Question about 2 slots I've got and their compatibility with my Motherboard

[BillyF]

Hey guys!

I got this 2 SSD slots:
-Toshiba HG6 M.2 256 GB Serial ATA III (THNSNJ256G8NY)
-Western Digital PC SN520 NVMe SSD (SDAPMUW-256G-1101)

I don't understand much in this area so I wondered about their compatibility with my Motherboard and even if they both can be used?
The Toshiba one seems correct but I couldn't understand if its an nvme slot, and for the Western Digital, it smaller than the usual SSD's I've seen.

Motherborad model: Asus Prime H410M-E

Thanks!

 

[Nike_486DX]

Read the manual, it states your motherboard has 1 m2 slot, which can work in both modes (nvme and sata). But sata is slower, plus it disables the 2nd sata connector.

So out of the 2 ssd models go with the SN520, but make sure its at least 2242 (42 stands for 42mm long), otherwise you wont be able to fasten it on your motherboard.

 

[BillyF]

View attachment 315989

Read the manual, it states your motherboard has 1 m2 slot, which can work in both modes (nvme and sata). But sata is slower, plus it disables the 2nd sata connector.

So out of the 2 ssd models go with the SN520, but make sure its at least 2242 (42 stands for 42mm long), otherwise you wont be able to fasten it on your motherboard.

I did read the manual but because im not an expert on this I thought there might be an option to connect both..

So as I understand the Toshiba ISN'T an Nvme.

For the WD - I couldn't find a 2242 mark but I measured it and its size is like 4.2cm so I guess this is what you meant? I mean, it is half the size of the normal SSD's I knew..
I have uploaded a photo.

Im just worried I'll burn-out either my motherboard or else.

Thanks.

 

[faye]

It will be fine.

I did read the manual but because im not an expert on this I thought there might be an option to connect both..

So as I understand the Toshiba ISN'T an Nvme.

For the WD - I couldn't find a 2242 mark but I measured it and its size is like 4.2cm so I guess this is what you meant? I mean, it is half the size of the normal SSD's I knew..
I have uploaded a photo.

Im just worried I'll burn-out either my motherboard or else.

Thanks.

If you look at the board you should see multiple possible locations for the hold down screw, including one at the proper length for that drive.

As for using the Toshiba, you could get an adapter like this one - SABRENT M.2 SATA SSD to 2.5 Inch SATA III Aluminum Enclosure Adapter (EC-M2SA) [Not NVMe] https://a.co/d/aWMzCuC - which will let you connect it via standard SATA data/power cables as long as you have a free SATA port. There are even cheaper options if you're willing to buy from eBay / AliExpress. Alternately the are USB3 enclosures if you'd like to turn it in to a big fast(er than a typical USB stick) portable drive.

Here's a quick overview of different keying and drive types. The information is good, just ignore the "sata is more reliable and compatible" talk - it's written with industrial systems in mind. Generally speaking, what you want as a consumer going forward is the fastest NVMe M.2 drive available in budget that's compatible with your board.

 

[BillyF]

It will be fine.

If you look at the board you should see multiple possible locations for the hold down screw, including one at the proper length for that drive.

As for using the Toshiba, you could get an adapter like this one - SABRENT M.2 SATA SSD to 2.5 Inch SATA III Aluminum Enclosure Adapter (EC-M2SA) [Not NVMe] https://a.co/d/aWMzCuC - which will let you connect it via standard SATA data/power cables as long as you have a free SATA port. There are even cheaper options if you're willing to buy from eBay / AliExpress.

Here's a quick overview of different keying and drive types. The information is good, just ignore the "sata is more reliable and compatible" talk - it's written with industrial systems in mind. Generally speaking, what you want as a consumer going forward is the fastest NVMe M.2 drive available in budget that's compatible with your board.

Ok great!

I will look up for this adapter aswel although as we speak I understand the Toshiba one is older tech and won't provide the best performance.

Thank you mate!

 

[faye]

Ok great!

I will look up for this adapter aswel although as we speak I understand the Toshiba one is older tech and won't provide the best performance.

Thank you mate!

Happy to help. And yes, the Toshiba is going to be limited by the SATA interface, so not nearly as fast. It's still better than any hard drive - depending on workload it's good for ~500MB/s reads and writes. Also much lower latency than a spinning disc. As SATA drives go it isn't bad at all, the NVMe/PCIe interface is just much faster. Your WD NVMe drive is a little more than 2-3 times as fast, for example, and there are much faster NVMe drives available. They're overkill for most people, though. Unless you're doing a lot of high resolution video editing or dealing with other huge files on a regular basis it's unlikely to matter any time soon.

