Question How many concurrent I/O connection on Asus Prime Z370-A mobo

[XEyedBear]

I'm confused about how many devices I can have operating concurrently on an ASUS Prime Z370-A motherboard. Can somebody authoritatively clarify this please?

The spec sheet for the Intel Z370 says it supports up to 6 SATA (6 Gb/s), 3 PCIe M.2, 10 USB V3.1 Gen1, 14 USB total.
The implementation on the ASUS Prime Z370-A has 6 x SATA , 2 x M.2 and 2 x USB 3.1, but I have the impression that not all these connection can be used at the same time. In fact I think that that use of 1 or both M.2 ports disables an equivalent number of SATA ports and the same restriction applies to the USB 3.1 ports, implying that only 6 I/O devices (aside from graphics) can be active at any one time. And there is no automatic switching between them. Is this correct?

Can I repeat the question for the Z370-P II version of this board, please?

On either board can I run 1 x SSD, 3 x SATA HDDs, 1 x M.2 and 2 external USB 3 drives all at the same time?

 

[13thmonkey]

I see no signs of USB removing storage devices.

But the M.2 slots do stop 1xSata III or 2xSata III ports from working, depending on which you use.

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/PRIME_Z370-A/E13271_PRIME_Z370-A_UM_WEB.pdf

 

[karenjoly]

The 370 shares sata ports where the M.2 ports are used regardless whether the M.2 device is sata or NVMe.
The z 390 will not occupy a sata port when the M.2 device is NVMe.

 

[13thmonkey]

The 370 shares sata ports where the M.2 ports are used regardless whether the M.2 device is sata or NVMe.
The z 390 will not occupy a sata port when the M.2 device is NVMe.

It shares 2 ports in x4 mode, and 1 port in sata mode.

 

[karenjoly]

No . You are confusing the two boards. Look at the 390 spec. Sharing only when using sata mode M.2. No sharing in pcie mode


Intel® Z390 Chipset :
1 x M.2 Socket 3, , with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (SATA & PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*5

*5 The M.2_1 socket shares bandwidth with SATA_2 port when using M.2 SATA devices. Adjust BIOS settings to use a SATA device.

 

[13thmonkey]

*1. The M.2_1 socket shares SATA_1 port when use M.2 SATA mode device. Adjust BIOS settings to use a SATA device.
*2. The M.2_2 socket shares SATA_56 ports when use M.2 PCIE mode device in X4 mode. Adjust BIOS settings to use M.2 PCIE devices in X4 mode.

officialsite

asus offcial site

www.asus.com

 

[karenjoly]

Hello ?
I have been referring to the ASUS PRIME Z390-A , you continue to describe the ASUS PRIME z370-A. There is a difference. I gave the OP an extra 2 ports !

 

[13thmonkey]

The 370 shares sata ports where the M.2 ports are used regardless whether the M.2 device is sata or NVMe.
The z 390 will not occupy a sata port when the M.2 device is NVMe.

I stated that the 370 uses 1 or 2 ports depending on the circumstances.

No . You are confusing the two boards. Look at the 390 spec. Sharing only when using sata mode M.2. No sharing in pcie mode


Intel® Z390 Chipset :
1 x M.2 Socket 3, , with M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (SATA & PCIE 3.0 x 4 mode)*5

*5 The M.2_1 socket shares bandwidth with SATA_2 port when using M.2 SATA devices. Adjust BIOS settings to use a SATA device.

You then started down this path.

No need for the 'hello?' comment, lets keep things non sarcastic. We're probably both to blame for misinterpretations.

The 370 looks to be end of life though, and as above you'll need to go up a notch to change anything.

 

[karenjoly]

You still fail to get the point. I quoted the z390 spec which does not rob sata ports when the pcie bus is used at an M.2 port. OP was asking about ports and I showed where the 390 was better equipped than the one he asked about. You keept on about the z 370 for some reason.

 

[13thmonkey]

You are failing to get the point, he asked what happens for the 370, I answered what happens for the 370.

You stated something about the 370.

The 370 shares sata ports where the M.2 ports are used regardless whether the M.2 device is sata or NVMe.

I clarified the 370 position, with there being different numbers of ports being blocked in different circumstances.

I'm not confusing the two boards, I'm answering the specific question about the 370.