Two: one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 2280 slot and one PCIe 4.0 x1 slot, so the second drive runs on a quarter of the lanes. Put a fast Gen4 NVMe, such as the WD Blue SN5100 500GB at R1,999, in the x4 slot first.
Two slots, but not twin slots: the Minisforum MS-S1 Max SSD slots are one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 2280 socket and one PCIe 4.0 x1 socket, each rated by the maker for up to 8TB. The first slot is built for a fast NVMe drive. The second runs on a quarter of the lanes, and that changes which drive belongs where.
The MS-S1 Max has two M.2 2280 NVMe slots. Slot one is PCIe 4.0 x4 and slot two is PCIe 4.0 x1, so fit your fastest drive in the x4 slot first. The 500GB WD Blue SN5100 is a Gen 4 fit at R1,999, and larger drives on Evetech's shelf climb toward R15,499.
Both sockets take the common M.2 2280 size, which means 22mm wide and 80mm long, and both speak NVMe. The maker specifies up to 8TB per slot, so the ceiling on paper is 16TB of internal flash in a box small enough to sit beside a monitor.
The difference is the lane count. PCIe 4.0 carries roughly 2GB/s per lane in each direction, so an x4 link has headroom for about 8GB/s and an x1 link tops out near 2GB/s. Same generation, same connector shape, one quarter of the pipe.
A fast Gen 4 drive in the x1 slot still works. It simply cannot reach its headline number. Western Digital rates the 500GB SN5100 at 6600MB/s sequential read and 5600MB/s sequential write, and in a single-lane slot it would be held to roughly the 2GB/s ceiling of the link.
For many jobs that is perfectly fine. Opening documents, keeping a photo library, staging video clips and storing game installs rarely need more than 2GB/s sustained. Where you feel it is copying a very large file between the two drives, or scratch work such as video caches and local AI model loading, where the x4 slot finishes while the x1 slot is still going.
Once the drive is fitted, copy a large file and watch the disk entry on the Performance tab of Task Manager. A single-lane slot will plateau close to 2GB/s no matter how fast the drive claims to be, and that plateau is the link, not a faulty drive.
Put Windows and the apps you open daily in the x4 slot. That is the drive whose speed you feel on every boot and every launch. A 500GB Gen 4 drive is a sensible starting size if the machine is mostly for work, while heavier users will want more room from the start.
Use the x1 slot for capacity. Projects you are done with, a game library, archives and backups gain nothing from a wide link, so a larger and cheaper drive is the better match there. In a small Pretoria flat where the mini PC shares a desk with a router and a screen, a bigger second drive also saves you a bulky external box with its own cable and power brick.
If you ever plan to fill both slots with 8TB drives, plan for the budget before the slots. Large NVMe drives sit at the top of the price range, and the x1 slot does not justify paying for a premium controller.
Match the type, not just the size: you want M.2 2280 NVMe, not a SATA M.2 stick, which uses a different interface. The solid state drives shelf has in-stock options starting at R1,199, and the SSD best sellers ranking shows the drives moving fastest. Only want NVMe? The NVMe SSD page narrows it down.
Two M.2 2280 NVMe slots: one PCIe 4.0 x4 and one PCIe 4.0 x1. The maker specifies up to 8TB per slot.
No. The x1 slot has a quarter of the lanes, so it tops out near 2GB/s even if the drive is rated far higher.
The x4 slot. Put Windows and your fastest NVMe there, and use the x1 slot for storage that needs capacity more than speed.
It should work, but at the speed of one lane, so a fast drive loses its peak. Match the drive to the slot.
Up to 8TB per slot, as specified by the manufacturer. That makes 16TB the paper maximum across both.
Choose M.2 2280 NVMe. A 500GB PCIe Gen 4.0 option is the WD Blue SN5100 at R1,999 on the SSD shelf.
Ready to fill both M.2 slots? Browse Evetech's SSD range for M.2 2280 NVMe drives in the capacity you need, from a fast system drive to a roomy second one.
Two M.2 2280 NVMe slots: one PCIe 4.0 x4 and one PCIe 4.0 x1. The maker specifies up to 8TB per slot.
No. The x1 slot has a quarter of the lanes, so it tops out near 2GB/s even if the drive is rated far higher.
The x4 slot. Put Windows and your fastest NVMe there, and use the x1 slot for storage that needs capacity more than speed.
It should work, but at the speed of one lane, so a fast drive loses its peak. Match the drive to the slot.
Up to 8TB per slot, as specified by the manufacturer. That makes 16TB the paper maximum across both.
Choose M.2 2280 NVMe. A 500GB PCIe Gen 4.0 option is the WD Blue SN5100 at R1,999 on the SSD shelf.
No: MSI lists one PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 slot for the B2RWEKG, so more storage means replacing the drive. A 512GB drive fills fast with games, and our SSD shelf (R1,199 to R15,499) only helps if you pick an NVMe M.2 model.
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Yes: a USB 2.0 port tops out at 480 Mbps, so a gigabit adapter cannot reach 1 Gbps there. Heading to a Johannesburg bring-your-own-computer LAN, use a USB 3 port or a PCIe card like Evetech's Cudy 10Gbps at R1,090.
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Yes, use outdoor-rated cable even in conduit, because conduit under the eaves can still collect moisture. Highveld sun and summer storms test any jacket, and a ready-made CAT-6 5m lead at R79 suits indoor patching, not an exposed run.
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No, not comfortably: the MSI PRO B650M-P has one x16 slot plus two x1 slots, and the Elgato 4K Pro needs PCIe 2.0 x4. Evetech sells the board at R2,499, and a graphics card fills the x16 slot.
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Most cases are driver or setup faults: Fast visual styles need DirectX 12 feature level 12_0. Fix the driver or remote session first; if the card is the cause, Evetech's Nvidia shelf starts at R1,099 and includes RTX models.
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No, Agisoft lists both NVIDIA and AMD discrete GPUs, so you do not need Nvidia. Small 50-100 image jobs can start at 8GB, 32GB is recommended, and Evetech's Radeon shelf starts at R9,999.
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Check when Chrome saves power, compare a repeatable task on battery and separate browser changes from battery health and Windows settings.
Find Chrome's caption control, check language and audio and bring back the floating bubble when captions disappear during playback.
Open the simplified Chrome reader, adjust type and spacing and check whether the page supports the view before changing your display setup.
Find an open Chrome tab by title with a keyboard shortcut or the address bar, and keep important links in bookmarks for later.
Check when Chrome saves power, compare a repeatable task on battery and separate browser changes from battery health and Windows settings.
Find Chrome's caption control, check language and audio and bring back the floating bubble when captions disappear during playback.
Open the simplified Chrome reader, adjust type and spacing and check whether the page supports the view before changing your display setup.
Find an open Chrome tab by title with a keyboard shortcut or the address bar, and keep important links in bookmarks for later.
