Gigabyte X870E Aorus Elite WiFi7 M.2 Slots Guide
The Gigabyte X870E Aorus Elite WiFi7 motherboard provides four M.2 slots supporting PCIe 5.0 speeds. Three slots run at full x4 bandwidth while the fourth shares lanes with SATA, giving builders flexible storage options for high-speed NVMe drives.
This guide explains each slot’s specifications, cooling solutions, and how RAID configurations affect available bandwidth in 2026 gaming and workstation builds.
1. Identify the Four M.2 Positions
CPU cooler and runs PCIe 5.0 x4.
Slot M2A_CPU sits directly under the CPU cooler and runs PCIe 5.0 x4. Slots M2B_SB, M2C_SB, and M2D_SB are chipset-driven; the last shares bandwidth with two SATA ports.
Editorial note: point out trade-offs, not only benefits.
2. Thermal Design
Factory-installed heatsinks cover all four slots.
Remove the film before installing drives to
Factory-installed heatsinks cover all four slots. Remove the film before installing drives to maintain optimal thermals under sustained loads.
3. PCIe 5.0 vs 4.0 Performance
PCIe 5.0 drives in the primary
slot reach sequential reads above 12,000 MB/s.
PCIe 5.0 drives in the primary slot reach sequential reads above 12,000 MB/s. Secondary slots top out around 7,000 MB/s when populated with PCIe 4.0 SSDs.
4. RAID 0 Setup Notes
RAID 0 doubles throughput for large file
Combining the first two slots in RAID 0 doubles throughput for large file transfers. Disable SATA ports three and four if you need all four M.2 slots at full speed.
5. Future-Proofing Tips
OS drive. Populate secondary slots with bulk
Reserve the primary slot for your OS drive. Populate secondary slots with bulk storage or game libraries to balance speed and capacity.