Motherboard that supports x3 M.2 SSD and 7 SATA devices

Hi all,

I'm looking for Z370 motherboard that would support x3 M.2 SSD and 7 SATA devices.

The only brand I could find that makes motherboard with many SATA ports is Asrock.

Z370 Taichi has 6+2 SATA ports which would be fine, but description is strange it is said
*M2_1, SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled.
M2_2, SATA3_4 and SATA3_5 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled.
If M2_3 is occupied by a SATA-type M.2 device, SATA3_3 will be disabled.
**Type 22110 M.2 module is supported with either M2_1 or M2_2 socket.
https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z370%20Taichi/index.asp#Specification


So in the end would I be able to use x3 M.2 SSD (three Samsung 960 EVO) and 7 SATA devices?

The other possibility is to use previous generation mb+cpu Asrock Z270 has 6+4 SATA ports.

In the Z370 Taichi, there are 3x M.2 slots (M2_1, M2_2, and M2_3) and 8x SATA ports (SATA3_0, SATA3_1, SATA3_2, SATA3_3, SATA3_4, SATA3_5, SATA3_A1, and SATA3_A2) but not all can be used simultaneously because lanes (bandwidth) are shared among slots/ports due to the limitations on how the chipset lanes are distributed for all other ports in that motherboard. It's also important to note that the M.2 slots can be run using either a slower SATA-based M.2 SSD (at SATA3 speeds or ~6Gbps) or the faster PCIe-based/NVMe M.2 SSD (at PCIe3.0 x4 speeds or ~32Gbps) because some SATA ports may be affected by the type of device installed in the M.2 slots.

The meaning of the spec description you posted from the Z370 Taichi are explained as follows:

"M2_1, SATA3_0 and SATA3_1 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled."
This means: Using the M2_1 slot (whether SATA-based or PCIe-based M.2 SSDs) will disable 2x SATA ports (SATA3_0 and SATA3_1), using the SATA3_0 port will disable 1x M.2 slot (M2_1) and 1x SATA port (SATA3_1), and using the SATA3_1 port will disable 1x M.2 slot (M2_1) and 1x SATA port (SATA3_0). In short, among these three ports, you can only use one at a given time.

"M2_2, SATA3_4 and SATA3_5 share lanes. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled."
This means: Using the M2_2 slot (whether SATA-based or PCIe-based M.2 SSDs) will disable 2x SATA ports (SATA3_4 and SATA3_5), using the SATA3_4 port will disable 1x M.2 slot (M2_2) and 1x SATA port (SATA3_5), and using the SATA3_5 port will disable 1x M.2 slot (M2_2) and 1x SATA port (SATA3_4). In short, among these three ports, you can only use one at a given time.

"If M2_3 is occupied by a SATA-type M.2 device, SATA3_3 will be disabled."
This means: Using the M2_3 slot with a SATA-based M.2 SSD will disable 1x SATA port (SATA3_3). However, if you use the M2_3 slot with a PCIe-based M.2 SSD, the SATA3_3 can still be used simultaneously with it.

So, if you plug your three Samsung 960 EVO M.2 SSDs (all PCIe-based SSDs) on all of the M.2 slots of the Z370 Taichi, a grand total of 4x SATA ports will be disabled because of it and only the remaining 4x SATA ports (SATA3_2, SATA3_3, SATA3_A1, and SATA3_A2) are available for use.

This is the same case for the other Asrock model (the Asrock Fatal1ty Z370 Professional Gaming i7) that has the same M.2 and SATA ports configuration as the Z370 Taichi.

As of this date, there are no other motherboard models that have 3x M.2 slots + more than 7x SATA ports, other than those two Asrock models. There are, however, some motherboards that have 3x M.2 slots but only 6x SATA ports, for example: the Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 7, the Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 5, and the Msi Z370 Godlike Gaming.

Due to your requirement of having 7x SATA ports, you may want to re-consider integrating some SATA storage devices into a bigger-capacity one (for example, instead of using seven 1TB HDDs, you may want to get four 2TB HDDs) to decrease the number of SATA ports required. This will also be beneficial in terms of lower power consumption, less heat-generation, and more quiet operation.

If indeed you require such high number of SATA ports/devices, you may want to consider plugging some of your M.2 SSD devices in a PCIe slot. For example, you can just plug one (or two) of the Samsung 960 EVO into the motherboard's M.2 slot (the ones that doesn't disable any SATA ports). Then, plug the other Samsung 960 EVO SSD/s on a PCI-e expansion card such as this example: https://www.amazon.com/Lycom-DT-120-PCIe-Adapter-Support/dp/B00MYCQP38

I just ordered this motherboard am trying to figure this out before it comes, and am still confused about SATA sharing lanes with each other. For example if I did not use M.2_1, and only used SATA3_0, I could not use SATA3_1? What is the point of having two SATA ports if you can only use one at a time? I was under the assumption if I didn't use the M.2 slot, I could use both SATA3_0 and SATA3_1, but then using one of them would disable M.2_1. Otherwise it seems the extra SATA slots are essentially useless. I realize this post is old but any clarification would be greatly appreciated.