I’m building a new PC with an MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi and need 4 TB plus 2 TB plus 2 TB of storage. I’m used to SATA drives, but I’m confused about the M.2 slots and whether three drives will fit.
Where are the SSD slots on this board, and what should I buy?
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ZORK+5
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The M.2 sockets are covered by the motherboard heatsinks, so they can be hard to spot in product photos. The board has four M.2 slots in total. Check the manual’s diagram for their exact locations and supported drive sizes, then remove the matching heatsink covers to install the drives.
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For the M.2 slots, look for M.2 NVMe drives, not M.2 SATA drives. M.2 describes the small stick-shaped format, while NVMe is the connection type these slots use. You can also use regular SATA drives with the board’s SATA connectors, so SATA storage has not disappeared. The manual is the safest place to check compatibility before buying.
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Three drives should be within the board’s four-slot count. You don’t need to fill every slot at once, either. If you’re choosing between PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 NVMe drives, a 4.0 model is a sensible option for typical PC use, and often costs less. Check the manual for any slot-specific limits before ordering.
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ZORK+5:
So taking those covers off for installation is normal? I was worried they were part of the board itself.