Flexbay Second PCIe Drive or other uses for FlexBay T5820

Question

I just ordered a T5820 with an Intel I9 processor and am trying to get my expansion plans and hardware together before it arrives.

I have found the various descriptions of storage options to be confusing.

The ordered system has a 250 gb PCIe in one flexbay as the system drive. I am seeing conflicting stories about the use of the second FlexBay on the PCIe backplane.

1. In various places, I see Dell stating that a PCIe drive in the second PCIe Flexbay will not work because of the number of lanes.

2. In other places, I see that using the 066XHV/575-BBSH option will add a second PCIe drive.

3. On Amazon, I see a part (New M.2 SAS Flex Bay Module Compatible with Dell Precision T5820 T7820 T7920 066XHV 66XHV w/ Tray Without SSD only for M Key 2280 M.2 NVMe (PCIe Gen3 x4) SSD ) where a user says he has successfully used this part for a second PCIe SSD on a T5820.

My Questions:

1. Is it possible to use the second FlexBay on the PCIe backplane for a PCIe SSD on a T5820 with Intel I9?

2. If so, is there a way to order a compatible carrier from Dell? I have tried to find these part numbers and have not been successful.

3. If not, is there any use for this second FlexBay?

4. Can I order the separate carrier that holds the SSD and fits inside the FlexBay insert (Gum Stick Looking)? I would like to save the SSD that ships with the T5820 for potential rebuild and replace it with a larger disk?

5 If I cannot find the "GumStick " , is it ok to remove the 256 and replace it with a 1TB? It looks like there is some thermal material in the "GumStick" carrier and I am not sure if that would be a problem if the initial ssd was removed.

Thank you for your assistance.

Don

Flavius Aetius · Answer

Hi,

The XEON W processors have 48 PCIE Lanes, then, you can Add the Piece 066XHV/575-BBSH who is connected to ports U2 in the motherboard (Have 2, one for each 066XHV Piece).

But some Intel CORE processors have 48 PCIE Lanes too (some Extreme Edition Models). Then, you must see what processor you will configure in your machine and check in the Intel Website the spcs of your processor and see how much Pcie Lanes have...

You can read my analysis here...

https://www.dell.com/community/Precision-Fixed-Workstations/How-to-connect-left-upper-HDD-bay-to-SATA-in-Precision-T5820/m-p/8052603#M8599

mazzinia_ · Answer

2) ordering from Dell : is way simpler and quicker to buy from ebay or amazon, this specific part.

you can also alternatively use this

https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B073W65QX6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

directly in the 3.5" - 2.5" adapter that comes fit in the 2nd nvme bay.

4) I've seen that carrier being sold alone, on ebay

OCDGM · Answer

Thank you Flavius and Mazzinia.

The explanation clears up a lot. I checked the Intel spec for the I9 that is included in the build list and it shows 48 lanes, so that is good news.

I will check Amazon and Ebay to get the expansion hardware here before the workstation arrives.

thanks again.

don

Precision Fixed Workstations

Flexbay Second PCIe Drive or other uses for FlexBay T5820

Was this post helpful?