TR Forums

Hello friends!

Every few years I attempt a challenge to build a system for me and I love every minute of it.
Once in a while though I need help, I am not good at computer area, have some basic knowledge but many times I need a helping hand.

The system I want to build:

The Work & Play
Component Price
Processor Intel Core i7-7820X $599.99
Cooler Cooler Master MasterLiquid Pro 280 $99.99
Motherboard Gigabyte Aorus X299 Gaming 7 $399.99
Memory G.Skill Trident Z 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4-3200 $336.99
Graphics Aorus GeForce GTX 1080 $579.99
Storage Samsung 960 EVO 1TB $419.99
HGST Deskstar NAS 6TB $228.99
LG WH14NS40 Blu-ray burner $49.99
Enclosure Fractal Design Define R5 $99.99
PSU Corsair RM1000i $179.99
Total $3291.89

Here is my first problem.

I am using https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product. ... 6813145014
and https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product. ... 12K54C9643

I have no idea where to plug in the SSD on this mobo.

Could you please point me into the video or website or simply let me know how and where I install this particular SSD on the mobo?

Thank you very much!

Cheers, AJ

That $400 motherboard has three M.2 slots. There's one between the CPU socket and the top PCIe slot, one just below the top PCIe slot (likely to be covered by the graphics card's cooelr) and one in line with the lower two PCIe slots. They're labeled as "13" on the diagram on page 28 of your user manual. The series of photographs on page 35 of the manual should make it clear how to install the M.2 drive and the heatsink.

Thank you very much! What I love about these forums is that dummy like me can get help instantly.

I was expecting that there are components hidden by cooling parts, at least I was heading the right direction.
Sorry for such a trivial questions but more will come...

Thank you again!

I don't mean to be crude, but... RTFM? I usually read it front to back after drooling over new hardware but before I actually install it.

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

I don't mean to be crude, but... RTFM? I usually read it front to back after drooling over new hardware but before I actually install it.

Think I can go one up on that-
I generally download manual and browse before considering purchase of MB.

Meh, I throw the manuals in the bin as I'm unpacking boards. If I get really stuck there's the internet instead

Guys, not everybody has been building PCs for the better part of 20 years

And to be honest, when was the last time you needed a manual to just plug stuff in? If there's one thing that's changed over the years, it's the fact that building a PC these days is like doing Legos.

I've been building PC's over 25 years but I still often reference the PIN diagrams in the manuals to make sure I'm connecting correctly. Especially the Front Panel PIN arrangement since it can vary between motherboard manufacturers and not every vendor provides the handy "lego" connector block. Sometimes DIMM slots may have an odd configuration specific to manufacturer for RAM chips to be in a certain order for single or double channels.

morphine wrote:

Guys, not everybody has been building PCs for the better part of 20 years

And to be honest, when was the last time you needed a manual to just plug stuff in? If there's one thing that's changed over the years, it's the fact that building a PC these days is like doing Legos.

Totally agree. It's pretty obvious where stuff is and what fits where. That said, I used the manual on my last build to know the pins to hook up my power and front audio because the board wasn't labeled. The other benefit is to know WHERE you should plug stuff in. Sometimes the PCI-E lanes are not as they appear.

I haven't looked at the manual (since I don't own this board) but would it be safe to say that installing the M.2 SSD in the slot below the chipset heatsink would be preferable to the other two slots?

I'd cut some slack here. Been building systems for enough time now and made some pretty big mistakes before - changing out a video card on a $10,000 workstation while it was powered on was probably the biggest. But as new tech becomes available, have to learn new stuff. Just built a system with an M.2 drive for the first time, and was wondering why it wasn't recognized in BIOS. Turns out that they are really sensitive to orientation in the slot. When I secured the end with the screw, it was off by about half a millimeter. I had to pull it and reseat. And this was after it wouldn't even enter the BIOS screen on first power on. Had to clear CMOS first.

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

I don't mean to be crude, but... RTFM? I usually read it front to back after drooling over new hardware but before I actually install it.

That was cold.

HERETIC wrote:

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

I don't mean to be crude, but... RTFM? I usually read it front to back after drooling over new hardware but before I actually install it.

Think I can go one up on that-
I generally download manual and browse before considering purchase of MB.