 

[BillyF]

Happy to help. And yes, the Toshiba is going to be limited by the SATA interface, so not nearly as fast. It's still better than any hard drive - depending on workload it's good for ~500MB/s reads and writes. Also much lower latency than a spinning disc. As SATA drives go it isn't bad at all, the NVMe/PCIe interface is just much faster. Your WD NVMe drive is a little more than 2-3 times as fast, for example, and there are much faster NVMe drives available. They're overkill for most people, though. Unless you're doing a lot of high resolution video editing or dealing with other huge files on a regular basis it's unlikely to matter any time soon.

I'm guessing there are also Nvme adapters?

I might get another cheap nvme to replace one of my 4xSATA II SSDs (those will be my main game/storage) and I wonder if connecting it via adapter (since the only slot is taked by the WD) would be ok?

I mean, another nvme with adapter (if there is) will be better from an old SATA II SSD ?

Thanks alot for the help and informative replies mate.

 

[faye]

I'm guessing there are also Nvme adapters?

I might get another cheap nvme to replace one of my 4xSATA II SSDs (those will be my main game/storage) and I wonder if connecting it via adapter (since the only slot is taked by the WD) would be ok?

I mean, another nvme with adapter (if there is) will be better from an old SATA II SSD ?

Thanks alot for the help and informative replies mate.

Yes, there are NVMe to PCIe adapter cards, so if you have free PCIe slots that's an option. Just go in knowing that depending on your motherboard and the adapter you get you may not be able to boot off of it. I'd recommend booting off the WD drive anyway, unless you get a faster one, in which case you should probably put that in the slot on the motherboard and boot from it. What motherboard are you using?

 

[BillyF]

Yes, there are NVMe to PCIe adapter cards, so if you have free PCIe slots that's an option. Just go in knowing that depending on your motherboard and the adapter you get you may not be able to boot off of it. I'd recommend booting off the WD drive anyway, unless you get a faster one, in which case you should probably put that in the slot on the motherboard and boot from it. What motherboard are you using?

Understood. The WD will be in the main slot and once I got another one ill decide which should stay on the main slot according to their speed differences.

my motherboard is: Asus Prime H410M-E

 

[faye]

Understood. The WD will be in the main slot and once I got another one ill decide which should stay on the main slot according to their speed differences.

my motherboard is: Asus Prime H410M-E

Ok so you've got 2 PCIe 1x slots... Though depending on your GPU only one (or maybe neither if it's something crazy) will be accessible.

Assuming a 10th gen chip you're limited to PCIe 3.0, so no need to spend big on the drives, either. As long as you're just using them for game storage and that sort of thing grab whatever PCIe 3.0 drive from a company you recognize and trust is on sale the cheapest in whatever capacity you're going for. I suggest an Intel 670p, they're cheap, fast enough, and reliable.

Also, don't be surprised if you don't get full rated speed out of the drive in the adapter - most are set up to use 3 or 4 PCIe lanes, but in a 1x slot they're going to be limited to, well, 1. That means they'll probably top out a little under 1GB/s with ideal loads. Not a big deal, you're unlikely to notice a real difference day to day, I just don't want you to run a benchmark and be sitting there thinking something is broken.

 

[BillyF]

Ok so you've got 2 PCIe 1x slots... Though depending on your GPU only one (or maybe neither if it's something crazy) will be accessible.

Assuming a 10th gen chip you're limited to PCIe 3.0, so no need to spend big on the drives, either. As long as you're just using them for game storage and that sort of thing grab whatever PCIe 3.0 drive from a company you recognize - I suggest an Intel 670p, they're cheap, fast enough, and reliable - is on sale the cheapest in whatever capacity you're going for.

Oh that's enlightening.

This gives me an idea to pass on building the PC on my own and maybe let an expert do it.. since you said the PCIe depends on the GPU and my new 7800XT is just about to arrive also you're correct with the 10th gen CPU which is i5-10400 BUT I have another i5-11400F which I planned to swap over the 10400 once I install the 7800XT. This all start to be a little complicated for a newbie and I dont want to ruin any of my parts since I wont be able to buy new ones anytime soon.

I will also check for that Intel 670p tho now I think I'll give the parts to an expert builder to finalize it. I really wanted to do that by myself also put the thermal paste since I watched many videos on how to build a computer but its gettin abit complicated for 1st try.

 

[faye]

Oh that's enlightening.

