Today, at OCinside.de we are testing the Icy Dock MB842MP-B, a useful PCIe adapter for NVMe SSDs, which allows two NVMe SSDs to be easily exchanged via the back of the PC without having to open the PC case. Whether the performance is convincing and what else has to be considered when using the Icy Dock PCIe card is revealed in the following review.
NVMe SSDs are becoming more popular and affordable, but motherboards often only have a single M.2 slot to accommodate high-speed SSDs. In addition, this slot is often located behind the graphics card and is therefore very difficult to access, so you want to avoid removing and reinstalling an M.2 SSD if possible. Testing a new operating system can sometimes be a pain. At the latest when the M.2 mounting screw slips off the screwdriver and disappears somewhere in the PC case, the frustration level starts to rise significantly. Icy Dock has addressed this issue and, after the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB840M2P-B single-NVMe adapter, has developed another practical PCIe adapter for NVMe SSDs, which allows two NVMe SSDs to be easily replaced via the back of the PC without having to open the PC case.
The Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B currently has a price of approx. 180 Euro (09/2023).
Here you can order the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame at a reasonable price. *Ad
There is a QR code at the top with a link to the Icy Dock website.
On the bottom you can find links to the support page, as well as to the Icy Dock forum. The scope of delivery and various test marks are also listed.
Thanks to the use of some foam and anti-static film, nothing can happen to the ToughArmor adapter during transport.
And here we have the MB842MP-B dual NVMe to PCIe adapter.
Furthermore, Icy Dock supplies 2 pieces each of thermal pads in 0.7mm and 1mm thickness as well as a PCI slot mounting screw.
In addition, a clearly understandable and very detailed user manual is included …
… which leaves no questions about the installation.
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B technical data …
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame Layout, design and features …
The Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter is very solid and cleanly built. The housing of the single-slot card is sturdily built from metal and is complemented by black plastic. The interface to the PC is mechanically designed as a PCIe x16 version, so the expansion card can even be locked in the PC. Electrically, however, it is only designed with 8 lanes, as the two SSDs are each connected to the CPU via 4 PCIe lanes. Of course, the card can also be used in an x8 slot, which is rarely found on motherboards, though. The ToughArmor MB842MP-B cannot be used in a PCIe x4 slot.
There are two 2-pin headers on the back. LEDs from the PC case can be connected to them to display drive accesses in a more visible place than would be the case via the LEDs on the back of the card. An external power connection is not necessary, as the power of a PCIe slot is perfectly sufficient.
As is common with servers and other hot-swap drive bays, pressing on the left side releases the bay and the locking lever springs forward.
Opening the lever even further releases the electrical connector in the rear and the drive tray is ready for removal.
Now the drive tray can be pulled out without force.
The cartridge is completely made of metal and is connected to the PC’s ground when inserted, so that static discharges are safely dissipated and the SSD is protected in the best possible way. The metal also serves to dissipate heat, as high-performance NVME SSDs produce a considerable amount of power dissipation that must be dissipated from the SSD to prevent it from overheating. A sticker on the stainless steel lid of the bay shows that a small pressure in the left area is enough to open it.
In the Icy Dock MB842MP-B removable frame, NVMe SSDs with a frame size of 2230 to 22110 and PCIe 3.0 or PCIe 4.0 standard can be used. Depending on the used mainboard and SSD, a maximum transfer rate of 64Gb/s (8000MB/s) can be achieved, which is about 10x faster than the maximum SATA data transfer rate.
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame Installation …
Here you can buy Crucial P3 SSDs at a reasonable price.
The Crucial P3 SSD is a bit thicker in the center than on the outer sides. It is therefore a good thing that Icy Dock includes thermal pads of different thicknesses. We use the 0.7 mm thick pad in the center of the Phison controller IC and a piece of the 1 mm thick thermal pad on the outside of the Micron NAND components.
