X99 Sabertooth: no connection made for M.2 SSD.
X99 Sabertooth: no connection made for M.2 SSD.
Hello everyone! I'm trying to set up my friend's first PC using some parts I found. The components include an i7-5930k processor, an x99 Sabertooth motherboard, and a Samsung 960 EVO M.2 SATA drive. In theory, everything should work, but the M.2 slot isn't showing up in the BIOS. I've tried updating drivers with a HDD, but nothing seems to work. I checked the manual for the x99 to understand why this is happening, and it mentions 28-lane CPUs can use the M.2, but not 40-lane ones like the 5930k. Can anyone help? Is this setup doable or should I give up?
According to what I understand, the 960 EVO is NVMe, which should function properly. If the SSD is actually SATA, that could be the reason. On X99, M.2 only supports PCIe (NVMe) drives. I’d suggest resetting CMOS and testing with standard settings. There might be a configuration that turns off the M.2 slot. Also, you can’t have a PCIe x16_3 slot while using an M.2 at the same time.
Apologies for the confusion. It seems Samsung 860 uses M.2, not SATA. The support for names doesn’t apply in the same way. I’ve rechecked the specifications and confirmed it’s an M.2 device.
If it's a SATA M.2 connection, it won't work through the built-in M.2 port. These slots only handle NVMe exclusively, or SATA alone, so dual support isn't assured. The X99 Sabertooth manual indicates that only PCIe (NVMe) drives are compatible with the M.2 slot. This seems consistent across all X99 models. If you still wish to use an SSD, consider adding PCIe to M.2 expansion cards or SATA adapters that transform M.2 connections into standard SATA power and data cables.
I decided to go with the Samsung 970 Evo M.2 and it functioned perfectly. Appreciate the advice and expertise!