Hey everyone! I'm looking to add a new SSD to my build and could use some advice. My motherboard is the ASUS B650E MAX GAMING WIFI, which has three M.2 slots: one PCIe 5.0 x4 that's already occupied by a 1TB OS SSD with an integrated heatsink, one PCIe 4.0 x4 that's available but blocked by my RTX 5070ti GPU, and one PCIe 4.0 x2 that's available below. I just purchased a 1TB WD_BLACK SN850X (Gen 4) with a heatsink. Which slot should I use? I mainly game (80% of the time) and do some browsing (20%). I'm concerned that putting the SSD under the GPU might cause thermal issues since the heatsink won't fit there. However, if I use the PCIe 4.0 x2 slot below, I can keep the heatsink on, but I'm not sure if there would be a significant performance drop. Any thoughts? Thanks!
3 Answers
I recommend checking the motherboard manual for specifics. Sometimes using certain M.2 slots might disable some SATA ports or reduce PCIe speeds, so it’s good to be informed before making a choice!
Definitely check your motherboard's manual. It usually explains if using specific M.2 slots lowers the speed or disables any connections. That way, you can make the best choice for your setup!
I'll do that, thank you for your input ^^
For your needs, it doesn't really matter which slot you choose; all of them will work well for gaming and browsing. Heat shouldn’t be much of an issue either, especially for an SSD.
Got it, thank you!
Thanks, I'll check the manual!