After removing the protective foils from the pads, we place the SSD with the pads facing down in the drive tray. A small nose protrudes into the notch of the M-Key recess of the SSD. Thus, it is practically impossible to insert the SSD incorrectly.
Then slide the locking bracket to the left until it rests against the SSD. In order to hold all sizes from 2230 to 22110 securely in the cartridge, the lid has locking lugs that hold the locking bracket securely in position. Due to the optimal fits, everything sits neatly in its intended position and nothing wobbles. You don’t need to be afraid of cuts from the sheet metal parts either, since all parts have been impeccably deburred.
Overall, the installation of the SSD was completely problem-free and thanks to the different thicknesses of the heat-conducting pads, our SSD lies evenly and perfectly against the aluminum case.
The tray is then pushed back into the removable frame. This can be done before or after the removable frame is installed in the PC. Whether the hot-swap function is supported has to be checked in the motherboard’s manual. For the following practical test, we put the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame into the upper PCIe x16 slot of our ASRock B650E Taichi AM5 motherboard, since the lower slot is only connected to the CPU with 4 lanes. The lower slot would only allow access to one of the two installed SSDs.
After the installation, we turn on the PC and see from the green LEDs that both SSDs have been successfully activated. We will explain the necessary BIOS configurations for operating the Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter in the following practical testing.
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame Practical testing …
If the motherboard does not support PCIe bifurcation or if there are insufficient free PCIe lanes, only one of the two SSDs can be accessed or, in the worst case, even none of the SSDs. With AM5 motherboards, X670 motherboards usually offer more PCIe lanes compared to boards with a B650 chipset. Before buying a motherboard, you should think about how many NVMe SSDs you want to use later and check the technical description how many PCIe lanes are distributed to the respective slots. Furthermore, not every x16 slot is necessarily connected to the CPU with 16 lanes. In the ASRock B650E Taichi, the lower PCIe x16 slot is only connected with 4 lanes, so the Icy Dock MB842MP-B adapter only allows access to one of the two SSDs at this slot.
After a reboot, both Crucial P3 SSDs in the Icy Dock MB842MP-B adapter are correctly recognized by our motherboard.
Windows also shows both SSDs in the Disk Management, but they still have to be initialized and formatted before data can be stored on them.
After that is done, the two SSDs are ready to use and will show up in Windows Explorer as drives “M” and “N”.
We check the condition of the SSDs with the Crystal Disk Info program. Everything looks perfect here as well. The data transfer mode is displayed correctly with PCIe 3.0 x4 and the SMART status values are also read correctly. There is no difference to the operation in an M.2 slot directly on the motherboard.
The second SSD achieves practically the same rates with 3675MB/s in read and 1940MB/s in write.
The synthetic benchmark delivered impeccable performance scores on both SSDs, so the next step is to copy large amounts of data back and forth between the two SSDs in the Icy Dock removable frame. As expected, this also works at an impressive speed. Considering the previously determined maximum write speed of 1940MB/s, the result of a constant 1.70GB/s in the real data transfer between the two test SSDs can be classified as excellent.
With that said, the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter passed the performance test with flying colors, but what about heat dissipation?
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame Result and general impression …
The Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter did not show any weaknesses in our test and convinced all along the line. Its workmanship is impeccable, typical for Icy Dock, and handling was also extremely simple. Only when selecting the motherboard do you have to make sure that the required PCIe bifurcation mode is supported and that enough PCIe lanes are free so that both installed SSDs can be addressed.
The performance of the two Crucial P3 SSDs in the test did not suffer any losses compared to the use directly in the motherboard and the determined operating temperatures were even lower than expected.
This makes the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B NVMe removable frame an ideal way to increase the number of high-performance SSDs in your PC. On top of that, the SSDs are also easier to replace than if they were installed directly on the motherboard.
The price of the Icy Dock MB842MP-B adapter is no bargain at around 180 Euro, but this is offset by equally clear advantages in use, which means that the Icy Dock MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter still receives a clear buy recommendation via our OCinside.de Purchase Tip Award 09/2023.
