I've got an MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX motherboard and just purchased a Lexar NM790 M.2 SSD to expand my storage. However, my motherboard isn't recognizing the SSD at all. I've done some troubleshooting, but since nothing seems to work, I'm considering getting a PCIe adapter instead of a new motherboard, which seems like a more cost-effective solution.
I know I need to find an NVMe-supported adapter and avoid SATA ones. From my understanding, my motherboard supports PCIe 2.0 x16, and I'm hoping that will be sufficient for the SSD. I'm curious about the compatibility and performance aspects here.
In summary: What should I look for when buying a PCIe SSD adapter, and can my motherboard handle it? Thanks for your help!
1 Answer
It sounds like your M.2 slot should support the SSD, but if it's not showing up in Disk Management, then simply switching to a PCIe adapter might not solve the issue. You should check that your SSD is initialized and formatted properly. Remember, since your M.2 slot is gen3 and your SSD is gen4, you might experience some speed limitations. If you use an adapter connected to a PCIe gen2 slot, your speeds could drop significantly too! You might only end up getting about 25% of the SSD's rated speeds, which means you'll be looking at lower performance.
I understand about initializing in Disk Management, but it's worrisome if it’s not appearing in the BIOS either. I've read that many users with this motherboard face similar issues. If you can achieve even 25% of the SSD's speed, that’s still decent compared to your old SSD. You're mainly using it for gaming, so it should still be a worthwhile investment!