[SOLVED] PCI-E Limitation when all SATA Ports Populated?

[SgtScream]

I'd like to configure this system to use the 1tb m.2 nvme as a cache drive for the six other stata nas drives and have two questions:

1. Because the m.2 will be installed in the expansion pci-e slot, theoretically no sata ports should be disabled correct?
2. The perquisite to configuring a SSD as a cache drive is to enable RAID on the motherboard. Do you know if i'll be able to enable raid with all 6 nas drives AND include the NVME ssd to the array?

Thanks for your help - Here's the component list:

PCPartPicker Part List
CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1 GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $0.00)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: BitFenix Phenom Midnight Black Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Custom: Mailiya M.2 PCIe to PCIe 3.0 x4 Adapter - Support M.2 PCIe 2280, 2260, 2242, 2230 ($15.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $15.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-02 09:53 EDT-0400

 

[popatim]

It looks like your motherboard is capable of it. From what i see in the manual, it isn't limited to raid on only 4 of the ports.
You don't add the NVME as part of the array, You enable caching in the iRST app, but the ports need to be in raid mode for it to work.

Do not use the whole array, Irst needs space at the very end of the volume. Leave a few hundred MB unallocated.

 

[SgtScream]

It looks like your motherboard is capable of it. From what i see in the manual, it isn't limited to raid on only 4 of the ports.
You don't add the NVME as part of the array, You enable caching in the iRST app, but the ports need to be in raid mode for it to work.

Do not use the whole array, Irst needs space at the very end of the volume. Leave a few hundred MB unallocated.

Thanks for the info. I just found out max cache is 64gb for windows. I was thinking about creating a 64gb partition on the NVME. What do you think?

 

[popatim]

Let rst do it, and then you can allocate the rest after it's setup.