High Point has it. The unveiling Its brand new Rocket PCIe Gen5 NVMe switch and M.2 RAID AIC adapter with 32 SSD support and 960 TB capacity per slot.

HighPoint's PCIe Gen5 NVMe and M.2 adapters offer 64 GB/s transfer per slot, 8 independent SSDs and up to 32 SSDs with backplane connectivity.

The SSD (NVMe) AIC market is a niche with only a couple of manufacturers offering some unique products. We have seen before. OWC And Apex Storage Lead the segment with their PCIe Gen4 offerings with up to 16 devices supported per slot, but HighPoint introduces the first PCIe Gen5 solution to the market.

Highpoint told us that they are launching their brand new Rocket 7600 and Rocket 1600 series aimed at different market segments. The Rocket 7600 series is designed for high-end workstation PCs along with edge servers based around Linux and Windows platforms while the Rocket 1600 Gen5 adapters are designed for the enterprise segment. Both Gen5 Rocket adapters are powered by Broadcom's PEX89048 PCIe Switch IC, which is based on the PCIe Gen5 protocol and can fully utilize the x16 lanes offered by the Gen5 slot.

These SSDs are designed for the latest Intel and AMD desktop, workstation, and server platforms using CPU lanes directly.

The Broadcom 48-Channel PEX89048 switch IC provides 16 dedicated PCIe Gen5 lanes that support up to 64 GB/s transfer bandwidth, minimal latency, and up to 32 NVMe SSDs per slot.

So coming to the product itself, the Rocket 1608A offers 8 Gen5 NVMe SSD slots with 2280 form factor compatibility. The adapter includes a full-length aluminum heatsink and an active cooler to maintain thermal performance. It comes with a single 6-pin connector and comes in a single-slot full-length design. The Rocket 1628A has four MCIO ports to support a total of 8 U.2/U.3 or E3.S SSDs.

Then we have the Rocket 7608A and Rocket 7628A AIC adapters which are similar to the other two SKUs but primarily aimed at the enterprise market. While there are now 8 physical NVMe SSD slots on M.2 adapter AIC variants, HighPoint's Rocket lineup also supports backplane connector technology that allows support for up to 32 Gen5 NVMe SSDs and capacities of up to 960 TB per slot.

Rocket 1600 PCIe Gen5 NVMe Switch Series AICs and Adapters

Highpoint Rocket 1600 Series Switch AICs/Adapters provide enterprise-class NVMe storage connectivity and manageability and are optimized for use with a wide range of industry-standard x86 server and workstation platforms. These versatile, high-performance AICs and adapters are equipped with our revolutionary PCIe Gen5 switch architecture and the ability to directly support up to eight M.2, U.2/U.3 or E3.S SSDs, or up to 32 NVMe have Devices via backplane connectivity. NVMe media hosted by Rocket 1600 Switch AIC/Adapters will be automatically recognized by any OS platform with native NVMe driver support. This makes them ideal for businesses and organizations that want to enhance critical workflows with the performance of flexible, robust and easily managed Gen5 NVMe storage.

Rocket 7600 PCIe Gen5 NVMe RAID Series AICs and Adapters

HighPoint RocketRAID 7600 PCIe Gen5 NVMe RAID AICs and adapters are designed to expand the capabilities of Linux and Windows-based edge server and high-end workstation platforms. Built on our Rocket 1600 switch series product lines, each RAID AICs/adapter is equipped with industry-proven RAID technology and an unmatched storage health monitoring and management suite that maximizes the performance, reliability and serviceability of NVMe arrays. is designed to The Rocket 7600 Series AICs/Adapters can directly support up to eight M.2 or U.2/U.3/E3.S NVMe SSDs, and are ideal for professional and industrial workflows with proven RAID technology. Flexibility requires uncompromised storage performance. and improved SED data protection.

Now it will be really interesting to see the adapter in action when loaded with 8 Gen5 NVMe SSDs. We know that a single Gen5 SSD can run hot so this single heatsink with active fan cooling has a lot to do to ensure optimal performance while running up to 8 devices. The lineup is listed below along with their respective prices:

Highpoint PCIe Gen5 NVMe product lines

NVMe Switch Series (Shipping Q3, 2024)

NVMe RAID Series (Shipping Q3, 2024)