[SOLVED] Help with M.2 slots and how they affect SATA ports.

Aug 6, 2020
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Hello! I'm on PC Part Picker and I got this compatibility message:

"The motherboard M.2 slot #1 shares bandwidth with a SATA 6.0 Gb/s port. When the M.2 slot is populated, one SATA 6.0 Gb/s port is disabled."

I'm unsure if this is going to affect me or not because I am inexperienced and I do not know if I will be using the M.2 slot. I really appreciate any help/assistance!
I also get the message "Some physical dimension restrictions cannot (yet) be automatically checked, such as cpu cooler / RAM clearance with modules using tall heat spreaders. " and I don't know how or what I am supposed to measure to make sure everything fits. Thank you for your time and help!

This is what I have set up so far:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mjpWgJ

CPU: *Intel Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI B360 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 Mesh w/ Controller ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
 
Last edited:
Solution
The board you're looking at has one port on the SATA connectors shared to an M.2 port on the board. That being said, when you have a SATA based M.2 drive in the M.2 slot, SATA port 1 will be disabled. If you have an NVMe PCIe based SSD in the M.2 slot, SATA port 1 will be available. You're good to go with the current storage setup though I'd ask you to look at the Samsung 970 Evo Plus or the SN750 from Western Digital as opposed to the SN550 as the primary SSD.

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
The board you're looking at has one port on the SATA connectors shared to an M.2 port on the board. That being said, when you have a SATA based M.2 drive in the M.2 slot, SATA port 1 will be disabled. If you have an NVMe PCIe based SSD in the M.2 slot, SATA port 1 will be available. You're good to go with the current storage setup though I'd ask you to look at the Samsung 970 Evo Plus or the SN750 from Western Digital as opposed to the SN550 as the primary SSD.
 
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Solution

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Hello! I'm on PC Part Picker and I got this compatibility message:

"The motherboard M.2 slot #1 shares bandwidth with a SATA 6.0 Gb/s port. When the M.2 slot is populated, one SATA 6.0 Gb/s port is disabled."

I'm unsure if this is going to affect me or not because I am inexperienced and I do not know if I will be using the M.2 slot. I really appreciate any help/assistance!
I also get the message "Some physical dimension restrictions cannot (yet) be automatically checked, such as cpu cooler / RAM clearance with modules using tall heat spreaders. " and I don't know how or what I am supposed to measure to make sure everything fits. Thank you for your time and help!

This is what I have set up so far:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mjpWgJ

CPU: *Intel Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI B360 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 Mesh w/ Controller ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
You don't have that many SATA drives listed. There are 4 additional SATA ports. and SATA 1 is only disabled if you have a SATA M.2 device. You don't.
The Block diagram on page 21 of the users manual explains most things.
 
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maybe something more up to date:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-10300 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: ASRock H470 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($88.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card ($239.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 Mesh w/ Controller ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ Corsair)
Total: $1023.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-06 08:20 EDT-0400
 
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Aug 6, 2020
2
0
10
The board you're looking at has one port on the SATA connectors shared to an M.2 port on the board. That being said, when you have a SATA based M.2 drive in the M.2 slot, SATA port 1 will be disabled. If you have an NVMe PCIe based SSD in the M.2 slot, SATA port 1 will be available. You're good to go with the current storage setup though I'd ask you to look at the Samsung 970 Evo Plus or the SN750 from Western Digital as opposed to the SN550 as the primary SSD.
Thank you!! I also switched to the SN750 I appreciate it so much!! :)