Question Gigabyte aorus x470 gaming 7 m.2 install question

[trevthed]

I bought the Gigabyte aorus x470 gaming 7 on Facebook marketplace for a new build. I'm trying to install a Western Digital blue SN500 NVMe 500gb M.2 drive. The sockets are shown in the picture (without the heat sinks) .

The motherboard didn't come with any stand-offs. Does anyone have experience with this motherboard and know if the stand-offs shown in the picture should come off, or if those ones are fixed (for the heat sinks) and there are supposed to be other stand-offs to hold the actual drive in place? I've tried unscrewing them (even with pliers, but not too hard), but if they are supposed to come loose then they are very very tight!

I have asked the seller but they aren't sure if they have any extra parts...

The second part of the question is what to do if I can't find any stand-offs and I can't remove the ones in the picture. The WD blue is 2280, so I can fit it to the bottom m.2 socket, but this is only PCIe 2.0 x4, and the drive is PCIe 3.0x2. The top slot is PCIe 3.0x4.

Will I see a big performance hit if I just use the bottom socket? Will it be with trying to buy extra stand-offs on eBay or something?

 

[Mrgr74]

It's just tight. Remember, Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosy. Here is a video of it coming out & installing an m.2. Didn't your M.2 come with the small mounting screws to hold it down? Mine did, thats why I asked. Check in a small baggy on the bottom of the tray the drive came in. May be in the manual as well.

 

[trevthed]

It's just tight. Remember, Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosy. Here is a video of it coming out & installing an m.2. Didn't your M.2 come with the small mounting screws to hold it down? Mine did, thats why I asked. Check in a small baggy on the bottom of the tray the drive came in. May be in the manual as well.

Lol. Thanks. I remember the whole righty tighty thing. There wasn't much in the M.2 box. Just the drive and some warranty info stuff. No screws, no manual. I found an unboxing of the same drive and theirs was the same.

It's easy for you to say it's just tight... I had pliers on the damn thing! This is the instructions from the motherboard manual for installing an M.2 drive. To me it implies that there are separate fastenings for the drive and for the heat sink.

Follow the steps below to correctly install an M.2 SSD in the M.2 connector.
Step 1:Get a screw and a standoff from the included M.2 screw kit. 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😛ress the M.2 SSD down and then secure it with the screw. Replace the heatsink and secure it to the original hole.
Select the proper hole for the M.2 SSD to be installed and refasten the screw and nut.