Does the m.2 2230 slot on the NUC7i3DNKE have to be a wireless card? Could I put anything into that slot, or is there something about the pins that will limit it specifically to wireless signals?

[NickShades]

Depending on the information which I reach, some documentation indicates that the m.2 2230 is for Wireless only. Other things that I read indicate that is not the case. There are hard drives and other modules available for 2230 besides wireless, and I would like to know my options

[n_scott_pearson]

You are confusing module type with module size. While it is certainly true that there are M.2 SSDs that come in the 2230 module size, these SSDs are still keyed for Type B (NVMe x2 or SATA) and/or Type M (NVMe x4 or SATA) connectors. The secondary M.2 connector on the NUC boards is designed to specifically host modules of Type E.

A question that comes to mind is whether an appropriately-keyed adapter could break out the PCIe lanes and allow them to be used for some other module type? Could the two PCIe lanes in the Type E connector be broken out and used to support a (Type B-keyed) SSD? Could the four PCIe lanes in the Type M connector be broken out and used to support a x4 Graphics adapter? I don't know the answer to these questions and have asked the NUC design team to comment...

...S

[NickShades]

I am quite new to the m.2 concepts. I am familiar with the keying types. It looked, to me, that it being immediately underneath the SSD port that it was keyed the same. I could easily be mistaken though, as I spent little time actually looking at anything on the board besides the very basics for what I had to install (SSD, Ram)

I'll get another look at it, perhaps this week, and make a decision if I want to try anything else on it.

I didn't even think about its keying when I was asking about the 2230 connector.