Here's a close-up view of the DIMM.2 accessory being included with ASUS Maximus IX Apex motherboard. The DIMM.2 card is a riser designed to decongest the crowded motherboard that has no room for M.2 slots. The DIMM.2 accessory is a PCB with two 32 Gb/s M.2 slots, and a riser interface that's similar to a DDR3 DIMM (so inserting DDR3 DIMMs this slot won't work).

16 Comments on ASUS DIMM.2 is an M.2 Riser Card

#1 hellrazor

Is that in a RAM slot? Posted on Jan 9th 2017, 19:01 Reply

#2 biffzinker

hellrazor Is that in a RAM slot? Looks that way, also two M.2 drives on both sides.



I'm guessing it's a separate slot not tied into the DDR4 channels though. Looks that way, also two M.2 drives on both sides.I'm guessing it's a separate slot not tied into the DDR4 channels though. Posted on Jan 9th 2017, 19:03 Reply

#3 RejZoR

Why is it so stupendously tall? I can see that as a problem for CPU coolers... Posted on Jan 10th 2017, 0:09 Reply

#4 biffzinker

RejZoR Why is it so stupendously tall? M.2 slot on the opposite side is situated above the M.2 slot facing you in the photo? M.2 slot on the opposite side is situated above the M.2 slot facing you in the photo? Posted on Jan 10th 2017, 3:08 Reply

#5 jabbadap

biffzinker M.2 slot on the opposite side is situated above the M.2 slot facing you in the photo? Yeah, at looking that pic, you are correct. Don't really know if that height matters anyway though: there's two ddr4 dimm slots between it and cpu socket, so clearance should be in order. hellrazor Is that in a RAM slot? Most probably it's physically same as ddr3 slot. But if you look that pic more closely, you can see that there's block on the other end to not use whole connector(leaves couple of unused pins, whose most probably are not soldered. For the sake of people not to install ram sticks on it). Yeah, at looking that pic, you are correct. Don't really know if that height matters anyway though: there's two ddr4 dimm slots between it and cpu socket, so clearance should be in order.Most probably it's physically same as ddr3 slot. But if you look that pic more closely, you can see that there's block on the other end to not use whole connector(leaves couple of unused pins, whose most probably are not soldered. For the sake of people not to install ram sticks on it). Posted on Jan 10th 2017, 5:15 Reply

#6 Gasaraki

Wait? That's in a RAM slot. How does this work again? Posted on Jan 10th 2017, 5:38 Reply

#7 jabbadap

Gasaraki Wait? That's in a RAM slot. How does this work again? Yes and no. Yes it might be physically same as ram slot but no you can't install ram sticks on it. And it's not connected to ram bus but pcie bus. Think it this way it's proprietary slot, where you can only install asus own m.2 pcie raiser card. Yes it might physically use some ddr slot socket(might be even side flipped ddr4 slot), but it's modified not to take any ram sticks on it(see the block on the slot in the pic).

Spoiler: Asus rog Maximus IX Apex Yes and no. Yes it might be physically same as ram slot but no you can't install ram sticks on it. And it's not connected to ram bus but pcie bus. Think it this way it's proprietary slot, where you can only install asus own m.2 pcie raiser card. Yes it might physically use some ddr slot socket(might be even side flipped ddr4 slot), but it's modified not to take any ram sticks on it(see the block on the slot in the pic). Posted on Jan 10th 2017, 6:14 Reply

#8 quest4glory

RejZoR Why is it so stupendously tall? I can see that as a problem for CPU coolers... The implementation is an extreme overclockers board. They only need a coule of DIMM slots for that, at the most (sometimes they would only use one.)



So, really, if you're doing "extreme overclocking," the height of an air cooler is meaningless. The implementation is an extreme overclockers board. They only need a coule of DIMM slots for that, at the most (sometimes they would only use one.)So, really, if you're doing "extreme overclocking," the height of an air cooler is meaningless. Posted on Jan 10th 2017, 14:17 Reply

#9 DILLIGAF

I have a big problem with my Maximus IX Apex mobo. or my M.2 , l think.

