ASUS GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPU idea comes with built-in M.2 Gen 4 SSD slots
ASUS demonstrated the idea of integrating an M.2 SSD slot into the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti graphics card to make the most of unused PCIe lanes inside the GPU.
ASUS needs to make the most of the potential of unused PCIe lanes by equipping the on-board GPUs with M.2 slots
Tony Yu, Basic Supervisor of ASUS, a suggestion The concept of having a bodily Gen 4 M.2 SSD working in tandem with the GPU on the identical PCB. They used a Samsung 980 PRO 2TB SSD that was connected to the again of the graphics card with a cutout made. This opening is straightforward to entry and the again panel acts as a warmth sink for the storage machine.
It’s possible you’ll be questioning why an SSD is put in inside a GPU; The reply is straightforward: that is completed to make use of unused PCIe lanes. As you’ll be able to see, playing cards like NVIDIA’s RTX 4060 sequence solely function PCIe x8 lanes which implies AIBs that use a full x16 slot have an additional x8 lane. M.2 SSDs use the PCIe x4 interface and it makes excellent sense to place as much as two SSD slots on the cardboard’s PCB.
Furthermore, one of many benefits that ASUS highlights of getting an M.2 slot on the graphics card is the benefit of fixing the SSD inside your PC. Putting in an SSD normally requires us to undergo many difficult steps, which might annoy shoppers who continuously swap out their SSDs. Nicely, if the GPU has an M.2 slot, that may simplify issues.
Putting in an SSD on the GPU might trigger temperature points, nevertheless, this issue is saved in thoughts, which is why the corporate has modified the GPU’s PCB in such a manner that the GPU cooling can attain the SSD as effectively. Since GPUs are geared up with a lot bigger heatsinks than we’ve seen with SSDs, preliminary testing revealed a ten°C drop within the SSD’s temperature. Energy will even be a little bit of a priority since Gen 4 SSDs don’t pull a lot from the wall and the RTX 4060s is provided with a single 8-pin connector which itself can enable as much as 150 watts with a further 75 watts coming from the PCIe slot. As well as, it is a customized design from ASUS that ought to present good thermal efficiency.
Throughout checks, the SSD confirmed comparable efficiency when connected to an ASUS GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPU as it could when connected to a Gen4 motherboard. Temperatures had been additionally effectively underneath 50 levels Celsius, even underneath full stress load.
Given the feasibility of this concept, one would possibly argue that PCIe extension playing cards are the best way to go in case you’re on the lookout for extra M.2 slots. Nicely, that could be true, however putting in PCIe playing cards and a GPU on a single motherboard will have an effect on the aesthetics of the design. Having an M.2 slot on graphics playing cards has a slight influence on energy draw and can save prices in comparison with buying an extension card.
AMD additionally took the same strategy with its Radeon SSG graphics playing cards however as a substitute of utilizing extra SSDs for conventional storage, SSG took benefit of NVMe storage to spice up the bandwidth and switch charges of the GPU itself. The concept is at present an idea, and ASUS hasn’t revealed plans to launch a GeForce RTX 4060 Ti with such a design within the shopper market but.
The essential level shall be how these GPUs are priced. If the distinction in comparison with an everyday graphics card is much less, then it can certainly entice shopper curiosity. This isn’t the one prototype/idea card ASUS is engaged on as AIB has additionally revealed plans to construct GPUs with none bodily energy connectors as seen at Computex 2023.
supply: @olrak29_