This gives me an idea to pass on building the PC on my own and maybe let an expert do it.. since you said the PCIe depends on the GPU and my new 7800XT is just about to arrive also you're correct with the 10th gen CPU which is i5-10400 BUT I have another i5-11400F which I planned to swap over the 10400 once I install the 7800XT. This all start to be a little complicated for a newbie and I dont want to ruin any of my parts since I wont be able to buy new ones anytime soon.

I will also check for that Intel 670p tho now I think I'll give the parts to an expert builder to finalize it. I really wanted to do that by myself also put the thermal paste since I watched many videos on gow to build a computer but its gettin abit complicated for 1st try.

Nope, PCIe speed is determined by the processor you use, not the graphics card. Switching to the new chip will bring you up to PCIe 4.0 because the PCIe controller is part of the CPU. Make sure you update your motherboard's BIOS to the latest version before you switch to the new chip, though, or it may not boot / may be unstable. Worst case you just have to put the old chip back in to update it, though - it's a hassle, but nothing will be broken.

You can buy a PCIe 4.0 drive and put that in the slot on the motherboard, put the WD drive in a cheap NVMe to PCIe 1x adapter card like this - JSER NVME to PCI-E 4.0 Low Profile PCI-E 3.0 x1 Lane to M.2 NGFF M-Key SSD Nvme AHCI PCI Express Adapter Card https://a.co/d/cLyvmvo - and you should be good. You can also still buy a 3.0 drive like a 670p if you want to save money, they're backwards compatible and you're unlikely to notice a difference in real world use day to day.

Building it is very easy, not a lot to screw up as long as you're careful when swapping the CPU (the little spring pins in the socket are fragile) and don't force anything in a slot the wrong way. Everything is keyed to only go in one way. Take your time and you'll be fine.

That said, if you're really uncomfortable there's nothing wrong with paying someone to assemble and test things. I'd personally recommend doing it yourself, it's good to have the experience if anything ever does go wrong.

Computers are basically like Legos - don't force anything and you're unlikely to break anything. Square peg goes in square hole, etc.

People really overcomplicate thermal paste - just get a normal paste, not anything crazy like liquid metal, and put a thin line down the middle of the chip. You can spread it out with a card if you want, but it's not really necessary. No big trick to it.

 

[BillyF]

Nope, PCIe speed is determined by the processor you use, not the graphics card. Switching to the new chip will bring you up to PCIe 4.0 because the PCIe controller is part of the CPU. Make sure you update your motherboard's BIOS to the latest version before you switch to the new chip, though, or it may not boot / may be unstable. This is important.

You can buy a PCIe 4.0 drive and put that in the slot on the motherboard, put the WD drive in a cheap NVMe to PCIe 1x adapter card like this - JSER NVME to PCI-E 4.0 Low Profile PCI-E 3.0 x1 Lane to M.2 NGFF M-Key SSD Nvme AHCI PCI Express Adapter Card https://a.co/d/cLyvmvo - and you should be good. You can also still buy a 3.0 drive like a 670p if you want to save money, they're backwards compatible and you're unlikely to notice a difference in real world use day to day.

Building it is very easy, not a lot to screw up as long as you're careful when swapping the CPU (the little spring pins in the socket are fragile) and don't force anything in a slot the wrong way. Everything is keyed to only go in one way. Take your time and you'll be fine.

That said, if you're really uncomfortable there's nothing wrong with paying someone to assemble and test things. I'd personally recommend doing it yourself, it's good to have the experience if anything ever does go wrong.

Computers are basically like Legos - don't force anything and you're unlikely to freak anything. Square peg goes in square hole, etc.

People really overcomplicate thermal paste - just get a normal paste, not anything crazy like liquid metal, and put a thin line down the middle of the chip. You can spread it out with a card if you want, but it's not really necessary. No big trick to it.

Ok, sounds like a plan!
I will follow the steps carefully and see if I can handle it because like you said it does seems like putting up a lego basically and I also like this hardware engagement hobbie, it keeps me curious and busy haha

Thanks alot for your support mate, I appreciate it alot.

 

[faye]

Ok, sounds like a plan!
I will follow the steps carefully and see if I can handle it because like you said it does seems like putting up a lego basically and I also like this hardware engagement hobbie, it keeps me curious and busy haha

Thanks alot for your support mate, I appreciate it alot.

