Not that you’d, however you can: When particulars relating to a graphics card with an built-in M.2 slot emerged earlier this yr, the aim of the weird function was unclear. This week, a correct unveiling from Asus make clear the benefits of connecting further motherboard elements to a GPU.
Asus’s new Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti SSD largely seems and behaves like a typical mid-range Ada Lovelace graphics card. However, its embedded M.2. port leverages the element’s distinctive motherboard placement to enhance SSD efficiency and help different {hardware}.
The notable function is feasible on the mainstream GPU as a result of its graphics processing performance solely makes use of 8 out of 16 PCIe lanes. The remaining lanes, which higher-end playing cards cannot spare with out struggling efficiency degradation, go towards the M.2 slot, permitting mid-range GPU customers to take full benefit of their motherboard.
An further NVMe SSD port is an apparent benefit, particularly in PCs with a restricted variety of them. Other distributors have launched add-in-boards devoted to internet hosting SSDs to squeeze mass storage choices into compact setups. However, a graphics card’s cooling equipment affords one other profit.
Although the Dual RTX 4060 Ti is a PCIe 4.0 GPU, it will possibly function an SSD at PCIe 5.0 speeds if the drive and motherboard help PCIe 5.0. In the above video, Asus demonstrated an built-in SSD reaching learn/write speeds of round 12GB/s.
To attain such efficiency whereas linked on to the motherboard, PCIe 5.0 SSDs require huge heatsinks. Otherwise, they’ll throttle to speeds harking back to disk drives. Meanwhile, the corporate’s demonstration confirmed the GPU-connected drive sustaining a steady 50 levels Celsius with no discernable slowdown.
Asus additional demoed the cardboard’s versatility by connecting the M.2 slot to an exterior RTX 4090. Although the flagship card is proven working with fewer PCIe lanes than common, the PCIe 5.0 connection seems to deal with it nicely. The video exhibits the setup working Cyberpunk 2077 at round 150 fps (with unknown settings).
It is not clear why anybody would need to commit an additional M.2 slot to a second GPU, however the functionality is there if wanted. Perhaps the exterior connection may assist customers with PCs too small to include the monstrous 4090. Another extra wise use is likely to be attaching an exterior seize card.
Asus warns that participating the Dual RTX 4060 Ti’s built-in M.2 slot requires PCIe lane splitting, which customers should manually activate within the BIOS. Furthermore, the one Intel motherboards that help the function are the Z790, Z690, and H770, whereas all AMD boards embody splitting.
The Dual GeForce RTX 4060 Ti SSD is about to change into out there this month, however Asus did not specify a value.
