Asrock z77 extreme4 support pcie u2 nvme ssd?

[Falcan]

Hi, can someone tell me if I can use a U.2 NVMe PCIe SSD with an Asrock z77 Extreme4 motherboard? The spec (http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/Manual/Z77 Extreme4.pdf) says there is two PCI 3.0 slots, but it makes it sound like they are only for graphics cards (I do have a GPU in one of the slots).

Would I be able to connect something like the below into the other PCIe 3.0 slot and use the SSD? I already have a small SSD to boot from and am looking to add another just for games.

https://www.amazon.com/Ableconn-PEX...d=1501963062&sr=1-1&keywords=pci-e+to+u2+nvme

 

[kirbyrj]

I would think it would work, but don't quote me on it. You would need a bios with NVMe support to boot off it, but as long as Windows sees the controller and has a proper driver, it should see the drive in Windows (depending on the version of Windows you're using...Windows 10 should work with native NVMe driver, Windows 7...not sure). Although, you're better off selling the NVMe drive to someone who wants a fast boot drive and just grab a "cheap" SATA SSD for games, IMO. Seems like kind of a waste to have a NVMe drive on game duty.

 

[Billy Tallis]

PCIe lanes are just PCIe lanes. It really doesn't matter what kind of device you connect through which lanes, because the low-level protocol is all the same. The amount of bandwidth you get can differ, but the system doesn't care what that bandwidth is used for. The only exception worth noting is on Skylake and newer consumer Intel chipsets, they mess around with NVMe if you are trying to use Intel's RAID. But you can almost always turn that off.

 

[Shmee]

Better to get a PCIe to m.2 adapter card IMO, and use an m.2 drive. Just make sure your bios supports it, if you want to boot from it. Also, as mentioned it may be better to just get a cheaper sata SSD for games.

 

[Ratman6161]

Hi, can someone tell me if I can use a U.2 NVMe PCIe SSD with an Asrock z77 Extreme4 motherboard? The spec (http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/Manual/Z77 Extreme4.pdf) says there is two PCI 3.0 slots, but it makes it sound like they are only for graphics cards (I do have a GPU in one of the slots).

Would I be able to connect something like the below into the other PCIe 3.0 slot and use the SSD? I already have a small SSD to boot from and am looking to add another just for games.

https://www.amazon.com/Ableconn-PEX...d=1501963062&sr=1-1&keywords=pci-e+to+u2+nvme

To get full performances adapter card you are using has to go in a PCIe x4 or higher slot . According to the motherboard manual you linked to, PCIe2 and 3 are both x16 so just put the card in whichever of those two you aren't using. Don't worry that your card is shorter than the slot. Others have address4d the issues surrounding booting from the drive.