NVMe SSDs are becoming more popular and affordable, but motherboards often only have a single M.2 slot to accommodate high-speed SSDs. In addition, this slot is often located behind the graphics card and is therefore very difficult to access, so you want to avoid removing and reinstalling an M.2 SSD if possible. Testing a new operating system can sometimes be a pain. At the latest when the M.2 mounting screw slips off the screwdriver and disappears somewhere in the PC case, the frustration level starts to rise significantly. Icy Dock has addressed this issue and, after the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB840M2P-B single-NVMe adapter, has developed another practical PCIe adapter for NVMe SSDs, which allows two NVMe SSDs to be easily replaced via the back of the PC without having to open the PC case.
Thanks for the support …
Thanks for the support to Daniel and the manufacturer Icy Dock/Cremax Tech LTD.The Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B currently has a price of approx. 180 Euro (09/2023).
Here you can order the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame at a reasonable price. *Ad
The delivery of the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame …
Icy Dock products are usually packed in a neutral carton, which is labeled with the corresponding sticker of the included product. This saves costs and protects the environment. On the front, you can see images of the two available NVMe to PCIe adapters. The black dot next to the part number indicates the included product and a few product features are also pointed out.There is a QR code at the top with a link to the Icy Dock website.
On the bottom you can find links to the support page, as well as to the Icy Dock forum. The scope of delivery and various test marks are also listed.
Thanks to the use of some foam and anti-static film, nothing can happen to the ToughArmor adapter during transport.
And here we have the MB842MP-B dual NVMe to PCIe adapter.
Furthermore, Icy Dock supplies 2 pieces each of thermal pads in 0.7mm and 1mm thickness as well as a PCI slot mounting screw.
In addition, a clearly understandable and very detailed user manual is included …
… which leaves no questions about the installation.
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B technical data …
The technical data …
| Manufacturer | Icy Dock |
| Description | MB842MP-B |
| Dimensions | 171 x 120,8 x 21,6mm (WxHxD) |
| Color | Black & Silver |
| Weight | 232.5g |
| Host Interface | PCIe 3.0/4.0 x8 |
| Host Connection incl. power supply | 1 x PCIe 3.0/4.0 x8 or x16 expansion slot Mainboard must support bifurcation mode |
| Transfer Rate | Up to 64Gb/s / 8000MB/s (depending on drive speed) |
| Compatible SSD types | 2x M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD 2230/2242/2260/2280/22110 |
| Supported capacity | No limitation |
| Status LED | Ready: Green illuminated SSD Access: Flashing Green |
| Material | Aluminum, stainless steel, plastic |
| Cooling | Passive cooling by heat dissipation via metal housing |
| NVMe hot-plug function | Yes (depending on UEFI/BIOS configuration) |
| Manufacturer warranty | 5 years |
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame Layout, design and features …
Layout, design and features …
The Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter is very solid and cleanly built. The housing of the single-slot card is sturdily built from metal and is complemented by black plastic. The interface to the PC is mechanically designed as a PCIe x16 version, so the expansion card can even be locked in the PC. Electrically, however, it is only designed with 8 lanes, as the two SSDs are each connected to the CPU via 4 PCIe lanes. Of course, the card can also be used in an x8 slot, which is rarely found on motherboards, though. The ToughArmor MB842MP-B cannot be used in a PCIe x4 slot.
There are two 2-pin headers on the back. LEDs from the PC case can be connected to them to display drive accesses in a more visible place than would be the case via the LEDs on the back of the card. An external power connection is not necessary, as the power of a PCIe slot is perfectly sufficient.
As is common with servers and other hot-swap drive bays, pressing on the left side releases the bay and the locking lever springs forward.
Opening the lever even further releases the electrical connector in the rear and the drive tray is ready for removal.
Now the drive tray can be pulled out without force.
