m.2 slots - all the confusion

V

vidoprof

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
468
SO. I bought a Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master MB. It has (3) NVME slots. It seems they are all PCIe x1 slots though. I thought they were supposed to be x4 to give me the fastest data speeds. What am I missing?

Also: 2 of the 3 slots are Full length 110mm with heat spreaders that are 110mm. How do I put my 80mm 970 Evo in the 110mm slot? They first 80mm slot is already filled with a separate 970 evo.

I only have (1) GPU 1060 6gb and the the (2) NVME drives and 1 sata drive. That's it.

Any help you can give me would be great!

Thanks
 
Ok. I found out that the x1 slots are NOT the NVME slots. The NVME slots are indeed x4. It's the smaller little black slots that are x1.

BUT.

2 of the 3 slots are Full length 110mm with heat spreaders that are 110mm. How do I put my 80mm 970 Evo in the 110mm slot? They first 80mm slot is already filled with a separate 970 evo.

Any help is always appreciated
 
*edit*

I misread - Sorry. There should be a way for that to fit. Maybe its just by retention of the top cover holding the 80mm drive in?
 
Last edited:
Move the screw mounting post from the 110mm hole to the 80mm hole.

See 1st pic in this link:
https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/8...s-master-intel-motherboard-review/index3.html

image.php
 
Are you sure there are no shorter standoffs so that you can support your drive with one and leave the heat spreader alone?

With that said I left the heat spreader off when I installed my 1TB 960 EVO in my ASUS PRIME PRO X470
 
drescherjm said:
Are you sure there are no shorter standoffs so that you can support your drive with one and leave the heat spreader alone?

With that said I left the heat spreader off when I installed my 1TB 960 EVO in my ASUS PRIME PRO X470
Click to expand...

There ARE def standoffs. But IF I do that (I don't have an extra standoff) the I won't have one for the screw at 110mm. Not sure what would happen if I moved the stand off and the screw to the 80mm slot. The heat spreader wouldn't be held down at all, thus no benefit from it. I guess I COULD leave the heat spreader OFF, but again no benefit from it then. Thoughts?
 
vidoprof said:
There ARE def standoffs. But IF I do that (I don't have an extra standoff) the I won't have one for the screw at 110mm. Not sure what would happen if I moved the stand off and the screw to the 80mm slot. The heat spreader wouldn't be held down at all, thus no benefit from it. I guess I COULD leave the heat spreader OFF, but again no benefit from it then. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

You don't really benefit from a heat spreader anyway. I'd just say remove it.
 
Page 33 of your user manual:

Step 1:
Get a screw and a standoff from the included
M.2 screw and standoff packs. Locate the M.2
connector where you will install the M.2 SSD, use
a screwdriver to unfasten the screw on the heatsink
and then remove the heatsink.

Step 2:
Locate the proper mounting hole for the M.2 SSD to
be installed and then tighten the standoff first. Insert
the M.2 SSD into the M.2 connector at an angle.

Step 3:
Press the M.2 SSD down and then secure it with
the screw. Replace the heatsink and secure it to
the original hole.


So by that, you should have the extra screws and standoffs in the box. Use extras to secure the drive and use the ones already on MB for the heatsink.

EDIT: Youtube unboxing vids show two pairs of extra standoff/screws individually packaged (4x tiny packages) included in the box.
 
Last edited:
DangerousMan said:
Page 33 of your user manual:

Step 1:
Get a screw and a standoff from the included
M.2 screw and standoff packs. Locate the M.2
connector where you will install the M.2 SSD, use
a screwdriver to unfasten the screw on the heatsink
and then remove the heatsink.

Step 2:
Locate the proper mounting hole for the M.2 SSD to
be installed and then tighten the standoff first. Insert
DangerousMan said:
Page 33 of your user manual:

Step 1:
Get a screw and a standoff from the included
M.2 screw and standoff packs. Locate the M.2
connector where you will install the M.2 SSD, use
a screwdriver to unfasten the screw on the heatsink
and then remove the heatsink.

Step 2:
Locate the proper mounting hole for the M.2 SSD to
be installed and then tighten the standoff first. Insert
the M.2 SSD into the M.2 connector at an angle.

Step 3:
Press the M.2 SSD down and then secure it with
the screw. Replace the heatsink and secure it to
the original hole.


So by that, you should have the extra screws and standoffs in the box. Use extras to secure the drive and use the ones already on MB for the heatsink.

EDIT: Youtube unboxing vids show two pairs of extra standoff/screws individually packaged (4x tiny packages) included in the box.
Click to expand...

the M.2 SSD into the M.2 connector at an angle.

Step 3:
Press the M.2 SSD down and then secure it with
the screw. Replace the heatsink and secure it to
the original hole.


So by that, you should have the extra screws and standoffs in the box. Use extras to secure the drive and use the ones already on MB for the heatsink.

EDIT: Youtube unboxing vids show two pairs of extra standoff/screws individually packaged (4x tiny packages) included in the box.[/QUOTE


Thanks so much. I guess I didn't see them upon first look. I will check again.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top