MSI B760M storage upgrade options | Generated by AI
Question: For the workstation described (MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi, currently with 1TB NVMe SSD + 2TB HDD), what are the best options to upgrade storage beyond 2TB?
Answer:
Your current storage situation:
- 1TB Samsung 980 (PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe, M.2 slot 1)
- 2TB WD Blue HDD (SATA)
- Total: ~3TB raw
What Slots Are Available on MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi
This mATX board has:
| Slot | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| M.2_1 (Key-M) | PCIe 5.0 x4 / PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe | Likely occupied by Samsung 980 |
| M.2_2 (Key-M) | PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe | Free |
| M.2_3 (Key-M) | PCIe 4.0 x4 / SATA | Free |
| SATA ports | 6× SATA 6Gb/s | 1 used by HDD, 5 free |
You have two free M.2 slots and 5 free SATA ports. Plenty of room.
Upgrade Options
Option 1: Add another NVMe M.2 SSD (Best for performance)
Drop a 2TB or 4TB Gen4 NVMe into M.2_2.
Recommended:
| Drive | Capacity | Speed | Price (CNY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung 990 Pro | 2TB | 7,450/6,900 MB/s | ~799 |
| WD Black SN850X | 2TB | 7,300/6,600 MB/s | ~749 |
| Crucial T500 | 2TB | 7,400/7,000 MB/s | ~599 |
| Crucial T500 | 4TB | 7,400/6,500 MB/s | ~999 |
For ML/AI workloads (datasets, checkpoints), 4TB Gen4 in M.2_2 is the highest-leverage single upgrade.
Option 2: Add more SATA HDDs (Best for bulk cold storage)
You have 5 free SATA ports and the Aigo case likely fits 2–3 x 3.5” drives. You already have SATA cables.
| Drive | Capacity | Price (CNY) |
|---|---|---|
| WD Blue 4TB | 4TB | ~499 |
| Seagate Barracuda 4TB | 4TB | ~459 |
| WD Red Plus 4TB (NAS-grade) | 4TB | ~599 |
Good for storing training datasets, model weights, video, backups. Not for active swap/cache.
Option 3: Replace the 1TB Samsung 980 with a larger Gen4 drive
The 980 is Gen3 and in M.2_1 which supports Gen5/Gen4. Swapping it for a 4TB Gen4 gives you the best slot with the fastest drive. Then repurpose the 980 as secondary or sell it.
Recommended Path for Your Use Case
Given you run ML training (RTX 4070, datasets, checkpoints):
- Immediate: Add Crucial T500 4TB PCIe 4.0 into M.2_2 (~999 CNY). Fast enough for dataset reads during training, large enough for model weights and checkpoints.
- Later: Add a 4TB WD Blue HDD into a free SATA port (~499 CNY) for cold archive storage — raw datasets, old checkpoints, backups.
Total cost to go from ~3TB → ~11TB: under 1,500 CNY. No new cables needed for M.2, and you already have SATA cables.
One Thing to Check
Verify the Aigo Yueguangbaohe Jing Mini case physically fits a second 3.5” HDD — mini cases sometimes only have 1–2 HDD bays. If space is tight, prioritize the M.2 SSD upgrade since it’s tool-less and takes zero case space.