Is My Motherboard Compatible with a New SSD?
Asked by
TechSavant93
I'm looking to expand my storage by adding another SSD, but I'm not sure if my motherboard can support it. I've found a great deal on an SSD that I want to buy, but since this is my first time doing a PC upgrade, I'd love some advice from those who know more about this. Here are the specs for my motherboard: ROG Strix Z490-A Gaming. And I'm considering buying the Kingston KC3000 M.2 NVMe SSD with 2TB of storage. Any guidance would be really appreciated to make sure I don't end up with incompatible parts!
Answers
Yes, your board supports two NVMe M.2 SSDs! Just keep in mind they'll run at PCIe 3.0 speeds, which means you might notice some limitations if you expect super high speeds—those will cap around 3,500MBps for reads and 3,000MBps for writes. Also, double-check if you have the M.2 standoff and screws to properly install it, since they sometimes don’t come with the motherboard.
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Your motherboard actually has two NVMe slots, so you should be good to go with adding that SSD! Just make sure you have an available slot before you install.
StorageHero21: Does it matter which slot I should use for the SSD? Is there a preferred slot, or does it not really matter?
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DIYDan: Could you explain what exactly an M.2 standoff and screw are? And where’s the best place to find them if I don’t have any?