Aurora R7, expansion card troubles

Here is one example, 

https://qnapdirect.com/products/qnap-qm2-4p-384-quad-m-2-2280-pcie?variant=18684115583043

Qnap makes add in cards with plx chips to add bifurcation via the card (since there is no mobo support) that will support 4 x m2 pcie nvme drives in the Aurora's x8 slot.  Will set you back at least $150 minimum.  A card without bifurcation on the card will not work with the aurora since there is no support via the mobo.

Also, to clarify, without bifurcation support you will not be able to see more than one drive in the same adapter regardless of or at any link speed, whether x1 x2 x4.

@seanrauyk 

Your board and chipset DO NOT SUPPORT Bifrucation so this is not going to ever work.

If you purchased the OWC Accelsior 4M2 card without M.2 drives, the steps below show how to install one or more of these drives. For maximum performance install four identical SSDs, then configure them as a RAID 0 using SoftRAID. IMPORTANT: before installing the assembled PCIe card in a host device, write down the SoftRAID serial number listed on the back of the card. It is required when installing the application. M2 is not a drive specifcation its a socket. SATA M2 Drives with B key DO NOT WORK in PCI-E adapters. If they do work they requre a sata cable to the pci-e adapter or the drive will not be seen in F2 SATA OPERATION AHCI mode.  NONE of the drives are "SEEN" in IRRT IRST OPTANE INTEL RAID MODE.

https://www.softraid.com/support/

This card might work YMMV.

Its not cheap however.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08376Q3WJ

https://www.owcdigital.com/products/accelsior-4m2

• Accelsior 4M2
• SoftRAID
• Assembly Manual and User Guide
• Operating System-Mac: macOS 10.13.6 or later-PC: Windows 10 or laterHardware- Mac or PC with compatible PCIe slot-PCIe 3.0 or greater strongly recommended -Lanes: x8 or greater strongly recommended-Physical: x8 or greater required.
• Drivers-No driver is required for the Accelsior 4M2 itself but INTEL/ Samsung M.2 drives require one. Please review the drive manufacturer’s requirements before installing.

Thanks for your answer, any chance you would know the feasibility of switching motherboards for the R7? If feasible, would you have any suggestions? If not feasible, I'm guessing I'll need a new tower?

Or do I need to start a new discussion for this?

The Alienware cases are custom made. A typical motherboard conforming to one of the ATX standards will not fit properly in the case.

In my opinion, if you look at that from an upgrade point of view, you have either the option of getting a new motherboard and associated hardware and move the usable parts over to the new setup, or purchase a completely new system.

It all depends on what you want to use the system for. If it is for gaming I would just buy a new system with more recent hardware.

It would really depend how much money you want to spend on this and what you could get a new system for.

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@seanrauyk wrote:

Thanks for your answer, any chance you would know the feasibility of switching motherboards for the R7? If feasible, would you have any suggestions? If not feasible, I'm guessing I'll need a new tower?

Or do I need to start a new discussion for this?

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Another option is to just stick additional pcie adapters in there.  You can get a total of 4x m2 pcie nvme's that way (1 via M2 slot, 3 via pcie slot).  The adapters run about $10 each on amazon.  From my Aurora R7: 

@r72019​  i realize this is a old forum but figured id try to get a reply anyways, few things, firstly im also messing around with these pcie to nvme cards and just ran across the bifurification issue myself so im wondering theres no way to get one of these cards to see both slots as a single drive?  Im guessing the answer to that is likely no.  Also I was really interested in the set up your using there looks like you have two graphics cards?  Whats also weird to me is how your running what looks to be your better graphics card in the lowest slot is there any reason for that other then just the size limitations?  I have a r7 with a 1080ti and i run it in the top most slot, this naturally causes issues with access to one of the pcie slots that the dual slot card blocks.  Ive thought about using one of those slot extension set ups to access it but could i just move my card to the bottom slot without any performance hits?  I was under the understanding that the bottom most slot isnt a direct connection to the cpu and rather connects via the chipset and therefore is a slower of the two slot options, is this true? That they decided to electrically wire these as x8 only and really is weird given the fact these are marketed as gaming computers but i guess its due to the fact that at the time that these came out it didnt make much of a performance difference to run those cards available at that time in a x16 slot but todays cards that is likely different i would assume?  Anyways just also wanted to share my wonderful experience with this pc, I originally began searching for a new pc earlier this year due to my 2018 hp spectre x360 overpriced laptop failing and when i bought that laptop i was told it would be a good gaming laptop.  Shocker it at gaming with its nvidia mx150 graphics it can hardly run any games at all even at lowest settings and lower resolutions.  So naturally when i began looking for a new replacement i did a bit of research as to what to look for.  My budget was extremely small around $400 max so my options were also extremely small and limited.  Many told me to build a system but to do so would of been super hard using new parts and still be under that budget while also being able to have a decent graphics card.  So began my search on ebay and other sites for a decent gaming set up used for under my budget.  I was surprised by what i would find on there at times especially under the auctions portions.  I almost won on a couple of really nice set ups only to lose at the last few seconds to people sneaking in and bidding it up past my max bid.  So naturally when i found this alienware aurora r7 it was really at the lower end of what i would of been ok with specs wise so i bid my max 400 and luckily eventually wont it for 360.  To make this long story short ill just say im very happy with this set up and it games way better then i would have imagined a 5 to 7 year old pc set up would game at!!!  That being said my potential for upgrading this system is very limited.  I wanted to upgrade the graphics card to a new 30 or 40 series card but dont know if it makes sense to do so on this motherboard since the pcie x8 limitation is there.  I can always grab the card and in the future upgrade to a better system which is really what my plan was to do all along but i also dont feel its that big of a deal or need to rush it so im just saving little by little.  Anyways if you read this far thanks for reading my babbling on story lol and i appreciate you reading and possibly replying to some of my questions.  Take care and god bless.