MCIO Cable Assemblies
MCIO — Mini Cool Edge IO — is the 0.6 mm pitch internal cable connector defined in SFF-TA-1016. It carries PCIe lanes between the motherboard, risers, retimer and switch cards and drive backplanes in current servers, and PCI-SIG's CopprLink internal cable specification is built on the same connector family. Each MCIO line is quoted either as an assembly built to your drawing by our manufacturing partner or as a finished cable sourced by part number, and the quotation says which.
Where MCIO assemblies are used
NVMe drive backplanes
MCIO to MCIO, or MCIO to U.2 drive connectors, from the board to the front drive bays.
Risers and card cages
Cabled PCIe from the board to riser cards and GPU or NIC slots that sit away from the motherboard.
Retimer and switch cards
Short links where a PCIe retimer or switch card sits between the host and the devices it serves.
What you can specify
Each point is confirmed with our manufacturing partner before the quotation. Connectors are the genuine parts your drawing names, and an alternative is used only with your written approval.
- Lane width at each end — x4, x8 or x16 — including an x8 split into two x4
- The far end: MCIO, U.2, SlimSAS, a PCIe slot or your own board
- Length, kept as short as the routing allows
- Straight or right-angle plugs, and the cable exit direction
- Sideband signals and their pin assignment
- Labels for host and device ends
Testing and records
Assemblies built to your drawing are continuity tested unit by unit and ship with a test report; sourced cables ship as supplied by their maker. Signal-integrity data such as insertion loss or impedance is never assumed: if your link needs it, say so in the RFQ, and whether and how it can be measured is confirmed before the quotation.
Continuity runs on every lane conductor and sideband line against the pin map on your drawing.
How testing and records work →How long can the cable be?
Sum the PCIe channel the way the specifications budget it, host package to device, and read the margin a given length, wire gauge and host trace leave at Gen4, Gen5 or Gen6. Every figure is sourced on the page and can be replaced with your own.
Open the MCIO / SlimSAS insertion loss calculator →Common questions
Is MCIO the same as SlimSAS?
No. Both use a 0.6 mm pitch, but MCIO (SFF-TA-1016) is the newer connector, built for PCIe Gen5 and Gen6, while SlimSAS (SFF-8654) is common on SAS and PCIe Gen4 platforms. They are separate connectors, so a cable that joins an MCIO port to a SlimSAS port carries one of each.
Can one MCIO x8 cable feed two x4 drives?
Yes: a cable with one x8 plug at the host and two x4 ends is the usual way to reach two NVMe drives, provided the host port is set to split. The drawing should show which lanes go to which drive.
Do you build MCIO cables or source them?
It depends on the design, and the quotation says which: an assembly built to your drawing by our manufacturing partner, or a finished cable sourced by part number. A sourced cable ships as its maker supplies it.
What should an MCIO cable RFQ include?
The lane width at each end, both connector types and orientations, lengths, the PCIe generation, sideband needs, and a part number if you already have a reference cable.
Related connectors
Industries
Connector and series names on these pages — JST, Molex, Micro-Fit, Mini-Fit, PicoBlade, Pico-Lock, CLIK-Mate, PCIe, MCIO, SlimSAS, OCuLink, HSD, HFM and DEUTSCH among them — may be trademarks of their respective owners. They are used only to identify the connectors an assembly is built with or mates with. Interconnix is not affiliated with, sponsored by or an authorized distributor of any connector maker.