Hey everyone! I'm working on my setup with an Asus ROG STRIX B650E-F motherboard and I have an older M.2 hard drive (TEAMGROUP MS30 256 GB M.2-2280 SATA SSD). I tried to select it on PC Part Picker but it's not showing up as compatible. I'm confused—could it really not work? Any insights? Thanks in advance!
4 Answers
It seems that your motherboard doesn’t support M.2 SATA drives. The ROG Strix B650E-F may have support for other types of drives, but SATA drives likely won't work in the M.2 slots.
Looks like your SSD is a SATA type with a B+M key, and unfortunately, the B650E-F motherboard only has M key slots which are for NVMe drives. You might want to consider this when planning your build.
If your goal is to keep using older hardware alongside new setups, you might just plug that SSD in like an external drive. There are enclosures available that can help you use it as a standard 2.5" drive.
It might work if the specs confirm that slot supports SATA drives, but honestly, it’s not the best idea for a new build. NVMe drives are so affordable now! You can get a 1TB NVMe for around $60, and it'll perform much better—especially if you're using it for your OS.
Totally agree! M.2 drives are pretty cheap these days, and 256GB is definitely minimal for a modern setup. If you can swing it, upgrading to a 1TB or even a 2TB NVMe would be a great move for your new AM5 system.