Gigabyte Z790 Gaming X AX M.2 Slots: Full Guide

The Gigabyte Z790 Gaming X AX motherboard shines with its robust M.2 slots configuration, supporting PCIe 5.0 and 4.0 NVMe SSDs for blazing storage speeds. This ATX board, tailored for Intel 12th/13th/14th Gen CPUs, features four M.2 slots: one PCIe 5.0 x4, two PCIe 4.0 x4, and one PCIe 3.0 x4, plus heatsinks for thermal stability.

Ideal for gamers and creators, its M.2 setup delivers up to 14GB/s bandwidth, RAID options, and easy expansion. This listicle dives into specs, installation, bonuses, and optimization tips for unlocking the board's full potential.

Slot 1: PCIe 5.0 M.2 Overview

Primary slot direct from CPU for ultimate speed.

  • Supports Gen5 SSDs
  • Dissipator heatsink included

Slot 2 & 3: PCIe 4.0 M.2 Details

High-performance shared with GPU lanes.

  • Up to 7000MB/s reads
  • Tool-less installation

Slot 4: PCIe 3.0 M.2 Specs

Versatile for boot or secondary drives.

  • SATA/NVMe compatible
  • Shared SATA ports

Thermal Management Features

M.2 Thermal Guard III prevents throttling.

  • Stack heatsinks
  • Active cooling optional

RAID and Storage Bonuses

Intel RST for RAID 0/1/5/10 arrays.

  • Boot RAID support
  • Fast caching

BIOS Optimization Tips

Tweak for max M.2 performance.

  • Enable Resizable BAR
  • PCIe bifurcation

Compatibility Highlights

Works with top SSDs like Samsung 990 Pro.

  • DDR5 up to 192GB
  • WiFi 6E onboard

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