Z790-H which M2 socket for boot drive

[mikesimm9]

I’m about 7 years behind the times on building PCs so need some advice please. I’ve got a Z790-H and I’m not sure which M2 socket to use for my boot drive. Whichever you suggest I’d be really grateful also to understand why. 

I’ve a choice of using a Samsung 890 pro M2 - either with or without a built in heatsink. 

which would be better ? If I go for the one with the built in heatsink, do I not reattach the M2 cover that I’ve removed from the motherboard. 

Hope I’ve asked those ok and grateful for any advice. 

[bonifacio]

I'd say just go for M.2_1. I feel that it's a default location for the boot drive. Personally I'd ditch the Samsung heatsink and use the motherboard one. Logically, larger should mean better heat dispersion. All the sockets are PCIE 4.0. Don't think too much into this one. Just slap it in the slot closest to the CPU. M.2_1 = processor. M.2_2-3 = chipset. Don't think you'll really notice a difference. But I'd assume M.2_1 would offer the most bandwidth. With the board they are all PCIE 4.0, so it might just all the same. Safest to just do that slot. If you watch building videos, they usually show installing one SSD in that first slot. I don't think anyone would notice the difference between slots. Also for the H, from the manual it sounds like they are all the same?