You'll need at least one SATA port for connecting your storage devices.
You'll need at least one SATA port for connecting your storage devices.
The Lian Li Lancool 2 Mesh supports up to 9 drives (3x3.5 and 6x2.5 or 9x2.5). To link them all, you'll need ports on the motherboard depending on your setup. The drives inside the cage have either 1 or 3 ports. The Asus Tuf model only offers 4 x SATA 3.0 ports. The remaining 5 may require adapters. It's just a fun question, and you probably won't need more than 4 right now.
The instructions mention various port configurations like 7 x 2.5 or 3 x 3.5 plus 4 x 2.5. So, there are 7 sata ports. Edit: note that the PSU cover wasn’t included. It should fit up to 9 ports. You probably need a special kind of motherboard. Side note: I’m really annoyed with whoever at Lian-Li that puts their single PDF manual in a ZIP before uploading it to Google Drive.
A drive cage merely secures drives in place, lacking any technical purpose. It doesn't feature a connector that can divide a SATA connection among drives. Therefore, each drive still requires its own SATA port within the cage. With four ports you can link four drives, as long as all ports remain operational simultaneously. Occasionally certain ports become inactive, for instance when an NVMe SSD is also connected. You'll need to consult the motherboard's (online) manual or specifications.
We have ample space with four SATA ports. As mentioned earlier, it was just a bit of curiosity. If I need more, I can always purchase an additional expansion card. In reality, the Asus TUF model supports a PICe 3.0 x 16 interface that operates in PCH x 4 mode—meaning the x16 capability is actually PCH x 4. I wasn’t aware of this before, and thank you for bringing it to my attention. Checking the manual and website confirmed nothing suggesting any port would be disabled. The motherboard I’m considering is the Asus TUF B660m-Plus D4.
I think you're talking about the specifications, noting that the PCIe 3.0 x16 port is quite versatile. You can fit a x1 card into an x16 slot and vice versa, as long as it fits physically. In this scenario, the slot itself is sized for x16, so it can accommodate any physical shape but will operate in x4 mode. This means the connection to the chipset uses PCIe 3.0 x4. This isn't something the board does inherently. For instance, the MSI MEG Z390 ACE manual (page 34) explains: - SATA2 won't work when placing a M.2 SATA device in the M2_1 slot. - SATA5 won't work for the same reason in the M2_2 slot. - Both SATA5 and SATA6 won't function if you try to install an M.2 PCIe device in the M2_2 slot.
But only in PCH (expansion card). If I connect a PCIe 3.0 directly, it will use the x16 mode. For instance, if I link the GPU there (just an example, not actually planned), it would always operate at 3.0x16. Thanks for the clarification. As mentioned before, I wasn't aware of this feature.
The details indicate it only works with x4, despite being labeled as a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot. It’s physically an x16 port but lacks wiring for higher speeds. Asus may have omitted electrical contacts in some areas. Intel’s B660 chipset page confirms support is limited to x1, x2 or x4 for both PCIe 3.0 and 4.0. The design uses 14 lanes total—8 for PCIe 3.0 and 6 for PCIe 4.0—but only four lanes are dedicated to PCIe 4.0 (M.2_2), one for PCIe 4.0 x1, and four for PCIe 3.0 (x16). Under the I/O specs, it also allows a combination of 1x16 and 1x4 from the CPU, meaning it can handle x16 PCIe 5.0 lanes for the GPU and x4 PCIe 4.0 lanes for M.2_1.
You're spot on! I investigated a bit differently this time. The specs mention support for X4 mode, but the overview says 1 PCIe 3.0 x16 (PCH) with x4 mode. That suggests it might switch to x4 when an expansion card is connected. I checked pcguide101.com and found some useful info: having a second PCIe slot usually limits it to either x8 or x4 lanes, not full 16. Most commercial boards convert the x16 slot into an x4 slot, which is why they label them as x16(x4). These slots look like x16 but only support 4 lanes. X4 boards have 32 pins, while PCIe 3.0 x16 should have 11 pins. The extra two pins on the 3.0 version seem unnecessary. The two pins on the 3.0 are probably for compatibility reasons. Overall, it makes sense now—just a bit of clarification from the specs.