Precision 5820 Tower flexbay upgrade to NVME Questiosn

Question

I am considering converting two of the flex bay drives to allow the use of nvme ssd drives and am confused over some of the information and which backplane kei is needed (if still available).

Also, is the better option to installing a pcie card which will do the same?

I am trying to determine which backplane kit is needed, is it still available, and verify my understanding that it will convert two of the bays so they will no longer be able to support sata drives.

I did find this page Instruction Page on how to do the physical modification and it does not look terribly difficult. I just need the right parts.

Thanks for any help

Ketan09 · Accepted Answer

I went through a similar upgrade path on a Precision 5820 and the confusion usually comes from Dell having multiple storage configurations for the FlexBay system.

My understanding is that if you convert the FlexBay setup to NVMe, two of those bays become dedicated NVMe/U.2-style connections and generally lose normal SATA functionality for those positions. The conversion requires the correct NVMe backplane plus the associated cables/backplane kit, and some of these parts have become harder to find since many are only available used or through Dell parts resellers.

Before buying parts, I’d also consider the PCIe adapter route. A PCIe NVMe card is often simpler, cheaper, and easier to source. It avoids replacing the backplane, usually supports standard M.2 NVMe drives, and can offer equal or better performance depending on the card and lane allocation. The FlexBay conversion mainly makes sense if you specifically want hot-swap capability and want to keep everything integrated into the front drive bays.

One thing I’d verify before ordering is whether your current system configuration and motherboard support the exact NVMe FlexBay kit you’re looking at, since Dell had several storage layouts and cable combinations for the 5820.

Interested to see if anyone here has the exact Dell part number for the required NVMe backplane kit.

Chino de Oro · Accepted Answer

Additional information that may save you some money.

For the 5820 with converting upper flexbay to supporting PCIe NVMe backplane, you do not have to purchase the flexbay PCIe NVMe module with tray, part number 66XHV. You can get the cheaper 2.5" NVMe to U.2 adapter to install your NVMe drive. It should fit into the current bracket with 2.5" adapter just like any 2.5" drives. See sample product below.

DELL-Daniel V · Answer

The link you shared seems to be broken. Please see this article for the upgrade:

Upgrading Storage in the Dell Precision 5820

575-BBSH - Allows user to add a front-loadable M.2 NVMe (PCIe Gen3 x4). If the unit is not already configured to support NVMe SSDs in a FlexBay, you must also order the conversion kit (750-ABDF for 5820).

I'd recommend reaching out to Dell Sales to see if we still have these components. If not, then you'll have to find them via a 3rd party. Essentially its a 2 piece solution. You need the controller card to be able to read the NVME drives. Then you also need the physical bay and slots for the M.2 to sit in and seat into the controller.

Alternatively, the simpler method may indeed be just getting a M.2 PCIe adapter. There should be plenty of open slots on the motherboard for an add-in card.

Chino de Oro · Answer

PCIe adapter from Dell  https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-ultra-speed-drive-quad-fh-bracket-pcie-card-holds-up-to-4x-m2-nvme-ssd-kit-5860787579607960xl7960r/apd/400-bpjp/storage-drives-media

bacrow7e685b · Answer

Ketan09 - Thank you for the detailed reply. I pretty much came to the same conclusion and asked the question because it seems the back plane conversion is not listed on the dell site. Other then figuring out the best slow to use on the pcie option, I have decided it is easier and less complicated to go that route. Of course this was after I bought a tray caddy which foolishly I thought would just convert the nvme to be used on the SATA bay. I bought a relatively inexpensive single card adapter for one nvme pcie slot to see how they work, but it does not have any cooling fans on board. Will consider a better grade adapter if it all seems to improve the performance.

Tesla1856 · Answer

@Ketan09​ Before buying parts, I’d also consider the PCIe adapter route. A PCIe NVMe card is often simpler, cheaper, and easier to source. Having used NVMe-adapter PCIe cards in other computers, that is what I assume to apply here as well. Good to see an owner confirming (in case other owners need a viable solution also). They are inexpensive because it is actually a very simple PCIe-to-PCIe interface-mating.

Tesla1856 · Answer

@bacrow7e685b​ to use on the pcie option, I have decided it is easier and less complicated to go that route. I bought a relatively inexpensive single card adapter for one nvme pcie slot to see how they work, but it does not have any cooling fans on board. Will consider a better grade adapter if it all seems to improve the performance. The common air-flow cooling in the case should be fine to cool the NVMe-SSD. Both HWiNFO64 and a common SMART utility can read the temp of it if curious.

TPHK · Answer

I would really consider/suggest a simple nvme PCIe adapter first. I am 99% sure it will be far less expense and messing for you about than the backplane install.

This is not some untested hypothesis: right now, I have two Samsung 980s M.2. mounted on the same single PCIe adapter – Axagon make the adapter and it does not need native bifurcation. Plus, at the same time, I still have all 4 of the Flexbays filled with Intel enterprise SATA SSDS.

I.e. I am happily running 2 x nvme and also 4 x SATA SSD in my 5820.

Chino de Oro · Answer

In the event of Dell Spare Parts are out of stock or unavailable, to search for flexbay NVMe kit, here are the part numbers you requested:

Flexbay backplane cage and cable kit, part number 9FWHD

Flexbay PCIe NVMe module with tray, part number 66XHV

Chino de Oro · Answer

For system with upper flexbay configured to support NVMe drives, and the lower flexbay supports two SATA drives, you can converted the 5.25" optical bay to support four more SATA drives. The system has plenty of SATA ports, 6 + 2.

Certain drive cage supports removeable and hot swap just like flexbay. Example below.

Chino de Oro · Answer

For PCIe slot adapter option, I suggest Asus Hyper V2 as it has been confirmed as compatible with the T5820 and supports up to x4 NVMe drives. It has active cooling fan and the whole metal body acts as a large heatsink. It also support enterprise SSD size of 22110.

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Precision 5820 Tower flexbay upgrade to NVME Questiosn

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