That was super cold.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

That $400 motherboard

Let's first focus on the price!

toastie wrote:

I'd cut some slack here. Been building systems for enough time now and made some pretty big mistakes before -

Yep same here, I've had a few electrical smokes and bricked a couple motherboards from bad BIOS flashes. Trial and error over the years. Whenever I do hit a road block and the manual does not help I get to googlin'. Ususally someone has ran into a similar issue and maybe even posted a helpful video on Youtube. Of course Tech Report is one of the best resources among multiple PC forums and hardware review sites, i.e. Maximum PC, TomsHardware, TweakTown, PCPartpicker, PCPer, HardwareSecrets, etc.

Wow, would never expect so many replies to my silly question post.
Thank you, already learned a lot from SOME of your replies.

I do like reading manuals and I do try to read them when I can.
This was system already built by the TR crew so there was no reason to investigate if components will work.
The manual that came with mobo had nothing about removing temporarily the heat dispersing parts so I wanted to know what to.
This is the first time I am building the system with M.2 drive.

The purpose of asking here , no matter if I do RTFM or not is to rely on friendly help which I did get immediately and I am very grateful for, thank you again.
Telling to RTFM does not contribute anything to that post but I understand that many people just want easy answers and they get them.
Responses are not mandatory so if anybody finds my post worthless, stupid or having too trivial question, he/she should just not reply to it.

Thank you all who contributed here to my original question.
There will be more as I go on.
I am taking my time and having fun with that build and love every minute of it.

@Toastie: could you explain a bit more about orientation in the slot? Isn't it only one way to install it?

Anybody has anything to say on DPete27 question about SSD installation location? Any preferences? I know it will depend on other components locations.

End User wrote:

HERETIC wrote:

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

I don't mean to be crude, but... RTFM? I usually read it front to back after drooling over new hardware but before I actually install it.

Think I can go one up on that-
I generally download manual and browse before considering purchase of MB.

That was super cold.

Ha, ha, I do not care. Heretic forgot that I find TR reviews proven and do not need to re-research what was already done.

End User wrote:

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

I don't mean to be crude, but... RTFM? I usually read it front to back after drooling over new hardware but before I actually install it.

That was cold.

Nah... just a personal preference. I like reading manuals, just did not get to it yet and wanted the fast help so I can sleep, ha, ha. Posting RTFM does nothing anyway to the value of the post. I guess we are all different so whatever ...

End User wrote:

HERETIC wrote:

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

I don't mean to be crude, but... RTFM? I usually read it front to back after drooling over new hardware but before I actually install it.

Think I can go one up on that-
I generally download manual and browse before considering purchase of MB.

That was super cold.

Actually, I do that a lot of the time too. Some details get left behind, and vendor websites are more about showing the bling. Want to know what PCIe version those extra slots are running? Get the manual.

toastie wrote:

End User wrote:

HERETIC wrote:

Think I can go one up on that-
I generally download manual and browse before considering purchase of MB.

That was super cold.

Actually, I do that a lot of the time too. Some details get left behind, and vendor websites are more about showing the bling. Want to know what PCIe version those extra slots are running? Get the manual.

You are missing the point. They were ripping into the original poster.

arb65912 wrote:

End User wrote:

DragonDaddyBear wrote:

I don't mean to be crude, but... RTFM? I usually read it front to back after drooling over new hardware but before I actually install it.

That was cold.

Nah... just a personal preference. I like reading manuals, just did not get to it yet and wanted the fast help so I can sleep, ha, ha. Posting RTFM does nothing anyway to the value of the post. I guess we are all different so whatever ...

RTFM is akin to calling someone a dumbass.

arb65912 wrote:

Wow, would never expect so many replies to my silly question post.
Thank you, already learned a lot from SOME of your replies.
Anybody has anything to say on DPete27 question about SSD installation location? Any preferences? I know it will depend on other components locations.

Yes, I agree with DPete27 in putting your M.2 SSD in the slot below the chipset for better heat dissipation. I also use a 960EVO Samsaung NVMe M.2 for my main system's boot drive.
Win10 comes with a standard NVMe software driver but better to use Samsung's proprietary software driver for optimization. I have not assembled Gigabyte boards lately but I assume in the UEFI-BIOS there will be a PCIe setting menu and the Samsung 960EVO will be recognized there if seated correctly.

Also be aware with the X299 system PCIe lanes availability will depend on the CPU you select--28 vs 40 lanes for Skylake-X processors. For example you should be OK with a cheaper 28-lane CPU if you only run one NVMe PCIx4 M.2 SSD and one video card at 16x PCIe throughput. Going SLI or adding more M.2 drives in the other slots will require the higher costing 40-lane CPU.

End User wrote:

arb65912 wrote:

End User wrote:

That was cold.

