Z270 and NVMe

[LowFatMom]

Im trying to find fome info on this, id like to know if, like Z170, using a pcie ssd into the M.2 slot will disable some sata port, or anything else (usb3 maybe?)

I plan on building an Z270 Asus ROG build with dual M.2 slot, both NVMe compatible, but trying to know how I could be penalized using both.

 

[kirbyrj]

I'm sure it will. What specifically is disabled...you'd have to look in the manual.

 

[LowFatMom]

I'm sure it will. What specifically is disabled...you'd have to look in the manual.

I did and found nothing

Looks like I found something here: http://techreport.com/review/31172/msi-z270-gaming-pro-carbon-motherboard-reviewed/2

Not the same board, but same chipset. Using the 2nd M.2 slots with a PCIE SSD will disable sata port 5 and 6.

 

[Campy]

Asus ROG Strix Z270E

Intel® Z270 Chipset :
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M Key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE mode only)*2
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M Key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode)*3

*2 The M.2_1 socket shares SATA_1 port when use M.2 SATA mode device. Adjust BIOS settings to use a SATA device.
*3 The M.2_2 socket shares SATA_56 ports when use M.2 PCIE mode device in X4 mode. Adjust BIOS settings to use SATA devices.

So if you use both M.2 in PCIE mode you lose SATA 5 and 6, the way i read it. However it might be possible to run the M2_2 slot in X2 mode and still use SATA 5 and 6? I haven't looked at the bios.

 

[LowFatMom]

thx that confirms my previous finding. Since I dont plan to use any sata drive, looks like this will work just fine without any major drawbacks.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

thx that confirms my previous finding. Since I dont plan to use any sata drive, looks like this will work just fine without any major drawbacks.

I like to plan things in advance so I'm sure of the result desired. With the purchase of my Z170 board, M.2 NVMe was a planning detour which evolved. I wanted to keep some Intel SATA ports free, with enough to accommodate an ODD and at least a single SATA SSD or HDD. I find myself with three ports available after cabling the ODD. But there are eSATA port desires and wishes for hot-swap bays used for backup disks.

So for those latter, I threw in a cheap 4-port Marvell controller card running through PCIE x1. I could almost say I don't even need the extra controller, but nothing is bottlenecked given the allocation of disks and their usage.