4 months ago built my rig , got the latest BIOS , installed all the drivers, installed a M.2 960 PRO 512 Gb SSD downloaded , installed the Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_2.3 , A week ago installed Samsung Magician and upon testing the read/write speeds got only half the speeds advertised and the interface is shown as PCIe Gen 3 x 2 . I'm pretty sure is supposed to be Gen 3x4 , but is not . Contacted Samsung 3 days ago ... still waiting , contacted ASUS - told me to update my BIOS . Already have the latest BIOS . Consumer support ... down the drain. Tested system with UserBenchMark , the results were worse . Can anyone think of something to fix this problem ? Posted on Dec 8th 2017, 19:52 Reply

#10 Slizzo

Make sure you have x4 mode turned on for your M.2 port. I believe it will disable two of the SATA ports when you do so FYI. Posted on Dec 8th 2017, 23:40 Reply

#11 DILLIGAF

Slizzo , thanks - but there is no such option in BIOS -or I can't find it - I can set it only to Gen 3, 2 1 or auto .

Is set to Gen 3 - tried auto , same results. Thinking maybe I should flash the BIOS and install the second last version - I may have that option there , no idea . Posted on Dec 8th 2017, 23:42 Reply

#12 newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder Slizzo Make sure you have x4 mode turned on for your M.2 port. I believe it will disable two of the SATA ports when you do so FYI. SATA ports are only disabled if SATA based M.2 drives are used. PCI-E based M.2 drives have no effect on SATA ports on any Z270/Z370 motherboard.



And on the MAXIMUS IX APEX, they only use 4 of the 6 SATA ports provided by the chipset on the motherboard, so when a SATA M.2 is used none of the normal SATA ports are disabled are disabled. Try reseating the DIMM.2 card. Make sure it is completely clicked into the slot.SATA ports are only disabled if SATA based M.2 drives are used. PCI-E based M.2 drives have no effect on SATA ports on any Z270/Z370 motherboard.And on the MAXIMUS IX APEX, they only use 4 of the 6 SATA ports provided by the chipset on the motherboard, so when a SATA M.2 is used none of the normal SATA ports are disabled are disabled. Posted on Dec 9th 2017, 4:56 Reply

#13 Aquinus

Resident Wat-man newtekie1 SATA ports are only disabled if SATA based M.2 drives are used. PCI-E based M.2 drives have no effect on SATA ports on any Z270/Z370 motherboard. That's not always true. If you put a PCIe M.2 card in the M2M_32G slot on the Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7, SATA3_4 and SATA3_5 get disabled regardless if it's a SATA or PCIe M.2 card but, that's only with that slot, not the other two however, the M2P slot shares PCIe bandwidth with the 4x PCIe lane and drops down to 2x. So, completely depends on the board because a modern PCH is flexible enough to use these general purpose serial links to do both PCIe and SATA because the signaling really isn't all that different.

That's not always true. If you put a PCIe M.2 card in the M2M_32G slot on the Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7, SATA3_4 and SATA3_5 get disabled regardless if it's a SATA or PCIe M.2 card but, that's only with that slot, not the other two however, the M2P slot shares PCIe bandwidth with the 4x PCIe lane and drops down to 2x. So, completely depends on the board because a modern PCH is flexible enough to use these general purpose serial links to do both PCIe and SATA because the signaling really isn't all that different. Posted on Dec 9th 2017, 6:34 Reply

#14 DILLIGAF

Somebody kick me - they were all pretty expensive parts and so l tried to be gentle and cautious with them . The riser card fits in much tighter then the RAM sticks , but upon hearing the latch click , l didn't give it a second glance . Today l grabbed the flashlight and took another look , the bottom end of the card was sticking out just a tinny bit , kick me again , forced it in , restarted the PC and voila' , PCIe Gen 3 x 4 . Thanks for 'rubbing' it in . See my new speeds in attachment. Posted on Dec 9th 2017, 18:10 Reply

#15 JGFMK

I Googled in on this after seeing a video here . Ironically the guy didn't put the board in the part list, but you can make out the wording on the card @ around 10:24 -> 10:26 Posted on Nov 4th 2018, 12:02 Reply