NVMe shows as Removable in Windows


My Computer

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    Windows 11 pro
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    custom build
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    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon Graphics 3.80
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Any idea where I would find this in the registry?

I found the CacheIsPowerProtected and UserWriteCacheSetting DWORD settings for this below, but the exact key value will vary for you. You'll most likely need to restart the computer afterwards to apply.

NVMe.webp
 

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    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
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    PC/Desktop
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    Custom self build
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    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
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    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
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    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
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    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
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    2560x1440
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    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
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I found the CacheIsPowerProtected and UserWriteCacheSetting DWORD settings for this below, but the exact key value will vary for you. You'll most likely need to restart the computer afterwards to apply.

View attachment 124834
None of the internal disks have 'Disk' showing under Device parameters!
These look like the settings for safe removal/write cache rather than whether the disk is actually fixed or removable?
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
    Motherboard
    MEG X870E Godlike
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
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    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
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    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
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    Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
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    900Mb/sec
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    Microsoft Edge
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    Windows Defender

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
    Motherboard
    MEG X870E Godlike
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
    Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
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    Seasonic PX-2200
    Case
    Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
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    Logitech G915 X (wired)
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    Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
    Internet Speed
    900Mb/sec
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
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    Windows Defender
None of the internal disks have 'Disk' showing under Device parameters!
These look like the settings for safe removal/write cache rather than whether the disk is actually fixed or removable?

Correct. That also determines if a drive is considered removable or not.

Considering you don't have these settings for the NVMe in the registry, it sure smells of some BIOS setting.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
    Motherboard
    MEG X870E Godlike
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
    Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
    PSU
    Seasonic PX-2200
    Case
    Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
    Keyboard
    Logitech G915 X (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
    Internet Speed
    900Mb/sec
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Correct. That also determines if a drive is considered removable or not.

Considering you don't have these settings for the NVMe in the registry, it sure smells of some BIOS setting.
Yes it looks that way, there doesn't seem to be any way to change it though
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
    Motherboard
    MEG X870E Godlike
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
    Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
    PSU
    Seasonic PX-2200
    Case
    Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
    Keyboard
    Logitech G915 X (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
    Internet Speed
    900Mb/sec
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Yes it looks that way, there doesn't seem to be any way to change it though

Whenever I clean install (or repair install) my system always installs the Phison NVMe 1.2 Storport Miniport storage controller
for all my drives making them all report as removable on the "safely remove" icon.
I switch them all to the Standard NVMe Express Controller and they no longer report as removable.
Just something to look into.

1739136643402.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 26100.3775
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-14700F
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5
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    MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12GB OC
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVMe (Win 11 24H2)
    SK hynix P41 500GB NVMe (Win 11 23H2)
    SK hynix P41 2TB NVMe (x3)
    Crucial P3 Plus 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM850x Shift
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    350Mbs
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    Windows 11 24H2 26100.3775 (VHDX)
    On System One (Dual Boot)
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    Win 11 Pro 24H2 26100.3775
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-11700F
    Motherboard
    Asus TUF Gaming Z590 Plus WiFi
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4
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    EVGA GeForce RTX 2060
    Sound Card
    SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung F27T350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
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    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
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    Samsung 870 EVO 500GB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cougar MX330-G Window
    Cooling
    Hyper 212 EVO
    Internet Speed
    350Mbps
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    Firefox
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    Windows Security
Whenever I clean install (or repair install) my system always installs the Phison NVMe 1.2 Storport Miniport storage controller
for all my drives making them all report as removable on the "safely remove" icon.
I switch them all to the Standard NVMe Express Controller and they no longer report as removable.
Just something to look into.

View attachment 124845
Good suggestion but nope. Samsung don't use their own controller drivers
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
    Motherboard
    MEG X870E Godlike
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
    Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
    PSU
    Seasonic PX-2200
    Case
    Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
    Keyboard
    Logitech G915 X (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
    Internet Speed
    900Mb/sec
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

My Computers

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  • OS
    .. Debian 13 'Testing' .. Windows 11 24H2 Home
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    Manufacturer/Model
    HP 24" AiO
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    Ryzen 7 5825u
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    HP
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    64GB DDR4 3200
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    Ryzen 7 5825u
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    RealTek
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    24" HP AiO
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    1TB WD Blue SN580 M2 SSD Partitioned.
    2x 1TB USB HDD External Backup/Storage.
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    900MB full fibre
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    ClamAV TK
    Other Info
    Mainly Open Source Software
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    Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS
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    Dell 13" Latitude 2017
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    i5 7200u
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    Dell
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    16GB DDR4
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    Intel
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    Intel
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    13" Dell Laptop
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    250GB Crucial 2.5" SSD
    Mouse
    Gerenic 3 button
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    WiFi only
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    FireFox
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    ClamAV TK
    Other Info
    Mainly Open Source Software
The Asrock quote about the way the USB/Thunderbolt are tied to the CPU and M2 is telling.