Would have caught this earlier, but I haven't done anything on the Intel side of things in a while - someone else may chime in and correct me (and I'll update here if I find different) but I don't think the H410 chipset used by your motherboard will support 11th Gen CPUs, even with a BIOS update. Higher end chipsets in the same series will, but not the H410 and B460. You'll need a new motherboard to use that i5-11400F. Everything should work fine with your current chip, though - PCIe 4.0 devices are typically backwards compatible with PCIe 3.0 boards/CPUs.

 

[BillyF]

Would have caught this earlier, but I haven't done anything on the Intel side of things in a while - someone else may chime in and correct me (and I'll update here if I find different) but I don't think the H410 chipset used by your motherboard will support 11th Gen CPUs, even with a BIOS update. Higher end chipsets in the same series will, but not the H410 and B460. You'll need a new motherboard to use that i5-11400F. Everything should work fine with your current chip, though - PCIe 4.0 devices are typically backwards compatible with PCIe 3.0 boards/CPUs.

Shot.. seems I didn't make the correct research after all..

That 11400F comes in a HP Pavilion desktop PC so it's motherboard would be PCIe 4. but I'm not sure about its brand or features, it seems like an HP motherboard if there's such thing..

Now I'm wondering if the PC im building from all the parts I have and we discussed would fit to that UNKNOWN motherboard... after all it is newer...

Edit:
If you might wonder why I dont just connect the parts to that current HP PC - It's case is tiny, it cannot handle much parts and especially a 7800XT. also the area for a PSU is small and it has a small PSU of 350w ish.. My new PSU (Corsair 750w) won't fit either :/

It's gettin even more complicated now lol.

Im sorry for that much questions

 

[faye]

Shot.. seems I didn't make the correct research after all..

That 11400F comes in a HP Pavilion desktop PC so it's motherboard would be PCIe 4. but I'm not sure about its brand or features, it seems like an HP motherboard if there's such thing..

Now I'm wondering if the PC im building from all the parts I have and we discussed would fit to that UNKNOWN motherboard... after all it is newer...

Edit:
If you might wonder why I dont just connect the parts to that current HP PC - It's case is tiny, it cannot handle much parts and especially a 7800XT. also the area for a PSU is small and it has a small PSU of 350w ish.. My new PSU (Corsair 750w) won't fit either :/

It's gettin even more complicated now lol.

Im sorry for that much questions

Short answer is, it depends. Long answer is...

Won't know till you can look at it. Chances are the HP board won't fit in another case - large volume OEMs like HP and Dell have custom boards with odd shapes made for small form factor machines like you're getting (or already have?) and sometimes even full size desktops. If you know the exact model of the machine we may be able to figure it out that way.

Yes, the HP's PSU can't handle your GPU, and the case probably only has half height slots, if any, so you couldn't get it in the case anyway - in other words, most of your research was correct, if that's any comfort at this point.

 

[BillyF]

Short answer is, it depends. Long answer is...

Won't know till you can look at it. Chances are the HP board won't fit in another case - large volume OEMs like HP and Dell make custom boards with odd shapes for small form factor machines like you're getting (or already have?) and sometimes even full size desktops. If you know the exact model of the machine we may be able to figure it out that way.

Yes, the HP's PSU can't handle your GPU, and the case probably only has half height slots, if any, so you couldn't get it in the case anyway - in other words, most of your research was correct, if that's any comfort at this point.

I made it abit confusing haha so i'll try sort it:

I have:
1) build PC which have i5-10400 with Asus Prime H410M-E, 2x8GB RAM
2) HP Pavilion Desktop PC which have i5-11400F, HP Motherboard (as it seems) and 1x16GB RAM stick

Those 2 I wanted to combine to 1 new PC with a new 7800XT and 750W Corsair PSU that should arrive soon.

as much as it seems and I understand that HP motherboard won't fit and even work well on a decent Mid-Tower ATX case.

I have attached a picture on the HP PC.

 

[faye]

Yeah, simplest solution is to get a new motherboard that'll work with everything together.

Looks like your cheapest option is going to be a H610 board for $90-100. You'll have to pay another $50 or so for a higher end chipset and a second M.2 slot.

 

[BillyF]

Yeah, simplest solution is to get a new motherboard that'll work with everything together.

Looks like your cheapest option is going to be a H610 board for $90-100. You'll have to pay another $50 or so for a higher end chipset and a second M.2 slot.

I understand, I guess I would have to stay with the i5-10400 paired with the Asus H410M-E for now since I maxed my budget.
I was intending to upgrade CPU later in few month's (therefore motherboard also and of course new ram) so I guess I'll use what I already got here right now that fits the Asus prime as we talked..