M.2 PCIe SSD to PCIe 3.0 x4 Final improvements

[Kisianik]

Hi

I am thinking about final upgrades for my system.
Specs
Asus Maximus VII Hero
4790K overclocked to 4.4GHz (permanent) on Noctua air
EVGA GTX 970 will upgrade to EVGA 1080 FTW in the near future
16GB 2100MHz DDR3 ADATA RAM
512GB Samsung 850 PRO SSD thinking for M2 upgrade
850 watt EVGA PSU
bunch of hard drives

Here is the picture of my MOBO

2 Questions.

My M2 slot is covered by massive Nocua CPU cooler, so I was thinking about using one of my PCIE slots for the M.2 PCIe SSD to PCIe 3.0 x4 "riser" card.

I have basically 3 PCIE x16 3.0 slots:
1. PCIE x16 (x16/x8) occupied by GPU
2. PCIE x16 (x8)
3. PCIE x16 (x4)

I am not planning on SLI, so slots 2 and 3 are vacant.

I am looking into something like this

Which is Best Compute M.2 PCIe SSD to PCIe 3.0 x4 and M.2 SATA SSD to SATA III Adapter Card.

First question.

In which PCIE slot this card can operate, as I am not planning to use M2 to SATA SSD, just M2 to PCIE x4 SSD.
I am not sure what my MOBO is capable in that issue, but I seen somewhere, for different motherboard with just 2 PCIE x16 slots, that similar card, when placed into PCIE x16 (x8) slot, decreases primary lanes to x8 (PCIE x16 becomes X8).
But I have also PCIE x16 (x4) slot, can I place that card into this slot, if yes, what I will loose in terms of the bandwidth?

Does anyone can recommend good card for that purpose.

I seen discouraging reports about Lycom DT-120, people tested it and they have half or less of M2 SSD advertised speeds, which is still faster than SATA SSD, but....

The card I pictured above has only simple positive reviews, which seems like bots to me, not a single speed test.
I don't mind to pay extra for a good, proven card (USA).

This is all.

appreciate in advance for any helpful suggestions..

 

[John Philips]

Intel Optane SSD P4800X Series (375GB, 1/2 Height PCIe x4, 20nm, 3D XPoint) , if you don´t mind paying an extra, will fit your 4x slot and is the best ssd in world.

 

[geofelt]

Your user manual should have some detailed answers.

My guess is that you could put the adapter in either the X4 or X8 pcie slot and it should operate at max data transfer speed.

I would not worry if your graphics card needs to operate at X8, Only the very strongest graphics cards show any degradation, and what there is will be very minimal.

Since ypu pick your own ssd, I would pisk Samsung of some sort.
They generally perform better and have a better warranty.
I am not at all certain the the 960 Pro is worth it for the slightly higher performance over the 960 EVO.
For the most part, the benefit of any ssd is in the random access times, and that does not differ much.

I agree, it would be a pain to dismount and remount the cooler.
On y motherboard, the m.2 slot is under the graphics card which is no bargain either.

 

[Kisianik]

Intel Optane SSD P4800X Series (375GB, 1/2 Height PCIe x4, 20nm, 3D XPoint) , if you don´t mind paying an extra, will fit your 4x slot and is the best ssd in world.

Thanks but no thanks $1,806.00 - is to much extra. I was thinking about more quality PCIE raiser card.

But I absolutely forgot about that option - PCIE SSD, will investigate.

 

[Kisianik]

Your user manual should have some detailed answers.

My guess is that you could put the adapter in either the X4 or X8 pcie slot and it should operate at max data transfer speed.

I would not worry if your graphics card needs to operate at X8, Only the very strongest graphics cards show any degradation, and what there is will be very minimal.

Since ypu pick your own ssd, I would pisk Samsung of some sort.
They generally perform better and have a better warranty.
I am not at all certain the the 960 Pro is worth it for the slightly higher performance over the 960 EVO.
For the most part, the benefit of any ssd is in the random access times, and that does not differ much.

I agree, it would be a pain to dismount and remount the cooler.
On y motherboard, the m.2 slot is under the graphics card which is no bargain either.

My M2 slot is under CPU cooler frame, in order to use this slot I have to change cooling to liquid, not worth it.

Choosing SSD is no brainer, itr is an easy choice - Samsung 960 for sure EVO or PRO, this is not the question.

Question is about quality of M.2 PCIe SSD to PCIe 3.0 x4 card. So far I did not see a good one. All of them cost below $30 or so.
When I said extra, I meant that higher quality usually cost more, so considering spending much on 500 GB M2 SSD, I can overspend on proven good raizer card.

And I think I would have to ask motherboard question @ Asus forums, unless someone here (with knowledge in this matter) will join conversation.

Thanks for replies folks, keep them coming. we will figure it out eventually, I have my thrust in this forum.

 

[mdd1963]

You don't want any SATA only spec M.2 drives, on an adapter or in an M.2 slot....ever.,as they would perform exactly like standard SATA drives (540 MB/sec), just in an M.2 format.

Get an NVME spec drive...
If you will write the typical 1 TB/month like most people, the 960 EVO is plenty; if you need/anticipate 10-12 TB of writes per month, get the 960 Pro...

(If your chosen MB comes with goofy color coordinated shrouds masquerading as heatsinks on top if it's M.2 slots, remove them, as a little air blowing across them prevents throttling in extended write sessions....)

 

[Kisianik]

You don't want any SATA only spec M.2 drives, on an adapter or in an M.2 slot....ever.,as they would perform exactly like standard SATA drives (540 MB/sec), just in an M.2 format.

Get an NVME spec drive...
If you will write the typical 1 TB/month like most people, the 960 EVO is plenty; if you need/anticipate 10-12 TB of writes per month, get the 960 Pro...

(If your chosen MB comes with goofy color coordinated shrouds masquerading as heatsinks on top if it's M.2 slots, remove them, as a little air blowing across them prevents throttling in extended write sessions....)

I am talking only about M2 spec drives. Problem is the rizer PCIE x4 card. I have regular PRO SSD right now, and most likely would go with 960 PRO as well.

Card, card is the question - I don't have M2 slot.