The cartridge is completely made of metal and is connected to the PC’s ground when inserted, so that static discharges are safely dissipated and the SSD is protected in the best possible way. The metal also serves to dissipate heat, as high-performance NVME SSDs produce a considerable amount of power dissipation that must be dissipated from the SSD to prevent it from overheating. A sticker on the stainless steel lid of the bay shows that a small pressure in the left area is enough to open it.
In the Icy Dock MB842MP-B removable frame, NVMe SSDs with a frame size of 2230 to 22110 and PCIe 3.0 or PCIe 4.0 standard can be used. Depending on the used mainboard and SSD, a maximum transfer rate of 64Gb/s (8000MB/s) can be achieved, which is about 10x faster than the maximum SATA data transfer rate.
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame Installation …
Installation …
For the test of the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame, we use two P3 NVMe SSDs, which support the PCIe 3.0 standard and could already fully convince in our previous single test. They have an excellent price-performance ratio and offer a significant performance increase compared to SATA SSDs.Here you can buy Crucial P3 SSDs at a reasonable price.
The Crucial P3 SSD is a bit thicker in the center than on the outer sides. It is therefore a good thing that Icy Dock includes thermal pads of different thicknesses. We use the 0.7 mm thick pad in the center of the Phison controller IC and a piece of the 1 mm thick thermal pad on the outside of the Micron NAND components.
After removing the protective foils from the pads, we place the SSD with the pads facing down in the drive tray. A small nose protrudes into the notch of the M-Key recess of the SSD. Thus, it is practically impossible to insert the SSD incorrectly.
Then slide the locking bracket to the left until it rests against the SSD. In order to hold all sizes from 2230 to 22110 securely in the cartridge, the lid has locking lugs that hold the locking bracket securely in position. Due to the optimal fits, everything sits neatly in its intended position and nothing wobbles. You don’t need to be afraid of cuts from the sheet metal parts either, since all parts have been impeccably deburred.
Overall, the installation of the SSD was completely problem-free and thanks to the different thicknesses of the heat-conducting pads, our SSD lies evenly and perfectly against the aluminum case.
The tray is then pushed back into the removable frame. This can be done before or after the removable frame is installed in the PC. Whether the hot-swap function is supported has to be checked in the motherboard’s manual. For the following practical test, we put the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame into the upper PCIe x16 slot of our ASRock B650E Taichi AM5 motherboard, since the lower slot is only connected to the CPU with 4 lanes. The lower slot would only allow access to one of the two installed SSDs.
After the installation, we turn on the PC and see from the green LEDs that both SSDs have been successfully activated. We will explain the necessary BIOS configurations for operating the Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter in the following practical testing.
Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame Practical testing …
Practical testing …
Before the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter can be operated correctly, certain configurations have to be made in the UEFI/BIOS of the motherboard. In the PCIe menu, the operating mode of the PCIe slot used must be set in such a way that 4 PCIe lanes are controlled separately in each case. A PCIe x8 slot must be set to x4/x4 and a x16 slot must be set to x4/x4/x4/x4 mode, which is also called PCIe bifurcation. This mode is mandatory to operate multiple SSDs on a single PCIe slot.If the motherboard does not support PCIe bifurcation or if there are insufficient free PCIe lanes, only one of the two SSDs can be accessed or, in the worst case, even none of the SSDs. With AM5 motherboards, X670 motherboards usually offer more PCIe lanes compared to boards with a B650 chipset. Before buying a motherboard, you should think about how many NVMe SSDs you want to use later and check the technical description how many PCIe lanes are distributed to the respective slots. Furthermore, not every x16 slot is necessarily connected to the CPU with 16 lanes. In the ASRock B650E Taichi, the lower PCIe x16 slot is only connected with 4 lanes, so the Icy Dock MB842MP-B adapter only allows access to one of the two SSDs at this slot.
After a reboot, both Crucial P3 SSDs in the Icy Dock MB842MP-B adapter are correctly recognized by our motherboard.
Windows also shows both SSDs in the Disk Management, but they still have to be initialized and formatted before data can be stored on them.