Nah... just a personal preference. I like reading manuals, just did not get to it yet and wanted the fast help so I can sleep, ha, ha. Posting RTFM does nothing anyway to the value of the post. I guess we are all different so whatever ...

RTFM is akin to calling someone a dumbass.

Well yes, but RTFM is the very first thing a person should do before putting together a system. Especially those folks who are doing it for the first time.

RTFM is absolutely important. They're may be details that dictate which slot one should install the SSD. Unless you have specific knowledge with this board advising someone which slot is not useful. The answer being sought is best found in the manual.

I appreciate the OPs desire to connect with the community. I would love to help. But I'm not going to condone giving advice that I'm pretty sure most should not be giving because i don't think most have read the manual out have the board.

EDIT: G8torbyte has touched on just some of the nuances and I think it illustrates my point. Now, if it makes no difference then I say put it in the spot where it will have the most heat dissipation as others have pointed out.

Thank you again for all replies. My initial question was answered immediately, NOW I will be reading the online manual JustAnEngineer pointed out as the one mobo came with has very small print.

I honestly tell you that I was not offended by being told to RTFM, I do like to read them and I love to learn. Unfortunately my computer making knowledge is very limited as I spend majority of my after work time using Blender to create and animate components for flight simulator aircraft.

https://youtu.be/GG-Ay6-sljU

I agree that RTFM is very important when putting system together especially because as it was pointed out, different mobos have different little nuances that need to be followed.

I was just so excited having the new mobo and M.2 SSD that I wanted to make sure I did not make a mistake buying it and I can safely mount it.

Thank you for the comments on where to install M.2 SSD.

I am taking my time, I want to have fun and I will be asking again maybe silly questions but I hope that you will not mind me doing that after reading my comments above.

I even want to post pictures as I build for my future reference.

I'm very happy to hear you were not offended. It was not my intent. Your question want dumb at all. It's good you received guidance on the best slot and now you know it will work there.

Best of luck on the new build! We are here to help.

Thanks, I know there are not only smart but also friendly people here. English is my second language as misunderstanding sometimes comes from both sides so if I answer in a "weird" way just remember that it is my Polish English

OK, below is the BEGINNING! So much fun!

http://pin.it/0e7mZqg

arb65912 wrote:

English is my second language as misunderstanding sometimes comes from both sides so if I answer in a "weird" way just remember that it is my Polish English

Your English is better than that of many native speakers.

I knew when I posted the link that you might be offended by an "RTFM" response, but I honestly believed that the diagram and series of four color photos with the instructions on page 35 would explain things more clearly than I was capable of doing, especially since the manufacturer's web page and user manual were all that I knew about that particular motherboard.

arb65912 wrote:

OK, below is the BEGINNING! So much fun!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1e4i6qpjhq2vcy7/AACUQUBN7pQziB7hsVqTHxtra?dl=0

That looks like a great start. I appreciate that you've shown the manual for the case in that photograph.

Your English is better than that of many native speakers.

Now that's an overstatement, ha, ha but thank you.

I knew when I posted the link that you might be offended by an "RTFM" response, but I honestly believed that the diagram and series of four color photos with the instructions on page 35 would explain things more clearly than I was capable of doing, especially since the manufacturer's web page and user manual were all that I knew about that particular motherboard.

Just off the subject on RTFM and such... when I moved to US I had a very hard time, I was exposed to polish jokes etc., I was a bit lost but as a time went by, I just realized that it had nothing really to do with me personally and when it had, I was able to response in a way ( too long story for here ) that these bad intended jokes just stopped.
No offense anymore for sure, have lived here a long time and saw enough...

That looks like a great start. I appreciate that you've shown the manual for the case in that photograph.

I have shown the manual as I do read it and compare with TR guides on the subject.
So far I can tell that there is not really right and wrong way as far as steps are concerned as long as some common sense is present.

I really like what I see here and by asking, I am kind of getting more curious and want to investigate more.
Unfortunately silly questions will be present, please be patient with me.

There are quite a few wrong ways to avoid:
If your heatsink comes with a protective plastic sheet over the thermal interface material, you are probably supposed to peel off the sheet before placing the cooler on your processor.
If you have a floppy power connector, don't attach it to a 4-pin fan control header on your motherboard.
If your case has relocatable standoffs for different sizes of motherboard, be certain that you don't have an extra one grounding out your motherboard where it should not.
If you are assembling a very compact case (e.g.: some of them from Silverstone), the order of assembly matters much more than it does in a large ATX tower case. It is frustrating to have to undo seven or eight assembly steps to go back to the one that you skipped.