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X1011
Tips
To verify whether it is a hardware problem:
1. Clear any RAID settings and mount each drive as a separate volume.
2. Open a second terminal to Monitor for any NVMe errors (I/O timeout, reset controller, I/O error, etc.):
pi@raspberrypi ~ $ sudo dmesg -w | grep -i nvme
3. Create a 30GB testing file on one of the SSDs:
pi@raspberrypi ~ $ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=./TestingFile bs=100M count=300 oflag=direct
4. Copy the 30GB file to multiple SSDs simultaneously (please change the path you want to copy it to):
pi@raspberrypi ~ $ echo /media/pi/cn600/ /media/pi/spcc/ /media/pi/netac/ | xargs -n 1 cp ./TestingFile
Overview
Enhance your Raspberry Pi 5 with effortless installation and lightning-fast PCIe storage speeds!
The X1011 four M.2 NVMe SSD shield, designed to provide a mass-capacity storage and high-speed storage solution for your Raspberry Pi 5. Its sleek and compact design enables easy attachment of four full-size M.2 2280 SSDs to your Raspberry Pi 5. With its PCIe 2.0 interface, you can experience data transfer rates of up to 5Gbps, allowing you to effortlessly transfer large amounts of data within seconds.
The X1011 connects to the underside of the Raspberry Pi 5, eliminating the need for a passthrough for the GPIO. This means you can use your favorite HATs while also utilizing this expansion board. Moreover, the X1011 offers versatile power options – it can draw power from the Raspberry Pi5 through pogo pins using a USB-C power supply, or alternatively, power the Raspberry Pi5 from the X1011 using a DC power adapter via the onboard DC power jack, streamlining the power supply process to a single source.
The X1011 is an ideal storage solution for creating a home media center or building a network-attached storage (NAS) system. It allows you to store and stream your own videos, music, and digital photos within your home or even remotely across the world.
X1011 supports software RAID, you can configure RAID through software such as OpenMediaVault. The same is true for X1004, X1005, etc.
After the Raspberry Pi AI Kit launched, we put four PiPs (X1001, X1004, X1011, M901) through testing; only X1011 does not support the Hailo-8 AI accelerator.
It should be noted that X1004 uses ASMedia ASM1182e PCIe switch, and X1011 uses ASM1184e, they can't support PCIe Gen 3 speed, so even though we forced to enable PCIe Gen 3.0 setting in Raspberry Pi 5, it is limited by ASMedia ASM1182e PCIe switch, and speed is still PCIe Gen 2.0 5Gbps speed. when you use an hailo-8 ai accelerator, Raspberry Pi Fundation highly recommends using PCIe 3.0 to achieve best performance with your AI Kit.
Our tentative conclusions are as follows:
- If you need to use hailo-8 ai accelerator with high performance, it is recommended to use X1001/X1015/X1003/M901/ the official M.2 HAT+ etc. When choosing these PIP boards, you should focus on whether there is a conflict between the camera cable and the PIP board installation, and enable PCIe3.0 to use hailo-8 ai accelerator. At the same time, you need to prepare an SD card as the system disk.
- If you don't care about the high performance brought by PCIe 3.0, then you can consider using X1004, so that you can use any socket of X1004 to install NVME SSD as the system disk, and another socket to install hailo-8 ai accelerator, so as to have both.
▼ Expand 📋 Geekworm PCIe to NVME Family:
Caution:
- The Matching Case section only indicates compatibility between the case, PCIe Peripheral Board and Raspberry Pi 5 Board, and excludes products in the Product Matching Reference section. Compatibility of these referenced products with the case is subject to their actual specifications.
- In addition to voltage and current, ensure that the total power of the power supply meets or exceeds the recommended input power (Total Power = Voltage x Current).
