Asus Z97-A questions

kezug

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Mar 16, 2015
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I have a couple of questions regarding the capabilities of my motherboard Asus Z97-A.

1. I am not sure I understand my spec regarding the M.2 (PCIE only SSD)...would an M.2 SSD be faster or same as my existing Samsung 850 EVO 250Gb SSD ?
1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M Key, type 2260/2280 storage device supports (supports PCIE SSD Only) (found on Page vii)

2. Per the spec, its says the following, does this mean I should connect my SSD drive to the SATA Express port rather than other SATA ports for faster speed?
M.2 & SATA Express Onboard - The latest transfer technologies with up to 10 Gb/s data transfer speeds. (found on Page 8)

3. What is the purpose/benefit use of the SataExpress port on the motherboard?

4. If I do add M.2 SSD to my system, the specs indicate that I must configure my BIOS to change PCI Express Slot and M.2 Bandwidth from [PCIeX1 and 2 slot at X1 Mode] to [M.2 Mode].
What does this really mean?

5. If I enable M.2 Model, will this disable the use of anything connected to PCIeX1 or 2 slots? Currently I have a Rosewill RDCR-11003 74-In-1 USB 3.0 3.5-Inch Internal Card Reader with USB Port (RDCR-11003) connected to the PCIEX1_1 slot



My current system (in short, I have Windows 10 installed on my SSD EVO 250 Gb drive) and have separate WD drives for storage).

Here is the full configuration:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.48 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($124.98 @ Directron)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($93.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ Corsair)
Optical Drive: Sony 5280S-CB-PLUS DVD/CD Writer ($52.96 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($128.31 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell 2007FP 20.0" 1600x1200 60Hz Monitor
Monitor: Dell 2007FP 20.0" 1600x1200 60Hz Monitor
Keyboard: Logitech K350 Wireless Ergonomic Keyboard ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech M510 Wireless Laser Mouse ($19.89 @ Adorama)
External Storage: Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 1TB External Hard Drive
External Storage: Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB External Hard Drive ($79.99 @ B&H)
Internal multi-Card Reader: Rosewill RDCR-11003 74-In-1 USB 3.0 3.5-Inch Internal Card Reader with USB Port (RDCR-11003)




 
Solution
The next generation of motherboards after yours uses a different socket, the Skylake & Kabylake CPU match that socket.

While some 100 series motherboards allow usage of DDR 3, most use DDR 4. I am not sure about the new 200 series motherboards.

I am in same boat, if I ever upgrade motherboard I will be doing 3 things at once. If my old system hadn't been in need of retirement and I had looked a little harder I should have waited 6 more months. Life is like that though.

Upside is your system isn't that bad now, may not be able to easily use the two storage devices you wanted but should be able to run more ssd if need be.
1. M.2 is faster than SSD
Theoretical speeds for M.2 storage devices utilising PCI-E signalling are significantly higher than SATA3's 6Gbps (~550MB/s). Initial solutions utilise two PCI-E 2.0 lanes for a total bandwidth of 1GB/s, whilst draft specifications outline support for as many as four PCI-E 2.0 lanes or extend support to PCI-E 3.0, effectively doubling the maximum available bandwidth to 2GB/s. The flexibility of the standard also allows for additional modifications to be made at a later date should it prove necessary.
https://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/intel_z97_review_m_2_vs_sata,2.html
2. The Evo 850 is a Sata drive, you don't attach it to sata express
3. Sata express is a way to run 1 drive using 2 connections, doubling it speed, but cannot be used at same time as m.2:
SATA Express (SATA-E) is one of the anticipated features accompanying many of today’s new gaming-mainstream motherboards, but turns out to be a bit of a letdown. Pairing two standard SATA ports with a dual-lane PCIe link, it’s the cable-interface version of Intel’s M.2. Problems abound though, including the fact that it can’t be enabled simultaneously with M.2, that both M.2 and SATA-E eat PCIe lanes on a chipset that only offers eight, that both technologies also gobble up to SATA ports on a chipset that has six, and that the total bandwidth between the chipset and CPU is a scant 2 GB/s.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mainstream-gaming-z97-motherboard,3824.html

I am not sure how easy it is to find Sata express drives, I have only ever seen them in Asus videos explaining the port

I don't know about 4 & 5.
 
4 & 5. Using an M.2 in a Z97 board disables PCI slots, its a choice you have to make to use one. The newer boards have more lanes and you don't have to pick and choose. My guess would be your PCI 1x card would stop working if you installed an M.2 card

Take a look at page 2-42 of your manual, it shows its one or the other.

Your PC is very similar to what mine was like when I first got it, except you have 1 more monitor. I don't have space for two.
 
I am now finding that SATAExpress port on motherboard is an idea that never took off. I am now thinking I should just forget about this port all together.
Also, the fact that the M.2 enabling disables my other PCIExpress ports, using M.2 is something I should just forget about as well.

I guess I cant really tinker in these areas and maybe a new MOBO is in my future sooner than I thought.
 
For most desktop tasks an SSD is fast enough now, though faster is always nice its not necessarily essential. I have mostly ignored Sata express and M.2 as SSD fast enough for me (I came from hdd, its fast enough)

Thing with buying new mobo is your CPU can't use any of the newer motherboards (X99 maybe) but Z170 on use different sockets. To upgrade you need new mobo, CPU & Ram
 
The next generation of motherboards after yours uses a different socket, the Skylake & Kabylake CPU match that socket.

While some 100 series motherboards allow usage of DDR 3, most use DDR 4. I am not sure about the new 200 series motherboards.

I am in same boat, if I ever upgrade motherboard I will be doing 3 things at once. If my old system hadn't been in need of retirement and I had looked a little harder I should have waited 6 more months. Life is like that though.

Upside is your system isn't that bad now, may not be able to easily use the two storage devices you wanted but should be able to run more ssd if need be.
 
Solution
I agree with ^^^ my system is certainly performing well for me for what I do. I just wanted to tinker a bit and try out an M.2. I will not even pursue that with this current configuration.