[SOLVED] Advice Regarding Utilization of Two nVME SSDs

[ari1717]

Hi,

I've been using a 256GB nVME SSD from a brand called Asgard (Chinese brand) for about a year now. It has been running fine, and takes up the only m.2 slot only Gigabyte GA-AX370 Gaming motherboard. During the recent sale on Amazon, I've snagged a Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500 GB SSD, which, going by the reviews, is among the top SSDs in the market today.

Naturally, I'd want to use this as my primary boot drive and would replace the Asgard 256GB SSD with the Evo Plus 500GB in the m.2 slot (double the space too!).

Question is, what do I do with the Asgard SSD that I have ? It is working perfectly well, and I see no reason to turn it into a very very light paperweight. From my research, my options are -

1. a M.2 to PCI-E card that sits in the second PCI-E slot on my motherboard (first one taken up by my GPU).
2. a M.2 to USB-C/USB 3.1 enclosure that turns the Asgard into a glorous pendrive.
3. Sell the Asgard and recoup some money.

The problems with all three approaches are as follows -

1. The second PCI-E slot sits directly below the fans of my GPU (RTX 2060 FE). This means the card will get hot air blown into it at all times when I'm gaming. Though it is true that the m.2 slot on my motherboard is below the GPU for practical purposes and also gets its fair share of heat. But getting the full fan blast is something I'm even worried about.

2. I'm not sure about compatibility/drivers associated with these USB-C enclosures. Plus, I really don't want to turn my fastest (soon to be second-fastest) drive on my computer into a peripheral.

3. If everything else goes to hell, maybe I can sell it. But it's a Chinese brand with little recognition. Not sure if I'll get a good price.

So, short of getting a new motherboard, these are my options and I can't find any other option. Hoping the experienced folks here will guide me so I can make the best use of my two nVME SSDs.

Thanks in advance!

Ari.

 

[SteveRX4]

Unless you can and want to use it then I'd sell it.

 

[ari1717]

Unless you can and want to use it then I'd sell it.

Thanks. I'd prefer to use the 256GB available and would rather sell my older 120GB SATA SSD. But I'm weighing the cost and convenience of using the Asgard nvme SSD against selling it. If it is too costly or temperature prohibitive then I'd probably sell it.

 

[SteveRX4]

I think your first two options would require buying more stuff. I'd prefer to keep things simple.
I have a 250gb nvme drive for my OS
I have a 1tb nvme drive for data, games and programs

 

[bignastyid]

Imho selling it isn't going to be worth it given the price of new 256Gb nvme drives.

You can get fairly low profile pci-e to nvme adapters that should not have much affect on GPU cooling, if you want to use it as extra storage.
https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-NVMe-PCIe-Aluminum-EC-PCIE/dp/B084GDY2PW