How to Get More Slots for SSD Drive – All You Need to Know

Before we move on to how to get more slots for the SSD drive, we may want to take a moment, and understand why we need to do it. For most users, gamers, and browsers, it is all about having more storage space, and there is nothing wrong with doing that.

It is always nice to have more than less. The same applies to your PC machine and laptop. This can be true when you are somebody who downloads a lot of music, video, and other files. You never know when you may need the additional space on your PC device.

When you have tried to get more slots for SSD drives, and have benefited from doing so, then you would beware of the massive gains you can achieve from doing so. It is not surprising when users want to know how they can add more M.2 SSD slots on their PC machines.

They may want to also know how to add a second M.2 SSD slot on their PC machine when the motherboard has a single M.2 slot. Adding more M.2 slots on the SSD does not have to be a complicated process.

How to add more slots on your SSD drive?

The first that you must know that is requires a small investment from your side. Besides, you may want to get yourself an M.2-slot PCIe expansion card. The PCIe expansion card comes with 1-4 M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs.

You should know how you can purchase the right M.2 expansion card. Moreover, you would also want to know where to plug it, and also learn about PCIe lanes. This is to beware why & how they matter for M.2 slots.

So, you need to purchase an M.2 PCIe expansion card. They need a free PCIe slot on your motherboard for occupying the PCIe lanes. Besides, you can also get information from the manufacturer of your PC machine or laptop.

Additionally, you must also know the different kinds of SSD interfaces, that include the PCIe and the SATA. In this post, we will read about each of them briefly, and get an idea of which of them would be an ideal choice for your PC device SSD drive.

When all of this sounds too much for you, then we will break it down here.

What are PCIe slots?

The PCIe slots are nothing but expansion cards that can be placed on your PC machine. Some of them also include M.2 expansion cards, graphics cards, Wi-Fi cards, etc. All the motherboards come with them.

Besides, there are several kinds of PCIe slots. The slots are connected to the PCIe lanes, and the x1 slot is the smallest PCIe slot. It has a single PCIe land and is mainly used for smaller and low-demanding expansion cards.

The x16 slot is the largest PCIe slot and ideally connects to 16 PCIe lanes. However, you must find that the PCIe x16 slot has a size of a full x16 slot. To know the right size for these slots, you may want to check the motherboard specification sheet.

How to get more slots for an SSD drive?

1. SATA

We begin with the SATA. When you are short on storage space on your hard drive, then you may want to make use of an SSD. The SSD is quicker, faster, and better than the HDD. So, your PC device can boot up in a short while.

When you notice that your PC machine is taking too much time to boot up, then you might want to change to the SSD from the HDD. When you are worried about your hard drive, then you will want to know that it will take a very long to reach your operating system.

When you want to know if your PC device can accommodate the SSD, then you can read through the maker’s website. This will help you & understand if your motherboard is compatible with the SSD.

2. PCIe

The second is the PCIe. Here, you will need to remove the old hard drive to install the new SSD into another slot. It is quite simple, and when you are not sure, then you can take the help of a professional technician.

The first step would be to disconnect the power, then you need to use the right tool to remove the screws from the PC case. Then you need to slide the SSD unit out from the slot until you hear a click from it.

When the SSD is installed in the shield, then you may want to know that it is held by the brace. You can also use the M.2 slot to install the SSD on your hard drive. Moreover, the SSD is small in size, than the HDD.

There is no need for you to change the size of your PC case. These can be found in the computer hardware store. You need to ensure that the SSD comes with the M.2 slot and that this kind of drive is mainly used for super-fast SSDs.

When you to get more slots for the SSD, then you might want to look for an SSD that makes use of the M.2 slot.

Also read Which PCIe Slot is Best for Your Graphics Card?

3. PCIe Interface

Third, we have the PCIe interface. Here, you can get a card that comes with two-lane support or the PCIe adapter that supports up to 8 lanes. The PCIe lanes are laid out in doubling sequences.

When you require two more lanes, then you can make use of the PCIe adapter for a double NVMe SSD. If you use the M.2 SSD, then you can use the adapter to position the unit on the PCIe slot.

You can also upgrade to a PC that has a two-lane PCIe adapter. The PCIe 6.0 is the latest standard that comes with the quickest data transfer rate. It uses pulse amplitude modulation that has 4 levels (PAM4) that can encode the highest possible data transfer rate.

The PCIe 4.0 standard comes with 8 lanes, while the PCIe 3.0. support 4 lanes.

Conclusion

We have ended our discussion on how to get more slots for an SSD drive. The best way that you can do that would be to get a PCIe expansion card for M.2 slots. But there are other methods too that as well.

This depends on the kind of expansion cards and the versions that you are looking for. When you want to select the right kind of expansion card, then you should make sure that it is on the right PCIe slot, size, the difference between NVMe and SATA SSDs, and PCIe lane.

We hope that enjoyed reading the post and if you found it helpful for your cause, then please feel free to share it with your friends or colleagues. If you have any queries about getting more slots for the SSD drive, then please don’t hesitate to write to us using the comment section.