GPU Daisy Chain? ASUS connects an RTX 4090 to their RTX 4060 Ti’s M.2 slot

ASUS connects an RTX 4090 graphics card to a PC using the Dual RTX 4060 Ti SSD’s built-in M.2 SSD slot

ASUS China has created a crazy setup to show off their new Dual RTX 4060 Ti SSD graphics card. This setup connects an RTX 4090 to a Intel Z790 system using the M.2 SSD slot on their Dual RTX 4060 Ti SSD graphics card. In effect, ASUS have daisy-chained their graphics cards.

While this setup is not something that we could recommend to anyone, it does highlight the versatility of the M.2 slot on ASUS’ newest RTX 4060 Ti graphics card. Yes, powering an RTX 4090 using the four PCIe lanes on an M.2 slot is deeply sub-optimal, but it does work. Yes, you won’t get the maximum performance from your connected GPU, but you can do it.

ASUS China’s Tony Yu created this setup to generate interest in the company’s new RTX 4060 Ti model, and he succeeded. We love the sheer madness of this GPU setup, even if we wouldn’t want to try it ourselves.

How does this work? ASUS’ RTX 4060 Ti only uses eight PCIe 4.0 lanes. ASUS decided to utilise the extra PCIe lanes on PCIe x16 slots to add an M.2 slot to their new Dual RTX 4060 Ti SSD GPU. This gives users of ASUS’ new GPU an extra M.2 slot for SSD storage or other add-ons.

PCIe 5.0 storage on a PCIe 4.0 GPU

ASUS China also showcased their new Dual RTX 4060 Ti SSD graphic card with a PCIe 5.0 SSD. ASUS were able to utilise the full performance of their connected PCIe 5.0 SSD, and use the GPU’s heatsink to keep the SSD cool under heavy loads. Note that you will need to use this GPU in a PCIe 5.0 compatible PCIe x16 slot to access the full performance of PCIe 5.0 SSDs.

How does this Dual RTX 4060 Ti SSD GPU daisy-chain work?

As mentioned before, Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti uses eight PCIe 4.0 lanes to connect to a user’s motherboard. Since most GPUs are connected to a motherboard using a PCIe x16 connector, ASUS wanted to find a way to utilise the potential of these extra lanes. Adding an M.2 slot to their GPU utilises four of these spare PCIe lanes. In the future, it make be possible for ASUS to expand this concept further with two M.2 slots. The RTX 4060 Ti SSD does have four unused PCIe lanes.

Using the M.2 slot on ASUS’ new RTX 4060 Ti graphics card with an adapter allows users to connect their GPUs to practically any PCIe device. ASUS has taken this idea to its limits by connecting an RTX 4090 graphics card to their new RTX 4060 Ti. While using an RTX 4090 on four PCIe lanes isn’t ideal, it is crazy to think that a GPU daisy-chain like this is possible.

You can join the discussion on ASUS daisy-chaining an RTX 4090 onto their new Dual RTX 4060 Ti SSD on the OC3D Forums.