[SOLVED] M2 and Intel Optane on Asus TUF Z390 Pro Gaming Mobo

[Dizzy49]

I'm looking to build a new rig using the Asus Z390 Pro Gaming motherboard.
It has two M2 slots, both say "Intel Optane Memory Ready".
One says "32GB/s M.2 x4 PCIe mode" and the other "32GB/s M.2 x4 PCIEe & SATA mode"

I will be using a Corsair Force MP600 M2 for my main drive.
First off, if I put it in the slot that has the "& SATA mode" will it run a lot slower than the other slot? I tried doing some reading, and I know the general M2 speeds, and SATA speeds, but I'm not clear if the slots with both will run at full M2 speeds or at the slower SATA speeds (or really the purpose of the SATA mode to be honest). I know I won't see the FULL speed of the MP600, but it's cheaper than the Samsung 970 right now

Secondly, I have an M2 32GB Optane Memory. With the MP600 so fast, would I see any difference adding the Optane memory? This kind of comes back to my first question about the slot speeds because if the SATA one runs a lot slower, then it doesn't make sense to have either one in that slot.

FYI, my secondary drive is a Samsung EVO 850 1TB

Thanks!!

-Dizzy49

 

[RealBeast]

On the Asus Z390 Pro Gaming both M.2 slots will run PCIe x4 NVMe drives, only one of them will run a SATA drive and that disables SATA port 2. The default is PCIe x4, so just plug it in and it will be fast.

Optane will not do anything useful for you, it's the old cache deal updated for Optane.

IMO: use both slots for your NVMe drives or leave one empty if the 850 is SATA 2.5" and you only have one NVMe drive (it will work the same in either slot) and sell the Optane on EBay.

 

[Dizzy49]

Thanks so much for your reply!

Yes, the 850 is a 2.5" SSD. Honestly, with the price of the MP600 right now I might just get another one and put the 2.5" in my PS4