Question [Need Information Regarding M.2 slot] Asus x870e Hero and E-Gaming Motherboards.

[Zaselim]

Hello,
So as the title says, i want to know how many (out of 5) m.2 slots i can use (with gen4 nvme drives) without compromising pcie lanes and having all of them for the gpu and also having access to all 4 sata ports with Asus Rog strix x870e E-Gaming and Asus Rog Crosshair x870e Hero.
I will appreciate the help.

 

[rgd1101]

ROG CROSSHAIR X870E HERO | Gaming motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global

The ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi elevates builds with 18 power stages, DDR5 slots and extensive PCIe 5.0 connectivity. It features five M.2 SSD slots with heat

rog.asus.com

ROG STRIX X870E-E GAMING WIFI | Gaming motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global

The ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi elevates builds with 18 power stages, DDR5 slots and extensive PCIe 5.0 connectivity. It features five M.2 SSD slots with heatsinks, USB4® support, WiFi 7, AI Overclo

rog.asus.com

 

[Zaselim]

What's was that lol? You just posted their product pages, its like the first thing i read.
I know their details but its confusing to be sure how much can i use them (m.2 slots) without compromising the pcie lanes or sata ports. The reviews i have watched so far on youtube didn't cover hat part as well.
I know i can't use all 5 of them but can i at least use 4, or 3 with sata ports as well?

 

[Misgar]

how many (out of 5) m.2 slots i can use (with gen4 nvme drives) without compromising pcie lanes and having all of them for the gpu and also having access to all 4 sata ports

It clearly states in the user manual:-

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...WEB_1.pdf?model=ROG STRIX X870E-E GAMING WIFI

** M.2_2 & M.2_3 slots share bandwidth with PCIEX16(G5). When M.2_2 & M.2_3 are occupied with SSD devices, PCIEX16(G5) will run x8 only

So you cannot fit drives in M2._2 and M.2_3 if you want full 16-lane capacity for a GPU in the first slot. This means you can only fit three out of five M.2 drives.

The four SATA ports appear to be unaffected.

If you need more SATA ports, I can recommend the LSI 2008 SAS controller card or similar (preferably flashed to IT (Initiator Target) mode (not IR mode). These cards can be acquired cheap on eBay. I buy ex-server "pulls".
https://www.servethehome.com/lsi-sas-2008-raid-controller-hba-information/

SAS controllers also work with SATA drives. The 2008 will run (at reduced bandwidth) in a x16 length slot with only x4 lanes, but should be fast enough with hard drives. You'd probably want a x8 lane slot if you intend to use eight faster SATA SSDs.

With two SFF-8087 "forward breakout" cables, you could add another 8 SATA (or SAS) drives to your system, in addition to the 4 SATA ports on the 870E chipset.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/36pin-SFF-8087-Internal-Forward-Breakout-Black/dp/B08LS7PG6M

 

[Zaselim]

Thanks, i wasn't sure on sata part because in last gen you couldn't use one m.2 slot if sata is being used or the opposite.
I think the cable expansion for sata is better option, that way i won't have to use pcie port for sata expansion card. But isn't breakout cable for raid only or does it work in non-raid capacity as well.

 

[Misgar]

But isn't breakout cable for raid only or does it work in non-raid capacity as well.

Nope. The cable has nothing to do with RAID. It's just a bunch of wires.

The bit that makes it RAID (or not) is the chipset and firmware on the card.

The 2008 can be used as a dedicated hardware RAID controller when it's flashed with IR firmware, but when it's flashed with IT firmware, the hardware RAID function is disabled and you're left with a fancy 8-drive controller. You can get other LSI cards that control only 4 drives or 16 drives, etc.

In some computers, I use a 2008 (in IT mode) to add a few more SATA hard disks if there aren't enough onboard SATA ports.

In servers running TrueNAS Core (software ZFS RAID), the OS needs full control of the drives, which is partially hidden by hardware RAID controllers (IR mode). Hence the need to reflash the cards from IR mode to IT mode.

There are of course much simpler dual and quad port SATA controllers, but they often use rather cheap chipsets. The LSI cards are designed for use in more demanding server applications where reliabilty is important.