[SOLVED] MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK What Nvme SSD to buy? and some clarifications.

Jan 24, 2021
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Hi guys,

Im planning on building a Pc using the z490 tomahawk as motherboard (chip would be i7 10700k).
Im aware the z490 tomahawk has 2 M.2 slots so i wanted to know 2 things :
Can i use the same SSD for both slots? for example could i buy 2 Samsung 970 evo plus?
or should i buy one Samsung 970 evo plus for one slot and for the other slot buy lets say a WD blue 3D NAND SATA M2.2280 ?
i Just wanna make sure i dont <Mod Edit> up with this i could really really use your help to understand the reasoning behind this
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
 
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USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
As always, refer to the manufacturers spec sheet.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-Z490-TOMAHAWK/Specification

-------------------------
2x M.2 slots (Key M)
  • M2_1 supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s, 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices 1
  • M2_2 supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s, 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices 2
-------------------------

Both slots can utilize the 970 EVO Plus.
Or a M.2 SATA drive.
Or a combination of both.
 
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Solution
Jan 24, 2021
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As always, refer to the manufacturers spec sheet.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-Z490-TOMAHAWK/Specification

-------------------------
2x M.2 slots (Key M)
  • M2_1 supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s, 2242/ 2260/ 2280/ 22110 storage devices 1
  • M2_2 supports up to PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA 6Gb/s, 2242/ 2260/ 2280 storage devices 2
-------------------------

Both slots can utilize the 970 EVO Plus.
Or a M.2 SATA drive.
Or a combination of both.


Thank you so much for the help!
 

BlueMicrobe

Commendable
Sep 20, 2020
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Yes, and generally 2280 is a common and fast standard for Nvme drives. The EVO series is very good in general so I would get a 1TB+ sized 970 Evo Plus and the other drive could be Yes, a WD blue 500gb+. Just make sure your boot drive is the 970 not the WD blue!
 
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Jan 24, 2021
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Yes, and generally 2280 is a common and fast standard for Nvme drives. The EVO series is very good in general so I would get a 1TB+ sized 970 Evo Plus and the other drive could be Yes, a WD blue 500gb+. Just make sure your boot drive is the 970 not the WD blue!

I see thanks for the explanation! So if it were you would you purchase 2 EVO? im thinking about using a 1 tb 970 evo Plus for boot drive and for the other one another 1 tb evo? or idk about the second one :/
 
Jan 24, 2021
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What do you use this system for?

There is basically zero difference between the EVO and the EVO Plus.

So i basically want to use this system for gaming and some casual streaming with friends etc. I do want to have a lot of space for the games since i play a wide variety of them. and also my reasoning behind it is that i plan to use this computer for some years without caring much about space/speed/issues etc.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
So i basically want to use this system for gaming and some casual streaming with friends etc. I do want to have a lot of space for the games since i play a wide variety of them. and also my reasoning behind it is that i plan to use this computer for some years without caring much about space/speed/issues etc.
For that use, zero difference between the 970 EVO and 970 EVO Plus.
Very little (as in tiny) difference between the 970 EVO and a SATA III SSD.

Budget would be a major factor here.


2TB 860 EVO - $210
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786QNSBD

1TB 970 EVO - $140
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-1TB-MZ-V7E1T0BW


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YoRKQy-UO4
 
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