cfcaballero
Dabbler
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2017
- Messages
- 45
I had some difficulty adding USB3 ports (I backup to an external RAID enclosure from ORICO) to the FreeNAS mini I bought a few years back (built on the Ablecom CS-M50 chassis with the ASRock C2750D4I mobo).
The clearance above the card slot is VERY tight as the corner of the drive cage hangs right above it.
The first low profile expansion card I found locally (incidentally, from ORICO also), could barely fit if you didn't screw in the low-profile bracket until after the card was inserted. However, as the card requires external power and the connector (on top edge of card) was blocked by the drive cage, I had to keep searching.
The absolute max card height (assuming you measure from the top of the PCIe connector) is about 74mm. But it's also key to make sure the power connector is on the rear, not top, edge of the card.
Here is the card I wound up using:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-P...s-4-pin-IDE-Connector-Adapter/2032391014.html
Worked right out of the box (just had to change to included low profile bracket), with no fuss about drivers. I did have to re-route power cables to get a 4-pin power connector to the card. I suggest you have a converter cable handy that takes one of the spare SATA power plugs and gives you a 4-pin IDE power plug, if you want to avoid that.
Incidentally, I did ask IXsystems if they recommended a card that would fit in this tight spot, and they replied that they had not tested or certified any USB3 cards. Hope this helps someone . . .
The clearance above the card slot is VERY tight as the corner of the drive cage hangs right above it.
The first low profile expansion card I found locally (incidentally, from ORICO also), could barely fit if you didn't screw in the low-profile bracket until after the card was inserted. However, as the card requires external power and the connector (on top edge of card) was blocked by the drive cage, I had to keep searching.
The absolute max card height (assuming you measure from the top of the PCIe connector) is about 74mm. But it's also key to make sure the power connector is on the rear, not top, edge of the card.
Here is the card I wound up using:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-P...s-4-pin-IDE-Connector-Adapter/2032391014.html
Worked right out of the box (just had to change to included low profile bracket), with no fuss about drivers. I did have to re-route power cables to get a 4-pin power connector to the card. I suggest you have a converter cable handy that takes one of the spare SATA power plugs and gives you a 4-pin IDE power plug, if you want to avoid that.
Incidentally, I did ask IXsystems if they recommended a card that would fit in this tight spot, and they replied that they had not tested or certified any USB3 cards. Hope this helps someone . . .
