M.2 Installation without Removing GPU?

[KaneKline]

I have a new computer that i bought a few months ago. Asus Rog Strix z790-e motherboard and RTX 4090 graphics card you see in the photos. In addition i need to buy a 4tb m.2. But while removing my m.2 ssd from my old motherboard(z390-e), the screw stripped and i broke my motherboard while trying to remove it. Because of this, as you can understand, it stresses me a lot to install m.2 on my new computer that i paid a lot.

I have two questions:

1. Can I install the new m.2 without removing the video card? Photos can give you an idea about the gap.
2. The m.2 screws on the old motherboard were Phillips screws. On the new one, as you can see from the photos, they are also flat-head like. The motherboard manual says to use a Phillips screwdriver but a flat-head screwdriver seems to fit. Is there a problem if I use flat-head instead of Phillips, have you tried it?

Thanks in advance.

[Robmoo]

You can use either.  They probably started using screws like this when people complained about the Phillips only screws stripping.  You can probably get away without removing the video card,but depending on how thin and long your finger are, removing it might be faster.

[KaneKline]

Yes the former screws were horrible. I appreiate that they make it flat-head as well. I also cut the old motherboards screw as flat-head when i understood it wont open. Thanks for your response.

[JohnAb]

I totally agree with Robmoo, either screwdriver will be fine. The Asus motherboards use a small rotating clip to secure the SSD so you should have no problems and it looks like there will be no need to remove the GPU. 

I think I would also try to leave the GPU in place if possible, although it will be a little more fiddly. Much easier if you have a magnetic screwdriver for the screws that secure the SSD cover. 

[KaneKline]

Thanks for your response. because of it price and I'm not very good at this stuff, so I'm not too keen on removing the gpu as well.

[JohnAb]

I understand, although fitting an SSD is quite simple. Those tiny screws that were used to secure them can be nasty. I also managed to damage an SSD mount when removing one of those screws 3 or 4 years ago. It just wouldn't budge, but the new mounting solution is so much better. You shouldn't have any issues with the SSD cover either and those screws don't need to be over-tight. Gently snug will do just fine.  

The most important things is to find a screwdriver that fits the screw head properly.