MINI-ITX Ryzen Motherboard with 2 m.2 slots on the top?

[Duranson]

Hey everyone,

 

So I'm planning a Ryzen 9 build inside the NZXT H1. I'm planning on purchasing two M.2 SSDs to go along with it. Because there are only 2 2.5" drive bays in the H1, and there isn't a Ryzen Mini-ITX with more than 2 m.2 m-key slots, I've decided to go with some fairly large m.2 drives. However, they don't come with heatsyncs. On most mini-itx motherboards I've seen, one m.2 goes on the front and one goes on the back, but unfortunately in the H1, the drive in the back is just millimetres from the graphics card, and because I'm going to be using a 2080ti, I'm worried that I'll deal with thermal throttling or very high temps on my m.2. So I was wondering if anyone knew of any Mini-ITX Ryzen motherboards that had both m.2 slots on the top of the motherboard?

 

Also, on a sidenote - would you guys reccomend that I go with a case like the Phanteks Evolv Shift X instead of the H1? I'm trying to go with a vertical ITX case, so that it only takes up a small space on my desk but can go higher up. I wanted to be able to have a PC with a 3950x, 2080ti OC, and 32 GB of 3600mhz CL16 RAM, but without having it take up a ton of space. The only other case that I see than the H1 is the Shift X, which supports a bigger radiator as well, although it's much taller and also takes up slightly more space on the desk. Will I be fine with the 140mm radiator on the H1 with a 3950x? I'm not planning on overclocking at all. Or should I go with a Shift X? Let me know. Thanks!

[Jurrunio]

There wont be such thing, just isnt enough space. You'll get at most 1 M.2 slot up top.

[Kilrah]

I've never seen a mini itx mobo with 2 m.2s on the top... don't know where they'd put them either.

 

On my custom case I make sure there's good airflow between the mobo and GPU and it works great. Back SSD tends to actually be cooler

[bmx6454]

sounds like it would be easier to get another case, rather than to work around all the ways it doesn't work for your needs.

[Duranson]

2 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

I've never seen a mini itx mobo with 2 m.2s on the top... don't know where they'd put them either.

 

On my custom case I make sure there's good airflow between the mobo and GPU and it works great. Back SSD tends to actually be cooler

Alright. Do you think I'll be okay with my m.2 and GPU super close together? Maybe I'll just put my boot SSD back there... IDK. Let me know.

[Kilrah]

Dunno. I have both SSDs in RAID0 so each of them only takes half of the load, makes them heat up less, and the case fan is sucking air right over the back SSD.

[Nayr438]

9 minutes ago, duranson said:

Alright. Do you think I'll be okay with my m.2 and GPU super close together? Maybe I'll just put my boot SSD back there... IDK. Let me know.

Should be fine, maybe go with a pci gen 3 one that runs cooler.

If your really worried about it and want to get creative and take a gamble with chinese products, this exists https://www.amazon.com/Sintech-M-Key-Extention-Cable-20CMS/dp/B07DZCCGJN/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=m.2%2Bextension%2Bm%2Bkey&qid=1594163209&sr=8-4&th=1

 

No idea how well it would work, there doesn't seem to be vary many maufcaturers that sell them.

[Duranson]

5 minutes ago, bmx6454 said:

sounds like it would be easier to get another case, rather than to work around all the ways it doesn't work for your needs.

I mean... yeah, but I really like the idea of a vertical mini-itx case. Unfortunately that leaves pretty much the two cases I just mentioned for all of the hardware that I want to put in. I have considered getting a case like the NZXT H510 Elite or the Lian Li O11D-PCMR... they both look really nice, but I have minimal space on my desk and I would really like to have a vertical ITX Case if I can. If i can't, whatever, I can probably make space but I really want to try and make this work.

 

I also found the SV590 from Sliger that supports a 360mm rad, or a 240 and 120. Should I go with that instead or something?

[Guest]

24 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

There wont be such thing, just isnt enough space. You'll get at most 1 M.2 slot up top.

The Asus ROG B450-I sports 2 M.2 slots. There's  a slot on the backside of the board and a audio M.2 combo card on the front.

[Mateyyy]

For a 3950X I'd go for the Strix X570-I, though as previously mentioned by others, it also has just one M.2 slot on the front, with the other being on the backside of the board.

And yes, the 140mm AIO that comes with the H1 should cool the 3950X just fine, albeit without a whole lot of overclocking headroom.

[Duranson]

13 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

For a 3950X I'd go for the Strix X570-I, though as previously mentioned by others, it also has just one M.2 slot on the front, with the other being on the backside of the board.

And yes, the 140mm AIO that comes with the H1 should cool the 3950X just fine, albeit without a whole lot of overclocking headroom.

Great, I wasn't really planning on overclocking anyway. I'm getting a factory overclocked 2080ti but that's about it... 3950x gives me more than enough performance on its own.

 

Anyway though, do you think my 256gb Sabrent Rocket boot drive that will be on the back, that's millimetres away from my GPU will stay decently cool? I just don't want to deal with thermal throttling or anything like that.

 

Also, do you think that the Strix 570-I M.2 heatsync would be enough to cool a 8tb sabrent rocket m.2?

[Jurrunio]

1 hour ago, ShrimpBrime said:

The Asus ROG B450-I sports 2 M.2 slots. There's  a slot on the backside of the board and a audio M.2 combo card on the front.

Yeah, OP wants both M.2 slots on the front tho

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

Yeah, OP wants both M.2 slots on the front tho

Ohhhhh..... Gotcha. Nep, he's F'ed. Cake and eat it.

[Mateyyy]

7 hours ago, duranson said:

Anyway though, do you think my 256gb Sabrent Rocket boot drive that will be on the back, that's millimetres away from my GPU will stay decently cool? I just don't want to deal with thermal throttling or anything like that.

 

Also, do you think that the Strix 570-I M.2 heatsync would be enough to cool a 8tb sabrent rocket m.2?

The SSD on the back shouldn't have any problems, and neither should the one under the heatsink/heatspreader I'd say. Especially if there's some incidental airflow around the motherboard from the AIO fan and such, I really don't think you'd have to worry about thermals.

[Duranson]

6 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

The SSD on the back shouldn't have any problems, and neither should the one under the heatsink/heatspreader I'd say. Especially if there's some incidental airflow around the motherboard from the AIO fan and such, I really don't think you'd have to worry about thermals.

Alright, thank you!