CP073-1, M.2 SSD Adapter Card
Starting off with the more widely known M.2 format, we have the CP073-1. The CP073-1 is a removable SSD adapter card that can support up to 2 M.2 SSDs on a PCIe 5.0×8 Expansion Slot. While doing so, it can offer blazing-fast speeds of up to 128Gbps per drive (16GB/s). The CP073-1 adapter features multiple removal drive trays where users can insert M.2 SSDs. The keyword here is ‘removable’ meaning that swapping out one SSD for the other will not be tedious. This design also supports toolless SSD installation. The user can unlock the latch, insert the SSD, and voilà. All of this can be done without using tools or screws. In addition, M.2 SSDs of all sizes ranging from 30mm to 80mm are supported. As for cooling, a 50mm blower fan along with an aluminum heatsink lid are included for optimum airflow. Yet again, installing the heatsink does not require any tools.
CP125, Hot-Swappable E1.S SSD Adapter Card
The second concept we have is CP125 which supports the E1.S SSD format. For the unaware, the E1 format has become popular quite recently, at least in the server segment. The ‘S’ in E1 stands for Short. What’s the difference between this and M.2? The E1 format falls under the EDSFF family which is essentially designed for servers enabling high capacity, scalability, performance, and better thermals. CP125 can house as many as 2x E1.S SSDs over a PCIe 5.0 x 8 Expansion Slot. Consider this as an ‘SSD holder’ in which you can plug SSDs in and out, being hot-swappable. A glimpse of the internals should give you an idea of how easy removing/adding an SSD is. The advantage here is that as the power is supplied through 1 PCIe slot, the cable clutter is reduced. Similar to the CP073-1, the CP125 also features a 50mm Blower Fan and an aluminum heatsink. With the help of thermal pads, heat is quickly transferred and dissipated lowering the temperature drastically.
Future of Cooling Technology
We still have miles to go before we reach the perfect cooling system. SSDs have only now started to demand better cooling solutions. CPUs on the other hand have been facing this problem for ages. The prime victims are laptops that throttle under high temperatures. Frore Systems are currently developing an ‘AirJet’ that works much differently than your typical coolers. Let us give you a basic rundown of how it works. The AirJet is placed on top of the CPU and consists of many membranes. These membranes vibrate at super-sonic speeds which allows cool air to flow inside. This cool air dissipates the heat and exits down the bottom in the form of a high-velocity pulsating jet. The sleek and thin design gives it the upper hand against normal CPU coolers. Still not surprised? The width of this particular AirJet is just 2.8mm, slightly larger than a penny. All things considered, the future of PC cooling looks bright. Companies like AMD are already focusing on energy saving and other giants will soon follow as well. A better understanding and manipulation of fluid dynamics is allowing us to achieve these major feats. Performance per watt has also increased by quite the margin over the last few years. Current-gen CPUs can perform just as well last last-gen’s CPUs at almost 4x less power consumption. Source : icydock (CP073-1), icydock (CP125)
