Asus 170-A M.2 Nvme Compatibility

[Higgal]

Hey everyone!

I'm looking to upgrade my current system—the theme is "making the PC more silent". I wanted to know if I could plug in a Samsung 960 Evo 500gb m.2 SSD into an Asus Z170-a motherboard to service as the OS drive (as well as other personal stuff I decide to put on it). I also wanted to know what the effects of using the m.2 drive would be, as I cannot get consistent answers through research (i.e. does it shut down any SATA ports for external SSDs? Do I need an m.2 to PCIe mount to make it better?)

I know I could RTFM and really drill down to maybe-perhaps get some kind of cryptic answer, but before I make a big purchase like that I wanted to consult people directly.

Thank you!

[Tehkid]

Hello Higgal,

 

The Asus Z170-A board supports M.2 NVME.

 

Specs for the board:

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170-A/

[Higgal]

Hey! 
Thank you for the reply!
That I knew! But is it plug and play and can I just boot off of a USB and install windows on it? Or is there more to it?

 

[beavo451]

On 2/18/2017 at 7:21 PM, Higgal said:

I know I could RTFM and really drill down to maybe-perhaps get some kind of cryptic answer, but before I make a big purchase like that I wanted to consult people directly.

 

 

 

 

Straight from the manual

 

"M.2 shares SATA mode with SATA Express. Change this item before installing M.2 SATA devices."  -Pretty clear to me.

 

There is only one M.2 socket. So, if you install a PCIe M.2 device, it does not disable anything. If you install a SATA M.2 drive, it disables the SATA ports that make up the SATA Express connector. Yes, you can install everything, boot from USB, and install to the M.2 PCIe device.

[Higgal]

Alright! 

Thank you!