Asrock Z170 Pro4 and M.2 Socket limitation

On the specification page for the Asrock Z170 Pro4 motherboard it is stated:

User wrote: On the specification page for the Asrock Z170 Pro4 motherboard it is stated: If M2_1 is occupied by a SATA-type M.2 device, SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 will be disabled. Does that mean that if PCIe type of SSD (such as Samsung SM951) is installed into motherboard's M.2 socket the SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 ports will be available for use and will NOT be disabled?

IMO the specs you quoted are correct. Meaning a PCIe SSD like the SM951 will not cause the two SATA3 ports to become disabled. But as Xaltar said, we won't know absolutely until we can test it.

I think the specs are correct because a PCIe and SATA type M.2 SSD have different "keys" in their connectors. So the board can tell which one is being used given the connector type.

PCIe SSDs don't use SATA resources, just PCIe lanes. Which is why I believe the specs are correct.

That's my wager, we will see eventually.

EDIT: I'm sure a PCIe M.2 SSD in the M2_1 slot will not cause any SATA ports to become disabled on any Z170 board.

I can say that because I have a SM951 in a Z97 Extreme6 board's M2.1 slot now, and none of the SATA ports are lost/disabled. A PCIe SSD does not use any SATA resources, which is why the spec you quoted is written as it is.


Edited by parsec - 08 Aug 2015 at 3:42pm