ASUS shows concept of GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPU with built-in M.2 SSD slot

ASUS has shown a concept of a GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Dual video card with a built-in M.2 SSD slot. This is intended to allow you to still use the unused PCIe lanes of the GPU.

The GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Dual card is featured in a Bilibili video shown by ASUS general manager in China, Tony Yu. A cutout has been made at the back into which a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro SSD has been placed. The back plate of the GPU must serve as a heatsink for the storage device.

This allows PCIe lanes that are not being used to still be used. Many entry-level and mid-range GPU models, such as the Nvidia RTX 4060 series, only use eight PCIe lanes. While they are placed in a x16 slot. So eight lanes remain unused. M.2 SSDs use four lanes, so in theory there is room for a maximum of two SSD slots on the card’s PCB. According to ASUS, adding an SSD in the video card has the further advantage that replacing the drive in the PC should be easier.

However, this arrangement can lead to overheating. That is why the PCB of the GPU has been adapted in such a way that the cooler of the video card can also reach the SSD. According to Yu, this has led to a temperature drop of ten degrees Celsius. The video card also requires more power due to the addition of an SSD, although the consumption should not exceed 10 watts, something that the RTX 4060 should also be able to handle just fine with just one 8-pin connector. ASUS’ own tests show that the performance of the SSD connected to the GPU is comparable to the performance of the same SSD connected to a Gen 4 motherboard.