Z820 Intel C602 chipset upgrade to NVMe raid using Samsung 970 Pro no boot required

[KjellB]

I want to upgrade my system with the Samsung 970 Pro or similar MLC based NVMe.  I am looking for a controller card that works with the first generation Z820 with  C602 chipset made in 2013 with Product Number LJ452AV.

I do not need to boot, I use a Sata SSD as boot and system disk, but want the NVMe m.2 for video data running Mistika Boutique. Ideally I want to make a 4GB raid. 

Regards 

[Brian1965]

Hi KjellB,

I assume you meant 4TB RAID, and not 4GB RAID?

Unfortunately, you can not hardware RAID M.2 cards on the Zx20 workstations. These models do not have onboard M.2 slots or support burfication, i.e. splitting a (x16) PCI lane into 4off (x4) PCI lanes, (CPU VROC support required for the PC to see 4 drives on 1 PCI slot). Therefor you can not use M.2 PCI cards such as the ASRock Ultra Quad. If you are set on trying to configure an M.2 RAID setup, then you need to add multiple PCI M.2 cards, (i.e. a maximum of 1off M.2 (x4) card per PCI slot). Theoretically, you should then be able to setup a software RAID in W10. There are limitations and advantages to software RAIDs, and there is plenty of information and guides online if you wish to pursue this route. Based on the speed of high end M.2 cards (~3500MB/s read, ~2700MB/s write), I would recommend you buy one large M.2 card rather than multiple smaller M.2 cards. Of course, you can easily setup a hardware SATA RAID and this is detailed in the Z820 Maintenance and Service Guide.

The StarTech M.2 PCI card seems quite good, (based on customer feedback), but I would recommend you avoid the unbranded cheap chinese PCI M.2 adapter cards.

Since you're new to the forum - HP Z820 Support Page. You will find all the drivers and manuals required for your Z820.