Add a third SSD to my ASUS motherboard

[nialfb]

My gaming PC has an ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z690 motherboard and it has two SSD slots - I am using both. I want to add a third 2TB SSD specifically for DCS World. I assume I can install a PCI M.2 adapter but is there a performance tradeoff? From the info I can find, it looks like this installation of the PCI adapter would disable SATA5, SATA6 but I don't really know what the implications would be? Presumably it would only effect any SATA drives, if I had any.

Any info would help.

Thanks

Nial

 

[Martinr36]

Can you please post the full spec from your orders paged

 

[nialfb]

Case
COOLERMASTER COSMOS C700M TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 24-Core Processor i9-13900K (Up to 5.8GHz) 36MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 5600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1000W RMx SERIES™ - MODULAR 80 PLUS GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00005]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
48 HOUR INSURED PALLET DELIVERY TO UK (MON-FRI, INC. HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[TonyCarter]

If it's the ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO motherboard, then you have 3 m.2 slots that are independent of any SATA lanes.

If you want more than3 m.2, then you have to use the Hyper m.2 card in one of the PCIe slots but even then you don't impinge on the SATA lanes, as they just limit the other PCIe slots.

 

[nialfb]

@TonyCarter ... Thanks Tony. As it happens, I was going through the box of 'junk' that came with the PC and I stumbled across the ROG Hyper M.2 card 👍

 

[TonyCarter]

@TonyCarter ... Thanks Tony. As it happens, I was going through the box of 'junk' that came with the PC and I stumbled across the ROG Hyper M.2 card 👍

You shouldn’t need to use that until you get to your 4th m.2.

There should be one slot near the CPU, and 2 adjacent to each other (possibly coveted with a shield) more or less hidden by the GPU.

 

[nialfb]

@TonyCarter ... Thanks again Tony, I'll get the SSD ordered because either way I will be able to install it. I would prefer to have it on the motherboard of course.