Intel® Optane™ Solid State Drives
Support for Issues Related to Solid State Drives based on Intel® Optane™ technology, Intel® MAS and Firmware Update Tool
432 Discussions

Best way to connect 2 Intel 905p with Z370 motherboard

PStof
Beginner
1,749 Views

I currently have an Asus Prime Z370-A motherboard with i7-8086K processor, 64G RAM, GTX1060 graphics card, and 2 relatively old SATA SSD drives (256GB & 1TB), running Ubuntu Linux. My main use is developing software.

I'm considering replacing both SATA drives with Intel 905p of similar or slightly larger size. I don't need RAID. One drive is the Linux install and /tmp directory, the other is /home for files.

My main question is what would be the best way to connect 2 of these 905p drives? I've seen sites suggesting better performance is achieved using the pcie lanes from the CPU rather than those from the chipset. The Prime Z370-A manual says the two pcie16 slots can each have 8 lanes when 2 cards are installed. I need one slot for the graphics card. Can I use a product like the Asus Hyper M.2 X16 card (my motherboard manual says it is compatible for up to 2 of its 4 drives if used in the 2nd pcie16 slot) with two Intel 905p U.2 drives, using the U.2 to M.2 adaptor cables? Do the U.2 drives work with such a card?

I checked the Intel Product Compatibility Tool list for 905p. There's no mention of the Asus Hyper M.2 X16 card. Asus Prime Z370-A isn't listed. Neither are *any* Z370 chipset motherboards! Maybe the list is not updated recently enough for Z370 motherboards?

0 Kudos
7 Replies
AlHill
Super User
718 Views

You really should ask ASUS and the linux community your question.

Doc

0 Kudos
idata
Employee
718 Views

Hi PaulStoffregen,

Thank you for posting in the Intel® communities.

As you were suggested above, according to your inquiries, the best recommendation is to contact ASUS* directly to confirm if their hardware is compatible with the Intel® SSD 905p Series.

Currently, the options that you have are the U.2 15mm and HHHL (CEM3.0) form factors. There is a new one that may be available soon which comes as M.2 form factor (although it'll be only available in 380GB): https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/memory-storage/solid-state-drives/enthusiast-ssds/optane-ssd-905p-brief.html Intel® Optane™ SSD 905P Series for Demanding Storage Workloads

The way you connect them depends on your specific hardware and purposes, so it's better if you ask these specific questions about the ASUS* hardware to them. Actually, I have taken a look at the Hyper M.2 x16 card specifications and the compatible models list doesn't include the motherboard you have, so it's probably that the Hyper M.2 x16 card is not compatible with your motherboard model, however, by checking the specifications of the motherboard, it's mentioned that it supports the Hyper M.2 x16 card so it'd be better to contact ASUS* for clarification.

I hope this information helps you. If there is anything else I can help you with, feel free to ask.

Have a nice day.

Regards,

 

Diego V.
PStof
Beginner
718 Views

Suppose I replace my motherboard. The cost of a new motherboard is small compared to buying two 905p drives.

Which motherboard can I buy to be certain of compatibility with two 905p drives and my i7-8086K chip?

0 Kudos
idata
Employee
718 Views

Hi PaulStoffregen,

I understand what you mean. The motherboards that have been tested with the Intel® Optane™ SSD 905P Series are the ones listed in the following site (under Memory and Storage>Storage): http://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?activeModule=Memory%20and%20Storage http://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?activeModule=Memory%20and%20Storage

I recommend you to use that list as a reference. If you want to check with the motherboard manufacturer for compatibility with another model, you can use the information in the following article to check what the system requirements are for the drive: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000028298/memory-and-storage.html?_ga=2.73375891.1062703705.1538504955-1716436649.1536075640 System Requirements for an Intel® Optane™ SSD 905P Series Drive

I hope this information helps you.

Have a nice day.

Regards,

 

Diego V.
0 Kudos
PStof
Beginner
718 Views

> I recommend you to use that list as a reference.

I'm looking at that list now. I see 8 AsRock, 7 ASUS, 1 EVGA, 6 Gigabyte and 7 MSI boards.

NONE of them use the Z370 or other chipsets which are required for i7-8086K and all of Intel's other current generation 1151 pin chips.

0 Kudos
PStof
Beginner
718 Views

Here are the board I see on the list, sorted by chipset.

All of these are compatible with only older generation Intel processors!

5 boards with Z97:

AsRock Z97-EXTREME-6

ASUS MAXIMUS-VII-HERO (has X97)

ASUS Z97E

Gigabyte Z97X-SLI

MSI Z97-Gaming-5

7 boards with X99:

AsRock X99 Extreme4

AsRock X99X KILLER FATAL1TY

ASUS X99-A

Gigabyte X99-UD3P

MSI X99S MPOWER

MSI X99S SLI PLUS

MSI X99S XPOWER

13 boards with Z170:

AsRock Z170 EXTREME 6

AsRock Fatality Z170 Gaming i7

AsRock Z170 OC Formula Motherboard

AsRock Z170 Pro4

ASUS MAXIMUS-VIII-GENE (has Z170)

ASUS Z170 Deluxe

ASUS Z170 R.O.G. Maximus Extreme VIII

Gigabyte Z170 Gaming GT

Gigabyte Z170X UD3

Gigabyte Z170X-UD5

MSI Z170A G45 Motherboard

MSI Z170A Pro Motherboard

MSI Z170A Xpower Gaming Titanium Edition

4 boards with Z270:

AsRock Z270 Killer SLI/ac

ASUS Prime Z270A

EVGA Z270 FTW K

Gigabyte GA-Z270X-GAMING-K5

0 Kudos
idata
Employee
718 Views

Hi PaulStoffregen,

I understand you, however that's the list with the supported motherboards that work with the Intel® Optane™ SSD 905P Series that is currently available. This doesn't mean that they are the only ones that will work with the drive.

You may consider the disclaimer at the end of the page that states the following:

This site includes information about products that are not manufactured by Intel. Information about these third party products is provided to Intel by either the product manufacturer or vendor and Intel makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy of this information. Information on this site regarding third party motherboard products should not be relied upon in any way without checking with the motherboard manufacturer directly. Third party motherboards mentioned on this website have not been tested by Intel. Where indicated, some products may have been tested by Intel or a third party.

Having said this, your current motherboard may support the drive and it may not be needed to get a new motherboard. However, as we don't manufacture those motherboards, we cannot guarantee the support and compatibility with them. That's something the manufacturer should confirm to you.

Because of this reason, the best recommendation is to contact ASUS*. From our side, we can tell you what the system requirements are for the drive to work properly. For example, according to the article I shared with you before, the validated OS is Windows* 7 or Windows* 10. A different OS like Ubuntu has not been validated so we don't guarantee the support and proper functionality of the drive in this environment. As you can see in the motherboard compatibility list, the only motherboard tested in an Ubuntu* environment was the Gigabyte* Z170 Gaming GT with Ubuntu* 15.04, but this doesn't mean this is the only configuration with Ubuntu* that will work with the drive.

Additional information can be checked in this other article: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000025766/memory-and-storage.html?_ga=2.156386104.282375860.1538511989-1716436649.1536075640 Frequently Asked Questions for Intel® Optane™ SSD 9 Series

It's up to the user to confirm with the motherboard manufacturer, or the Linux vendor if the drive will work or not in a specific environment with an specific OS version.

I'm not trying to confuse you with this information. Actually, I'm trying to explain you all the information we have available about the drive, however the details that you want to know (specific motherboard model that supports the processor and drive) are better addressed by the motherboard manufacturer.

Regards,

 

Diego V.
0 Kudos
Reply