{
  "id": 17117580,
  "title": "Your motherboard's spare SATA ports are the cheapest storage upgrade left",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/your-motherboards-spare-sata-ports-are-the-cheapest-storage-upgrade",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-29T20:31:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/your-motherboards-spare-sata-ports-are-the-cheapest-storage-upgrade-left/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Your computer's motherboard may contain spare SATA ports, which offer a cost-effective way to expand storage capacity. Most motherboards come with two to eight SATA ports for connecting SSDs and hard drives, depending on the form factor. These unutilized ports can be a treasure trove for augmenting local storage.\n\nIf you require additional data storage, these spare SATA ports are the most economical route. They present an affordable alternative to pricier NVMe SSDs, which are highly expensive and usually unnecessary for basic data storage. While SATA SSDs have slightly increased in price, they still prove to be a more economical choice compared to SSDs, with a cost of around $0.03 per GB. In contrast, SSDs cost about $0.12 per GB.\n\nAn 8TB HDD can be procured for less than $300, making it a substantial storage solution for games, backups, and other data. Higher-capacity SSDs for consumer use typically top out at around 8TB, which is considerably pricier than larger HDDs. For NAS setups, investing in high-capacity HDDs ensures efficient power usage.\n\nOlder HDDs from decommissioned machines can be repurposed as well, further stretching your storage options. SATA or NVMe SSDs can serve as the primary storage medium, while SATA HDDs and SSDs can complement the existing setup. However, PCIe SSDs should not replace M.2 slots.\n\nThe installation of SATA drives is a simple task, requiring only an available port and adequate power connections from the power supply unit (PSU). An expansion card can be installed in a spare PCI slot to add more SATA ports if necessary.\n\nEven though PCIe SSDs have been around for some time, motherboard manufacturers still include multiple SATA ports to accommodate HDDs and SSDs. Only consult your motherboard manual to ensure the correct configuration of storage lanes, as some SATA ports might be disabled if an M.2 slot is in use. While SATA SSDs are faster than mechanical HDDs for random-access tasks, SATA drives are ideal for long-term storage of files like films, music, backups, photographs, ISO files, and more. SATA SSDs strike a balance between speed and cost, making them a viable option for many users, whereas HDDs are better suited for archival purposes.",
  "summary": "Save money and expand storage space.",
  "key_points": [
    "Spare SATA ports on motherboards offer cheap storage expansion.",
    "SATA SSDs cost $0.03 per GB, making them affordable for basic storage.",
    "8TB HDDs are available for under $300, ideal for games and backups."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}