I'm building a NAS in the USA using OpenMediaVault. Budget isn't a major concern, and I recently purchased an ASUS Prime B760M-A AX motherboard. I initially thought it only had two SATA connectors, but I need to connect four SSD data drives for a RAID 6 array. Should I return the motherboard for a model with at least four SATA ports, or would a PCIe SATA expansion card be the better option? Also, does an Intel Core i3-12100F need a separate CPU cooler?
2 Answers
If a motherboard truly doesn't have enough SATA ports, either option can work, but replacing the board is usually simpler when a free return is available. A PCIe SATA controller is also reasonable, though its compatibility and firmware support matter for a NAS. When comparing boards, use the listed number of SATA 6 Gb/s ports rather than judging by their physical orientation. Also remember that a Core i3-12100F needs a CPU cooler; many retail boxed versions include Intel's stock cooler, while OEM or tray processors generally do not, so check exactly what your package contains.
You probably don't need to replace anything—the ASUS Prime B760M-A AX actually has six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Two are positioned along the bottom edge, while the other four are mounted sideways along the right edge near the 24-pin and USB-C connectors. They can be easy to miss if you're only looking at the ports facing upward.
That explains it—I only noticed the two ports that point straight up and completely missed the four side-facing connectors. Glad I checked before returning the board.