| Model | Compatible with | Position | NVMe M2 SSD Length Support | Power Input | Power Supply for SSD | Matching Case | Matching Cooler | Support NVMe Boot | Support PCIe 3.0 | Support Hailo-8 AI Accelerator | Product Matching Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X1001-Max | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242/2260/2280 |
|
3.3V ±5% Max 8A | - | X-FAN40 / Official Cooler / H501 / H510 | Yes | - | Yes |
|
| X1000 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242 |
|
3.3V, max 3.5A | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | Not tested | |
| X1001 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242/2260/2280 |
|
3.3V, max 3.5A | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | Yes | |
| X1002 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Bottom | 2230/2242/2260/2280 |
|
3.3V, max 3.5A | P580 / P580-V2 |
Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | NO | |
| X1003 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242 |
|
3.3V, max 3.5A | P579 / P425 | Official Cooler / H501 / H510 Only | Yes | - | Not tested | |
| X1004 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | Dual ssd: 2280 |
|
3.3V, max 3.5A + 3.5A | P579-V2 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes (Requires EEPROM 2024/05/17 and later version) | NO | Yes | |
| X1005 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Bottom | Dual ssd: 2230/2242/2260/2280 |
|
3.3 V, max 6A | P580-V2 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes (Requires EEPROM 2024/05/17 and later version) | NO | Yes | |
| X1011 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Bottom | 4 ssds: 2230/2242/2260/2280 |
|
3.3 V, max 10A | X1011-C1 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes (eeprom 2024/05/17 and later version) | NO | NO |
|
| X1012 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242/2260/2280 |
|
5V, 5A | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | Not tested | |
| X1015 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242/2260/2280 |
|
3.3 V, max 6A | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | Yes | |
| M901 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242/2260/2280 |
|
- | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | Yes | - |
| Q100 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2242 | - | - | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | Not tested | - |
| Q200 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | Dual ssd: 2280 | - | - | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | NO | - | Not tested | - |
| M300 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242 | - | - | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | Not tested | - |
| M400 | Raspberry Pi 5 | Top | 2230/2242/2280 | - | - | P579 | Official Cooler / Argon THRML Cooler / H501 / H505 / H509 / H510 | Yes | - | Not tested | - |
Features
| For use with |
Raspberry Pi 5 Model B |
| Key Features |
PS: The X1011 hardware has no limit on NVME SSD capacity, which is dependent on the Raspberry Pi OS. |
| Ports & Connectors |
|
| How to Power(choose one) | |
| Important Notes |
|
Matching Case
This is a X1011-C1 Metal Case for Raspberry Pi 5 & X1011 pcie to nvme shield only.
Note: Because it is a metal case, it will shield the WiFi signal, please use wired Ethernet.
Packing List of X1011-C1:
- 1 x Metal Case
- 2 x M2.5*6+3 Female/Male Space
- 2 x M2.5*6 Female/Female Space
- 4 x KM2.5*4 Screw
- 4 x pads with a diameter of 8 mm
Packing List
- 1 x X1011 V1.1 M.2 NVMe 4 SSD shield
- 2 x 37mm PCIe FFC cable (1pc is for backup)
- 8 x M2.5*5 Screws
- 2 x M2.5*5 Female/Female Spacer
- 2 x M2.5*5+5 Male/Female Spacer
- 4 x M2*4 Screws
- 4 x M2 Copper Nut
User Manual
- Dimensions source file (DXF): File:X1011-pcb.dxf - You can view it with Autodesk Viewer online
- Hardware: X1011-hardware
- Software: How to make X1011 work: Software Tutorials
- From Jeff's review video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLZET7Jhza8
- Installation Video of X1011+X1011-C1: https://youtu.be/tw_KbqDN9rc
Related links
- 4-way NVMe RAID comes to Raspberry Pi 5
- Geekworm X1011 board adds up to four NVMe SSDs to the Raspberry Pi 5
- Add-on board lets you use four NVMe SSDs at once with Raspberry Pi 5
- Geekworm X1011 PCIe to Four M.2 NVMe SSD HAT
Test & Reviews
Test Conditions
- System board details: Raspberry Pi 5 Model B Rev 1.0 , 4G RAM
- Interface board details: X1011 v1.1 NVMe dual SSD Shield
- Operation system: Raspberry Pi OS with desktop (Debian12 (bookworm), 64bit, Release date: December 5th 2023)
- Storage details: Colorful CN600 120G, Samsung PM961 120G, Netec N930E 120G, Silicon Power P34A60 120GB
Testing disk drives read speed at PCIe2.0 with hdparm
Testimonial
Email1: I purchased the Geekworm X1011 5V PCIe to Four M.2 NVMe SSD Board for Raspberry Pi 5. I installed 4 WD 4Tb NVME drives. Things ran for a bit.. (OMV7-Bookworm).. As the Raid5 set was cleaning.. OMV eventually ended by dumping all four drives.. I wonder if the 5 amp power supply is not enough.. (I am using the Geekworm GaN PD 27W 5.1V 5A Power Supply) I found a 5V 8A Power Adapter, 100-240V AC to DC Power Supply transformer on amazon.ca.. Unfortunately they do not document the configuration of the DC Jack (ASIN-809MQNBX8H, Manufacturer reference - Diocheya6gr98w1h489 Country - China). Product detail describes the connector type as default... Would you have a recommendation for a power supply with greater amps? Or.. would the 8A one described above be ok? I await your recommendation
Email2:I received the 10a power supply yesterday and pressed it into service immediately.
