the SSD.
- Answerawake 6y ago
  Hmm interesting. So even though the physical connector with the two notches fits, the electrical signaling is wrong. Thats seems like a bad design no? All my desktops are on SATA so I am used to a situation where as long as the connector matches (ie, SATA or DDR notches) then I am good. I wonder if I have burned my SSD by plugging it in...i'll have to find a adequate enclosure to find out. Although if I have burned it, then maybe it could then damage the new enclosure...hmm >I wonder what the impact of it going over USB and the additional USB to PCI-E controller. You should probably see about getting a Thunderbolt enclosure so theoretically the PCI-E interface doesn't have to go through yet another translation, otherwise you'll probably just kill the performance you'd hope to get out of the SSD. Hmm, the machines I am testing on don't have USB-C thunderbolt. I'll have to look into this. So I can see raw bulk performance being limited by the USB bus but would 4k performance be limited as well? I thought this was a limitation of the Flash memory and SSD controller.
  - the8472 6y ago
    > Thats seems like a bad design no? Yes, that socket is not standards-compliant. It should have been B-keyed. > Sold by SSK Direct > Business Name:Shenzhen Huajianli E-Commerce Co.,Ltd No surprises here.
    - Answerawake 6y ago
      Is there a good brand of enclosures that I could rely on? I am not sure if this is a typical use case such that the big guys would manufacture an enclosure that's compatible.
      - the8472 6y ago
        NVMe is only primarily used for performance, attaching it to USB would negate the benefits. So you would have to look for a thunderbolt enclosure, assuming your PC has thunderbolt and those are rather pricy. USB to NVMe adapters do exist but I have no experience with them so I cannot recommend any.
  - vel0city 6y ago

vel0city 6y ago

The enclosure you linked says it is SATA only. The Optane drive interfaces as PCI-E. Note this photo here: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61vzuDqQjJL._AC_SL1000_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61vzuDqQjJL... In the specs for the Optane drive you linked, it says its interface is a M.2 2280 (22mmx80mm) PCI-E 3.0 NVMe. The M.2 2280 is a physical port interface, the signaling is PCI-E, and the storage protocol is NVMe. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/135581/intel-optane-memory-m10-series-16gb-m-2-80mm-pcie-3-0-20nm-3d-xpoint.html https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/135581/... You'll want to get a different enclosure which mentions support for PCI-E NVMe drives. EDIT: I wonder what the impact of it going over USB and the additional USB to PCI-E controller. You should probably see about getting a Thunderbolt enclosure so theoretically the PCI-E interface doesn't have to go through yet another translation, otherwise you'll probably just kill the performance you'd hope to get out of the SSD.

Answerawake 6y ago
Hmm interesting. So even though the physical connector with the two notches fits, the electrical signaling is wrong. Thats seems like a bad design no? All my desktops are on SATA so I am used to a situation where as long as the connector matches (ie, SATA or DDR notches) then I am good. I wonder if I have burned my SSD by plugging it in...i'll have to find a adequate enclosure to find out. Although if I have burned it, then maybe it could then damage the new enclosure...hmm >I wonder what the impact of it going over USB and the additional USB to PCI-E controller. You should probably see about getting a Thunderbolt enclosure so theoretically the PCI-E interface doesn't have to go through yet another translation, otherwise you'll probably just kill the performance you'd hope to get out of the SSD. Hmm, the machines I am testing on don't have USB-C thunderbolt. I'll have to look into this. So I can see raw bulk performance being limited by the USB bus but would 4k performance be limited as well? I thought this was a limitation of the Flash memory and SSD controller.
- the8472 6y ago
  > Thats seems like a bad design no? Yes, that socket is not standards-compliant. It should have been B-keyed. > Sold by SSK Direct > Business Name:Shenzhen Huajianli E-Commerce Co.,Ltd No surprises here.
  - Answerawake 6y ago
    Is there a good brand of enclosures that I could rely on? I am not sure if this is a typical use case such that the big guys would manufacture an enclosure that's compatible.
    - the8472 6y ago
      NVMe is only primarily used for performance, attaching it to USB would negate the benefits. So you would have to look for a thunderbolt enclosure, assuming your PC has thunderbolt and those are rather pricy. USB to NVMe adapters do exist but I have no experience with them so I cannot recommend any.
- vel0city 6y ago