After that is done, the two SSDs are ready to use and will show up in Windows Explorer as drives “M” and “N”.
We check the condition of the SSDs with the Crystal Disk Info program. Everything looks perfect here as well. The data transfer mode is displayed correctly with PCIe 3.0 x4 and the SMART status values are also read correctly. There is no difference to the operation in an M.2 slot directly on the motherboard.
Testsystem …
For the Practical testing and speed test of the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame, we draw on our AMD Ryzen 7000 test system, which consists of the following components.| Motherboard | ASRock B650E Taichi |
| SSD | 2x Crucial P3 500GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe-1.4 CT500P3SSD8 |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600X |
| RAM | 2x 16GB Crucial DDR5-5600 |
| Graphics card | AMD Radeon RX6800XT |
| PSU | Cooler Master Reactor Gold 750 |
| Case | Fractal Design North |
| Cooler | Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 |
| Operating system | Windows 11 – Version 22H2 |
Benchmark results …
We start the performance test with the Crystal Disk Mark benchmark in the latest version to ensure that the SSDs are optimally addressed by the benchmark program. Older versions of the program can show lower data transfer rates because they are not designed for such high data transfer rates. The first of the two Crucial P3 SSDs achieves an excellent 3674MB/s in sequential read and a proud 1916MB/s in sequential write.The second SSD achieves practically the same rates with 3675MB/s in read and 1940MB/s in write.
The synthetic benchmark delivered impeccable performance scores on both SSDs, so the next step is to copy large amounts of data back and forth between the two SSDs in the Icy Dock removable frame. As expected, this also works at an impressive speed. Considering the previously determined maximum write speed of 1940MB/s, the result of a constant 1.70GB/s in the real data transfer between the two test SSDs can be classified as excellent.
With that said, the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter passed the performance test with flying colors, but what about heat dissipation?
Temperature …
Two NVMe SSDs densely packed in a closed case without active cooling sounds anything but optimal in advance. But before we jump to conclusions, we’d rather make sure with a test. For this, we run benchmarks on both SSDs for 30 minutes to fully utilize the SSDs and present a worst-case scenario. To make matters worse, the room temperature during the stress test is a summery 30°C. However, the Fractal North PC case used has a mesh side panel and is packed with fans, but they only run at 30% of the maximum speed, as they would otherwise in normal use. The Icy Dock removable frame can dissipate the heat from the SSDs without a problem, though. At the end of the stress test, the maximum temperature is 68°C at the controller chip and 50°C at the SSD’s memory. These values are far away from critical temperatures of an NVMe SSD. For comparison, we tested another Crucial P3 SSD under the motherboard’s massive aluminum heat sink, which is in the direct airflow of the case fans. With this SSD, the temperature at the controller chip was 5°C lower and the temperature of the storage chip was only 2°C lower than with the two SSDs in the Icy Dock removable frame. Thus, temperature is also not an issue when using the Icy Dock MB842MP-B removable frame.Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B removable frame Result and general impression …
Result and general impression …
The Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter did not show any weaknesses in our test and convinced all along the line. Its workmanship is impeccable, typical for Icy Dock, and handling was also extremely simple. Only when selecting the motherboard do you have to make sure that the required PCIe bifurcation mode is supported and that enough PCIe lanes are free so that both installed SSDs can be addressed.
The performance of the two Crucial P3 SSDs in the test did not suffer any losses compared to the use directly in the motherboard and the determined operating temperatures were even lower than expected.
This makes the Icy Dock ToughArmor MB842MP-B NVMe removable frame an ideal way to increase the number of high-performance SSDs in your PC. On top of that, the SSDs are also easier to replace than if they were installed directly on the motherboard.
The price of the Icy Dock MB842MP-B adapter is no bargain at around 180 Euro, but this is offset by equally clear advantages in use, which means that the Icy Dock MB842MP-B Dual NVMe to PCIe adapter still receives a clear buy recommendation via our OCinside.de Purchase Tip Award 09/2023.
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