Solved 2 M.2 slots which slot is faster?


smirk

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I have an asus Z390M-PRO GAMING (wifi) motherboard that has 2 M.2 slots, I looked in the manual but I couldn't tell the difference (I'm still learning the new technology) I'm asking because I have a Samsung 970 evo plus that's 250 gb and that is pretty quick but I also have an Intel M.2 that is 500gb. So I was thinking about using the Intel M.2 for my OS and use the Samsung with the Intel Rapid Storage software as cache for the Intel m.2 or at least use the Samsung m.2 for the page file,temp files, web browser cache etc.


The website for my motherboard below:

 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus FX505DT-WB52
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 3550H
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX505DT (FP5)
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4-3200 • CL=22 • NON-ECC • SODIMM • 260-pin • 1.2V • 2Rx8/1Rx8 • PC4-25600
    Graphics Card(s)
    4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (ASUStek Computer Inc) 128MB ATI AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics
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  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
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    ASUS
    CPU
    Intel i7 8700k
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    TUF Z390M-PRO GAMING (WI-FI)
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    OLOy WarHawk RGB (Intel/AMD Ready) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) 16GB
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    PNY GeForce RTX 3060 12GB XLR8 Gaming Revel Epic-X RGB Single Fan Graphics Card
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    Stock
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    LG UltraGear FHD 24-Inch Gaming Monitor 24GL600F-B
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    1920x1080 @ 144Hz
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    PNY CS2140 500GB (SSD)

    Seagate BarraCuda 4TB (ST4000DMZ04/DM004)
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    EVGA 750 BQ 80 Plus Bronze PSU
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    NZXT H510 Flow
    Cooling
    Cooler Master MA620M dual tower air cooler and SP120 RGB Elite Performance 120MM PMW Triple Fan
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    GM702 GAMING MOUSE
    Keyboard
    PICTEK RGB Gaming Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    30mbs
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    Mozilla Firefox
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    Norton 360 Deluxe
I've had an ASUS Motherboard with 2 M.2 slots. They label them M.2 -1 and M.2 - 2 (don't have that computer or the documentation here now).

I seem to remember the following restrictions: M.2-1 was slightly faster (but you will not notice any difference).
Only M.2-1 could handle both SATA and PCI.E M.2 sticks.
M.2-2 could only handle PCI.E interface AND it did not work if you put in a second graphics card. This was un-documented and it took a while before i figured it out.

It is all in the instruction manual for that motherboard. If you can't find it but you want to be sure, you need to contact Asus.
Tom's hardware is a better place to ask about this, since this forum is about Windows and not Hardware.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
From your user manual they look to be the same:

M.2 Slots.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homemade
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 8-Core
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Onboard ATI Radeon
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus 28"
    Screen Resolution
    4K - 3840 X 2160
    Hard Drives
    PNY CS2140 500GB M.2 NVMe Gen4 x4
    Western Digital 500GB M.2 NVME Gen3
    OCZ-TRION 100 500GB SSD
    OCZ-TRION 150 500GB SSD
M.2_1 supports PCIe or SATA
and M.2_1 shares SATA 2 when using a "SATA" device.

M.2_2 supports only PCIe



Image1.png


The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is an M.2 PCIe 3.0 x 4

I can't tell what the Intel is without a model number.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

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  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
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    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
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    Firefox (latest)
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    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
M.2_1 supports PCIe or SATA
and M.2_1 shares SATA 2 when using a "SATA" device.

M.2_2 supports only PCIe



View attachment 43220


The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is an M.2 PCIe 3.0 x 4

I can't tell what the Intel is without a model number.
Intel SSD 660p Series M.2 2280 PCIE 3.0x4 512gb
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus FX505DT-WB52
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 3550H
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX505DT (FP5)
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4-3200 • CL=22 • NON-ECC • SODIMM • 260-pin • 1.2V • 2Rx8/1Rx8 • PC4-25600
    Graphics Card(s)
    4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (ASUStek Computer Inc) 128MB ATI AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    (1920x1080@60Hz)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 860 Evo 500GB
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Stock
    Keyboard
    Stock
    Mouse
    Stock
    Internet Speed
    30 MBPS
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Norton 360 Deluxe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    Intel i7 8700k
    Motherboard
    TUF Z390M-PRO GAMING (WI-FI)
    Memory
    OLOy WarHawk RGB (Intel/AMD Ready) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) 16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    PNY GeForce RTX 3060 12GB XLR8 Gaming Revel Epic-X RGB Single Fan Graphics Card
    Sound Card
    Stock
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG UltraGear FHD 24-Inch Gaming Monitor 24GL600F-B
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 @ 144Hz
    Hard Drives
    PNY CS2140 500GB (SSD)

    Seagate BarraCuda 4TB (ST4000DMZ04/DM004)
    PSU
    EVGA 750 BQ 80 Plus Bronze PSU
    Case
    NZXT H510 Flow
    Cooling
    Cooler Master MA620M dual tower air cooler and SP120 RGB Elite Performance 120MM PMW Triple Fan
    Mouse
    GM702 GAMING MOUSE
    Keyboard
    PICTEK RGB Gaming Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    30mbs
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Norton 360 Deluxe
Intel SSD 660p Series M.2 2280 PCIE 3.0x4 512gb



The Samsung is about 2.3x faster.
I'd probably put the Samsung in M.2_1 and use it for the Windows drive.
The Samsung already has a 512 MB cache.

Put the Intel in M.2_2 and use it for storage, games, backups, etc.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?

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