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I don't know why you were downvoted because this is a valid question. Most NVMe expansion cards ('carrier cards') do not integrate any extra IC (or just a reti
by puzzlingcaptcha 5y ago
I don't know why you were downvoted because this is a valid question.
Most NVMe expansion cards ('carrier cards') do not integrate any extra IC (or just a retimer) and instead rely on motherboard feature called PCIe bifurcation which essentially turns a x16 slot into four 'virtual' x4 slots. These can be fairly inexpensive ($50-$80), e.g. Supermicro AOC-SLG3-2M2 which provides two NVMe x4 connectors or Linkreal LRNV95NF which provides four.
If your motherboard does not support bifurcation then you need a more expensive ($150-$200) card with a PCI switch (e.g. SuperMicro AOC-SHG3-4M2P or Linkreal LRNV9524 which use PLX PEX switches).