"Although not certified for Thunderbolt, this motherboard actually has an Intel USB4 Controller (Maple Ridge). We tied that controller to the CPU. Just like M2_1, Thunderbolt requires hot plug support.
Because both are tied to the CPU, we cannot disable hot plug for one and keep it enabled for the other."
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 5800X
    Motherboard
    Asus B550 Strix gaming
    Memory
    32Gb Corsair 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX3060 12Gb
    Screen Resolution
    2x 1440, 1x 1080
The Asrock quote about the way the USB/Thunderbolt are tied to the CPU and M2 is telling.

"Although not certified for Thunderbolt, this motherboard actually has an Intel USB4 Controller (Maple Ridge). We tied that controller to the CPU. Just like M2_1, Thunderbolt requires hot plug support.
Because both are tied to the CPU, we cannot disable hot plug for one and keep it enabled for the other."
Yes it seems to be a common thing with USB4, which needs the fast pci lanes. As the second M2 slot on my board shares with USB4 it will show as hot-pluggable in Windows - it's either nvme x2 with USB or nvme x4 with USB disabled
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
    Motherboard
    MEG X870E Godlike
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
    Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
    PSU
    Seasonic PX-2200
    Case
    Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
    Keyboard
    Logitech G915 X (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
    Internet Speed
    900Mb/sec
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Got same issue on MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max board. My 980 Pro 2TB plugged in M2_2 slot is detected as removable drive on Windows 11. There are no options on BIOS to disable hot swap on that port, neither is there any setting about thunderbolt. Wish there was a way to just disable this crap from displaying in registry.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max
    Memory
    64GB 6000MHz CL30 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti MSI Suprim X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell AW3418DW, Dell U2515H
    Screen Resolution
    3440x1440, 2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung 990 PRO 1TB (OS Drive), 2x Samsung 980 Pro 2TB, 1x Samsung 860 EVO 1TB, 1x Samsung 870 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    Seasonic Vertex GX-1000W
    Case
    Fractal Design Torrent Compact
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12A Chromax
    Keyboard
    Razer Huntsman TKL
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder V3
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
From all the comments this looks like something MSI needs to correct in BIOS if it is possible.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    i7-10750H
    Motherboard
    MSI MS-17F5
    Memory
    16GB Samsung DDR4 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel + Nvidia RTX3060 Laptop
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 24" Curved (HDMI)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Sabrent Rocket Gen3 1Tb Smasung EVO 870 1TB
    Antivirus
    Avast
From all the comments this looks like something MSI needs to correct in BIOS if it is possible.
It's likely due to the lane-sharing with USB4 which has a hop-swap requirement. USB4 enabled - the drive runs on x2 lanes, USB4 disabled - the drive runs on x4 lanes, I expect the two 'shared' lanes are hot-swap hard-wired so Windows will always detect the drive as removable
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
    Motherboard
    MEG X870E Godlike
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
    Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
    PSU
    Seasonic PX-2200
    Case
    Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
    Keyboard
    Logitech G915 X (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
    Internet Speed
    900Mb/sec
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
It's likely due to the lane-sharing with USB4 which has a hop-swap requirement. USB4 enabled - the drive runs on x2 lanes, USB4 disabled - the drive runs on x4 lanes, I expect the two 'shared' lanes are hot-swap hard-wired so Windows will always detect the drive as removable
Yeah that's how the Tech person on the MSI forums described it, basically you get more M2 drives connected to the higher speed CPU lanes, but you have to live with them being on Shared hot swap lanes. it a by product of them adding USB4/thunderbolt support to AM5.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Ryzen 5 5800X
    Motherboard
    Asus B550 Strix gaming
    Memory
    32Gb Corsair 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX3060 12Gb
    Screen Resolution
    2x 1440, 1x 1080

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