Question M.2 & SATA Limitations on GIGABYTE Aorus B550 Elite V2?

[vollachr]

Hi,

I have a GIGABYTE Aorus B550 Elite V2 motherboard, currently running 1 M.2 NVME & 4 SATA drives, planning due to two failing mechanical HDDs to replace them with 1 SATA SSD & 1 m.2 NVME SSD, thing is, I can't figure out if my board allows to use all M.2 & SATA ports at the same time, I know for sure that both M.2 ports can be used together, even in RAID as long as both M.2 Drives are same interface (SATA/PCIE) what I can't figure out and the board manual doesn't specify is if I do use both M.2 ports, can I still use all 4 SATA ports and if not, how many gets disabled, anybody got an answer for me?

Obviously, due to my failing HDDs I need an answer as soon as possible, can't delay much in fear of data loss.

Thanks.

 

[USAFRet]

As always, ask the manufacturer:
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B550-AORUS-ELITE-V2-rev-10/sp#sp

-----------------------------

1. 1 x M.2 connector (M2A_CPU), integrated in the CPU, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SSDs:
   • AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series and Ryzen™ 3000 Series Processors support SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSDs
   • AMD Ryzen™ Ryzen™ 5000 G-Series and Ryzen™ 4000 G-Series Processors support SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 SSDs
2. 1 x M.2 connector (M2B_SB), integrated in the Chipset, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SSDs:
   - Supporting SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 SSDs
3. 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors, integrated in the Chipset:
   - Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10

-------------------------------

It says nothing about disabling SATA ports if M.2 drives are used, so one would expect that they are not disabled.


(and please....disregard any RAID foolishness)

 

[vollachr]

As always, ask the manufacturer:
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B550-AORUS-ELITE-V2-rev-10/sp#sp

-----------------------------

1. 1 x M.2 connector (M2A_CPU), integrated in the CPU, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SSDs:
   • AMD Ryzen™ 5000 Series and Ryzen™ 3000 Series Processors support SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSDs
   • AMD Ryzen™ Ryzen™ 5000 G-Series and Ryzen™ 4000 G-Series Processors support SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 SSDs
2. 1 x M.2 connector (M2B_SB), integrated in the Chipset, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SSDs:
   - Supporting SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 SSDs
3. 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors, integrated in the Chipset:
   - Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10

-------------------------------

It says nothing about disabling SATA ports if M.2 drives are used, so one would expect that they are not disabled.


(and please....disregard any RAID foolishness)

That is/was my hope, in my previous motherboard there was only one M.2 and using it disabled 2 SATA ports but it was specifically specified in both Manual & on the Manufacturer website, it was a real headache when I added M.2 to the pre-existing system on that one, so yeah, I would assume the same thing you say but I really wanted to be sure before I spend money, don't want to buy something I won't be able to use, guess I'm just looking for input to ease my mind before I buy.

 

[USAFRet]

Some motherboards do, some don't.

If it DID disable one or more SATA ports, the specs and user manual would state this.

My current B550M Aorus Pro also does not disable any.
I have 2x M.2 NVMe, and 4x SATA III SSD.

 

[vollachr]

Some motherboards do, some don't.

If it DID disable one or more SATA ports, the specs and user manual would state this.

My current B550M Aorus Pro also does not disable any.
I have 2x M.2 NVMe, and 4x SATA III SSD.

Thanks, that's good to know, it certainly helps calm my mind a little bit, guess I can only assume that is the case here too and hope for the best but knowing other similar boards from same manufacturer and brand don't have the limitation helps.

 

[rreluzco]

Some motherboards do, some don't.

If it DID disable one or more SATA ports, the specs and user manual would state this.

My current B550M Aorus Pro also does not disable any.
I have 2x M.2 NVMe, and 4x SATA III SSD.

I have an Aorus B550 Elite AX V2 rev 1.1. An WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe™ SSD in the upper slot. WD Dashboard reads the SSD as Gen4 - 4 lanes capable but that its connected to Gen 3 - 4 lanes. I don't find this anywhere on the board, M.2 slots being Gen 3 or 4?? Because of this my SSD writes at maybe 70% (per crystaldisk) of what its rated for. Any ideas?

Ryzen 5 5500
Aorus B550 Elite AX V2 rev 1.1
Gskill Rip Jaws 32GB 2 sticks
AMD Rx 6650 XT 8GB
WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe™ SSD 1TB in the upper slot
Samsung 840 500GB SATA III in port 1 of 4

Any help would be appreciated

 

[DRagor]

Any ideas?

Top slot on that board has PCie Gen dependent on installed CPU. Since your 5500 offers only Gen 3 that's what your M.2 gets.

 

[rreluzco]

Top slot on that board has PCie Gen dependent on installed CPU. Since your 5500 offers only Gen 3 that's what your M.2 gets.

Ah wow. Learned something new....ty

 

[rreluzco]

Top slot on that board has PCie Gen dependent on installed CPU. Since your 5500 offers only Gen 3 that's what your M.2 gets.

Does that mean then that the PCIe gpu slot that the video card is in is also PCIe 3.0 and not 4? Thanks again

 

[DRagor]

Does that mean then that the PCIe gpu slot that the video card is in is also PCIe 3.0 and not 4? Thanks again

Yes, it's Gen 3 too with your CPU. You would need different CPU (like 5600) to make it Gen 4. Considering your GPU it actually matters, you are loosing few percent of performance because of that.

 

[rreluzco]

Yes, it's Gen 3 too with your CPU. You would need different CPU (like 5600) to make it Gen 4. Considering your GPU it actually matters, you are loosing few percent of performance because of that.

Wow Had I known I'd have gotten the 5600, Thanks for info