
GIGABYTE has announced the AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor, a single-slot add-in card that supports up to four PCIe 5.0 SSDs with 16 TB of storage. The manufacturer didn’t share any images of the item in its press release, but it will presumably look similar to the AORUS Gen4 AIC Adaptor. Pricing and dates of availability are also unknown.
AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor features:
- 4 x PCIe 4.0/3.0 M.2 Slots
- Full PCI Express 4.0 Ready Design
- Advanced Thermal Solution for PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Easy Software RAID with Single Click to Get Amazing Performance
- Custom AORUS Storage Manager
“With the coming PCIe 5.0 platform, high-speed storage can reach access speed of more than 10 GB/s. For users who chase higher performance, GIGABYTE AORUS Gen5 AIC leads the way to extreme performance by building a disk array,” said Jackson Hsu, Director of the GIGABYTE Channel Solutions Product Development Division.
“Integrating four PCIe 5.0 slots, users can choose different NVMe M.2 SSDs with customized capacity and performance for the greatest flexibility. Meanwhile, the advanced thermal design prevents thermal throttling under high-speed operation which makes GIGABYTE AORUS Gen5 AIC the best choice when upgrading storage performance.”
GIGABYTE Unveils AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor with 4 Built-in NVMe M.2 Slots
August 22th, 2022 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions announced the AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor with PCIe 5.0 support. It is a single-slot Add In Card, featuring four NVMe M.2 slots, supporting a maximum of four PCIe 5.0 SSDs with 16TB storage. By configuring a RAID array, the bandwidth can boost up to 60 GB/s to allow massive data files to transfer in a snap. The eight integrated temperature sensors and active temperature-controlled double ball bearing fan should satisfy users with large-capacity, ultra-fast and ultra-cool data access.
AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor features brushed aluminum armor and baseplate for advanced heat dissipation with stylish design. The sleek single-slot design greatly improves the convenience of expansion without the worries of interference with other PCIe devices. On top of external design, the unique internal thermal design of AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor consists of a optimized large heatsink and a double-sided high conductivity thermal pad. This design can effectively dissipate the heat generated from high-speed operation of the SSDs due to the large air volume displaced by the 5cm double ball bearing fan. Furthermore, the AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor integrates eight thermal sensors, providing users with real-time control of the operating temperatures when utilizing GIGABYTE exclusive AORUS Storage Manager and SSD Tool Box applications. Moreover, built-in intelligent dynamic fan speed control can adjust fan speed to deliver a quiet and cool operation.
The design of independent PCIe 5.0 controller paired with an exclusive signal-stabilized controller ensures that each SSD operates with actual PCIe 5.0 bandwidth to provide stable and high-speed performance. AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor supports PCIe 5.0 interface and is backward compatible with PCIe 4.0/3.0, unleashing the optimal performance of the platform regardless of its generation. Users can also increase system performance to the maximum 60 GB/s bandwidth by configuring RAID with additional NVMe M.2 SSD. GIGABYTE’s new generation of Intel and AMD motherboards, Z690 or above, feature PCIe 5.0 support, low impedance, and server-grade PCB design, boost PCIe storage performance by leveling up bandwidth while unleashing hidden performance from peripherals. Get ready to break the limit with AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor and enjoy the ride of PCIe 5.0.
Source: GIGABYTE

Discussion (3 replies)
Join Discussion →Looks like a nifty product I would love to use - well, except I'd have to take my GPU to x8 and pull the primary m.2 off my mobo to have enough pcie lanes.
I guess this is more for systems with integrated vodeo? Or Threadripper/Epyk systems?
I was really hoping the new socket for 7000 series Ryzen cpu's would have more pcie lanes, till I learned better.
Pretty much - same problem with a lot of boards limited to ATX dimensions, i.e. 12" x 9.6". Unless you limit to two DIMM slots, there isn't room for something like ASUS' DIMM.2 solution, and there isn't room to put a lot of M.2 slots between the PCIe slots too.
But then, you get only a single current-gen PCIe x4 slot that's separate from the 16 lanes dedicated for the GPU. So a few manufacturers have been providing cards to do two M.2 NVMe drives in that slot. And surprisingly, the higher you go up product stacks, the fewer extra x1 slots you get - and fast, judging by Z690 ATX boards. Anything other than entry level (and Z690 isn't entry level, I know) is limited to those three slots, the primary x16 slot, a second x16 slot that takes eight lanes from it (so they become x8 / x8), and the independent x4 slot.
Additional quandary on the soapbox - if your board doesn't have Thunderbolt built in, then it might have headers for it - and you can spend another ~$100 to put in a card in that x4 slot. Or if you need >2.5Gbit ethernet, well, now you need to use that one slot for a network card.
And then you hope you have enough M.2 slots for the storage you need, or SATA ports that aren't disabled by using all the M.2 slots.
That, and then AMD decides to abandon HEDT as a step above their consumer / business line - and we have no real word from Intel if they're going to continue their HEDT releases.
Hmm..
It's a PCI 5.0 compatible card, and in one spot it says 5.0 drives, but in another it says it only supports PCI 4.0 / 3.0 SSDs?
It also doesn't say if those drives all share lanes, or get dedicated lanes.
GIGABYTE has announced the AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor, a single-slot add-in card that supports up to four PCIe 5.0 SSDs with 16 TB of storage. The manufacturer didn’t share any images of the item in its press release, but it will presumably look similar to the AORUS Gen4 AIC Adaptor. Pricing and dates of availability are also unknown.
AORUS Gen5 AIC Adaptor features:
- 4 x PCIe 4.0/3.0 M.2 Slots
- Full PCI Express 4.0 Ready Design
- Advanced Thermal Solution for PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Easy Software RAID with Single Click to Get Amazing Performance
- Custom AORUS Storage Manager
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