The best test of it was to use OMV8 (Open Media Vault 8 – under IOS – Trixie) to create a RAID5 group of all 4 nvme 4tb drives..
After a short time, one of the drives failed… (I suspect that it was hurt with the weak power from the original limited 5a power supply).. I installed a preplacement nvme drive and restarted the process.. This morning the RAID 5 group is up and working well..
This is a much better result compared with the 5a power supply.. I will update you in a week or so to let you know if anything comes up.. At this point, I would say that this 10a power supply is better for a fully populated X1011 with larger nvme drives..
Email3: The testing continues… The Crucial nvme drives did not work out as there was not enough clearance in the case. In the future it may be great to redesign the Geekworm X1011-C1 PCIe Metal Case for Raspberry Pi 5 to add at least 1cm of depth to permit better air flow for the nvme’s and clearance for the heatsinks…
I am finding the original WD Black nvme drives are failing at an alarming rate. The SanDisk warranty replacement is good but takes time (3-4 weeks).
I found that the WD Blue SN5000 NVMe SSD PCI 4.0 4tb is running without any errors. A replacement WD_BLACK SN8100 4000GB is running with only a couple of errors.. While the original WD_BLACK SN850X 4000GB has 1,169 errors and is ready to fail…
I suspect the original WD Black SN850x 4000GB drives may have been hurt is various testing in the past not related to the Geekworm products.
The power supply is great….I would recommend it for anyone running 4TB and up nvme drives…
I will continue to update you with new news once I get more WD Blue SN5000 NVMe SSD PCI 4.0 4tb drives
If you can create a deeper the Geekworm X1011-C1 PCIe Metal Case for Raspberry Pi 5 I would be happy to test it out.. (at least 1-1.5 CM deeper, and possible mounting points for an external fan to cool the drives).. I am using a fan up against the case and it really helps keep them cool!
Disk Temperatures
/dev/nvme0n1 22°C
/dev/nvme1n1 28°C
/dev/nvme2n1 29°C
Summary & Recommendations
Power Supply Requirements:
- 5V 5A (Standard): Insufficient for the X1011 when fully populated with 4 NVMe SSDs, especially during power-intensive operations like RAID5 rebuilding/cleaning. This may lead to drive disconnections or system instability.
- 5V 10A (Recommended): The Geekworm PSU50 (5V 10A) is highly recommended for configurations using 4TB or high-performance drives to ensure stable voltage and prevent data loss.
Thermal Considerations:
- High-capacity NVMe drives (e.g., WD Black series) generate significant heat. It is critical to ensure adequate airflow.
- Using an external cooling fan can maintain drive temperatures around 22°C - 29°C, significantly extending hardware lifespan.
Hardware Compatibility:
- Users should verify the physical clearance of NVMe heatsinks within the X1011-C1 metal case. Some high-profile drives or heatsinks may require additional case depth for optimal fit and airflow."
FAQ
Q: Why is PCIE SWITCH 3.0 not used?
A: Cost reasons. X1011 use pcie 2.0 is based on cost considerations, in the design and production of X1011 in the Chinese market pcie 3.0 ic price close to 30 dollars (now the price should be lower, in addition, we are a small batch production manufacturing, there is no IC purchasing bargaining power), is pcie 2.0 ic price 6 times or more. We think the final selling price is too high to be accepted by consumers; another point to note is that PI5 is certified to support PCIE 2.0 only, not PCIE 3.0.
Q: Why does the X1011 use a DC Jack instead of type-c?
A: We think about it more. TYPE-C is limited to 5A, if 4 NVME SSDs are read/written at the same time + motherboard + fan, is the TYPE-C power supply enough at peak? But DC JACK can provide more than 5A power supply, is there an extra option with DC JACK?
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