What M.2 SSD alternative?

iSkylaker

Member
May 9, 2015
143
0
76
Hi there.

I've got this board and had planned to jump on the M.2 SSD bandwagon, apparently it got a M.2 slot but it appear to be limited to a Wifi cards, AKA an A- or E- keyed M.2 slot.

So is there any chance to plug any 30mm SSD in there, or perhaps an mSATA SSD if is compatible?

or how about an M-keyed M.2 SSD with an PCIex4 adapter like this on the last PCIe slot?

Sorry for the ignorance, it thought it was as easy as having an M.2 slot and plugging an M.2 SSD but apparently is a bit more complicated... :biggrin:
 

larryccf

Senior member
May 23, 2015
221
1
0
the PCIe expansion card is the route i went - not sure about the 170 chipset, but you might make sure, even if your m.2 slot will accept an M-keyed SSD, that it doesn't dis-able any sata ports - a lot of mobos do

btw that Lycom card is identical to the addionics card - suspect they're both made by same mfgr, private labeling them for the other. Comparing images they appeared to be exactly the same, and one poster here that bought three differenct cards confirmed they were identical. But that $17 price is the best i've seen on amazon - they've jumped as high as $32. I went with the addionics labeled card and have had no issues, but i'm running an xp941, so i can't confirm it offers the bandwitdh the latest M.2 SSDs require

there's also the Asus Hyper M.2 kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-AS...=f21afef81b054de09b65685d5a42a9b0&pid=100148&
 

iSkylaker

Member
May 9, 2015
143
0
76
the PCIe expansion card is the route i went - not sure about the 170 chipset, but you might make sure, even if your m.2 slot will accept an M-keyed SSD, that it doesn't dis-able any sata ports - a lot of mobos do

btw that Lycom card is identical to the addionics card - suspect they're both made by same mfgr, private labeling them for the other. Comparing images they appeared to be exactly the same, and one poster here that bought three differenct cards confirmed they were identical. But that $17 price is the best i've seen on amazon - they've jumped as high as $32. I went with the addionics labeled card and have had no issues, but i'm running an xp941, so i can't confirm it offers the bandwitdh the latest M.2 SSDs require

there's also the Asus Hyper M.2 kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-AS...=f21afef81b054de09b65685d5a42a9b0&pid=100148&
Thanks, that ASUS board looks nice.

The only disclaimer I get is that if I use the 3rd PCIe slot which is PCIe x1 (the mobo has 4), the 4th PCIe slot which is PCIe x4 will become x2. I won't have use for those two so I think I should be good.

Also do you think that M.2 Wifi module can be used for a standard laptop wifi card, or it is only for an actual M.2 Wifi card if that even exist?