Help finding compatible M.2 drive

[aliaskary77]

I have an Asus Z97I-PLUS.

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97IPLUS/specifications/
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...28.1818277080.1556205172-930815531.1556205172

Storage Spec:
4 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s)
1 x M.2 Socket 3, , with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode) (Manual says upto 10 Gb/s and shares bandwidth with PCIE x2 slot, which I dont see. It only has the x16 GPU slot)


I am using all 4 x SATA ports: 2 850Pro in Raid 0, 1 850EVO and 1 Seagate 4TB spinner

I was thinking of getting a larger M.2 drive since the prices have come down. However, support was not able to answer a few things.
1. Can I use it in addition to the 4 drives, or will I have to give up 1 SATA port
2. Can I boot of it or no

The other is what drives can i use on it? I assume NVMe will not work on it, or will it? Any specific drives recommendations that would be compatible?

Thanks.

 

[x509]

I have an Asus Z97I-PLUS.

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97IPLUS/specifications/
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...28.1818277080.1556205172-930815531.1556205172

Storage Spec:
4 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s)
1 x M.2 Socket 3, , with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode) (Manual says upto 10 Gb/s and shares bandwidth with PCIE x2 slot, which I dont see. It only has the x16 GPU slot)


I am using all 4 x SATA ports: 2 850Pro in Raid 0, 1 850EVO and 1 Seagate 4TB spinner

I was thinking of getting a larger M.2 drive since the prices have come down. However, support was not able to answer a few things.
1. Can I use it in addition to the 4 drives, or will I have to give up 1 SATA port
2. Can I boot of it or no

The other is what drives can i use on it? I assume NVMe will not work on it, or will it? Any specific drives recommendations that would be compatible?

Thanks.

Stupid question. Can you get an add-on SATA ports card?

x509

 

[mda]

BASED on ASUS's website, you won't need to give up any SATA ports for this.

NVME booting was spotty on Z97 boards. SATA *may* do better. I am not quite sure.

 

[aliaskary77]

Stupid question. Can you get an add-on SATA ports card?

x509

no, only 1 PCIeslot on this board...used by GTX970. had to double check when i saw posts about sata pcie adapters.
Next build I will likely not go this small, but has been nice.

 

[aliaskary77]

BASED on ASUS's website, you won't need to give up any SATA ports for this.

NVME booting was spotty on Z97 boards. SATA *may* do better. I am not quite sure.

Booting not really a concern on this build. was thinking using a 2TB intel QLC drive with prices this low, i could remove the 4TB seagate, opening up the inside for better airflow/cabling.