Asrock B450 Pro4 with M2 connected to PCIE

[MarkTheUnknown]

Hello everyone
I am an owner of an Asrock B450 Pro4 motherboard. It's got two M2 slots, only one of them is NVME as I am aware.
I use one Kingston NVME SSD for system only. I have one sata HDD and SSD.
I would like to buy a 1TB NVME ssd for games only. Is it possible to connect it to my motherboard with a m2 to pcie adapter?
Thanks

 

[Tetras]

Goodness, the manual for that board really hurts my brain.

You have 2 full size PCI-E slots (the other slots that are only a length of 1 aren't big enough for M.2 to PCI-E adapters, I don't think).

The amount of lanes available depends on the CPU so I will assume you do not have an APU and you do have a graphics card.

The first full size PCI-E slot is always fixed at 16 lanes.

The second full size PCI-E slot is always fixed at 4 lanes.

M.2 slot 1 appears to share lanes with the second full size PCI-E slot, so if it has something in it, then the second slot full-size slot will be disabled (hence, you can't use an adapter in there).

M.2 slot 1 will support a PCI-Express M.2 drive at PCI-E 3.0 speed with 4 lanes.

M.2 slot 2 will support a PCI-Express M.2 drive at PCI-E 3.0 speed with 2 lanes.

If SATA port 3 or 4 are used, M.2 slot 2 is disabled and the same in reverse. It appears that it doesn't matter if the M.2 drive is SATA or PCI-E based, you still lose the SATA ports, but I can't seem to confirm that anywhere in the manual.

In summary:

Is it possible to use a M.2 to PCI-E adapter? - No, because I assume you have an M.2 drive in M.2 slot 1 and so you have no lanes available for an M.2 to PCI-E adapter in the only PCI-Express slot which is physically large enough to support one.
Is it possible to use a M.2 drive in M.2 slot 2? - Yes, providing your SATA hard drive is not connected to SATA port 3 or 4.

Please note that B450M Pro 4 and B450 PRO 4 are different boards.

 

[MarkTheUnknown]

Goodness, the manual for that board really hurts my brain.

You have 2 full size PCI-E slots (the other slots that are only a length of 1 aren't big enough for M.2 to PCI-E adapters, I don't think).

The amount of lanes available depends on the CPU so I will assume you do not have an APU and you do have a graphics card.

The first full size PCI-E slot is always fixed at 16 lanes.

The second full size PCI-E slot is always fixed at 4 lanes.

M.2 slot 1 appears to share lanes with the second full size PCI-E slot, so if it has something in it, then the second slot full-size slot will be disabled (hence, you can't use an adapter in there).

M.2 slot 1 will support a PCI-Express M.2 drive at PCI-E 3.0 speed with 4 lanes.

M.2 slot 2 will support a PCI-Express M.2 drive at PCI-E 3.0 speed with 2 lanes.

If SATA port 3 or 4 are used, M.2 slot 2 is disabled and the same in reverse. It appears that it doesn't matter if the M.2 drive is SATA or PCI-E based, you still lose the SATA ports, but I can't seem to confirm that anywhere in the manual.

In summary:

Is it possible to use a M.2 to PCI-E adapter? - No, because I assume you have an M.2 drive in M.2 slot 1 and so you have no lanes available for an M.2 to PCI-E adapter in the only PCI-Express slot which is physically large enough to support one.
Is it possible to use a M.2 drive in M.2 slot 2? - Yes, providing your SATA hard drive is not connected to SATA port 3 or 4.

Please note that B450M Pro 4 and B450 PRO 4 are different boards.

I have a R5 2400G, but I blocked the integrated gpu completely.
I think I will just buy a 2.5" SSD. It js just a pain i cant use another nvme drive. I assume the second m2 doesnt support one

 

[Tetras]

I have a R5 2400G, but I blocked the integrated gpu completely.
I think I will just buy a 2.5" SSD. It js just a pain i cant use another nvme drive. I assume the second m2 doesnt support one

It does support one (the B450 does, not the B450M, I believe), but unfortunately I'd have to re-read the entire manual again to confirm, because APUs have different rules

 

[Joxeon]

No point using a small nvme drive just for system only these days especially if your MB has limited slots, grab a 1 or 2tb drive and use for OS+ games.