Best to put M.2 drive in M.2_1 (PCIe5) or M.2_2 (PCIe4)

[NeilF]

Got a ASUS ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming and SPATIUM M480 PRO PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 on the way. Should I plug that M.2 into the M.2_1, M.2_2 (or M.2_3 slot)? ie: Will using the primary M.2_1 slot in anyway be counter productive to a PCIe 5 graphics card?

FYI - ASUS ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming:-

• M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280(supports PCIe 5.0 x4 mode)
• M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
• M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)**
• ** M.2_3 slot shares bandwidth with PCIe 4.0 x16 slot (supports x4 mode) When M.2_3 slot is operating in PCIe mode, M.2_3 will be disabled.

ps: I assume as the M.2 has its own heatsink ditch the motherboard's one?

 

[NeilF]

Thanks... M2_1 it is then

 

[NeilF]

There's nothing about the PCIe5 slot for M2_1 being a better connection to the CPU than say the PCIe4 M2_2 slot?

EDIT: There does seem to be general talk with Ryzen MBs that M2_1 goes straight to the CPU while the others go through a controller?

 

[NeilF]

It says in the tech specs and the manual which ones are connected to what, since it depends on the motherboard.

They can have a maximum of 2x CPU connected M.2 slots, but not all boards use both.


I would be less keen on this slot first, because it is under the graphics card.

There's precious little in the manual. But maybe this (from the manual) implies that M2_1 and M2_2 are in effect the same animal (at least for a PCIe4 M.2 plugged in to them)?

AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Desktop Processors​

• M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280(supports PCIe 5.0 x4 mode)
• M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode

AMD B650 Chipset​

• M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)**
• ** M.2_3 slot shares bandwidth with PCIe 4.0 x16 slot (supports x4 mode) When M.2_3 slot is operating in PCIe mode, M.2_3 will be disabled.

So does that imply a PCI4 M.2 plugged into M2_1 or M2_2 is basically the same?

 

[NeilF]

So in my case using a PCIe4 M.2, M2_1 and M2_2 are basically the same... In that case - as suggested - if M2_2 is less obscured/covered by the GPU than M2_1, I'll use M2_2.

Thanks...

 

[NeilF]

The other way around, M.2_1 is usually above the GPU.

Apols... Misread your ealier post. M2_1 it is.

Thanks...