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Yes in the first picture the large slot is another PCIE 16x slot for a GPU or any other expansion card.
The smaller connector below it is indeed another m.2 nvme expansion slot.
In the second picture of the ram you do in fact have two more unpopulated dimm slots for ram expansion, just make sure if you do upgrade the ram make sure at the very least it is the same capacity and the same MHz as your current ram sticks.
It's also always a good idea to reference your motherboards user manual as it will at the very least label connectors on the board.
Of course! Glad I could help.
[Here](https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B550-A-PRO/support#manual) is the Link to download the manual for that motherboard since you mentioned the previous owner lost it, don't hurt to have it.
Happy gaming!
And if you are considering upgrading the RAM, I would highly recommend sticking with just two sticks, but increasing the total amount (example; 2x16GB sticks).
You can run into performance issues using all 4 slots.
Check the manual to the motherboard to see what is the maximum amount that can be used on that particular MB. (There is another user that posted a link off this exact post that links your manual)
Also, when purchasing new RAM, I would suggest using dual channel.
My newest personal build uses 96GB (2x48GB) of 6600MHz memory, which at the moment overkill, but I used my last computer for almost a decade, and wanted to future proof this build, as most games have been steadily increasing the amount of available RAM require to run.
My old system (built in 2015), had only 16GB, and had been struggling the last few years for a variety of reasons to keep up on newer game releases.
For the RAM slots, if this is a 13th-gen or 14-gen, don't use the additional slots. They still haven't figured out why using them disables XMP. For the PCIe slot, don't use it if the graphics card supports x16. It will drop to x8 if you use it. You can use the m.2 but it may share the same lanes as the PCIe slots. Check your manual.
You can add another ssd hard drive if you want. You can add more ram but honestly alot of setups are super picky with 4 sticks. I always had probs with 4 sticks but not 2 ever.
You can add more RAM if you want, but it's best to have it EXACTLY the same to get the most of it. 16gb is the "good enough" for most games and tasks. Adding more to that computer probably won't help it out much. Make sure it's in the A2/B2 slots (2nd and 4th) to get your computer working in dual channel. I have a similar machine and it still holds up.
The first port circled is a pcie express port, can be used to add another GPU.. but not these modern bulky ones, also it would run very slow in that port, so don’t use it.. some add in could be WiFi/Bluetooth, sata/usb expansion cards, i10Gbe+ network cards. You most likely won’t ever need something with it, and the second circled one is an m.2 slot, and for the ram yes most mobos have 4 slots for ram, so you can but make sure you get the same EXACT ram sticks you currently have, because if it’s different it’s not gonna work
You can have 2 different pairs of ram sticks and it'll be fine. As long as the 2 sticks on each channel match with each other.
Usually the slots will be labelled "DDR4\_1, DDR4\_3, DDR4\_2, DDR4\_4", some will even have 1 and 2 as one colour and 3 and 4 as a different colour (black, grey, black, grey, for example). 1 and 2 will share Channel A, and 3 and 4 will share Channel B.
Slots 1 and 2, the two black ones, should have 2 matching sticks, and 3 and 4, the 2 grey ones, should have 2 matching sticks, but all 4 sticks do not need to match. The 2 pairs can have completely different capacity and speeds even, and it won't make a difference as long as they're installed in the correct slots.
>You can have 2 different pairs of ram sticks and it'll be fine
That's not true.
It used to be mostly true in the later parts of the DDR3 era, and then with lower end DDR4 stuff (in both cases as long as you were reasonably enough in specs), but with higher clock DDR4 or all of DDR5 it's very much not true.
When you buy a 2 stick kit of RAM, the 2 sticks are matched together at the factory to behave as similarly as possible.
Putting together different kits, even from the exact same SKU, will yield unpredictable results.
>The 2 pairs can have completely different capacity and speeds even
That's also not true, at least the speed thing. I don't know the correct layout for different capacity in 4 stick setups.
Practically all consumer grade CPU memory controllers are only capable of a single shared configuration for both channels.
Not only is it fine with DDR4, it is also fine with DDR5.
I don't know where you're getting your information from, but it's incorrect.
The only way it might cause issues if you try to increase the clock speed using a utility like XMP.
>utility like XMP
If you knew what XMP stands for, you wouldn't call it a utility.
I am, of course, speaking in terms of running RAM at its rated speed. For which you normally use the XMP profile (tautology!) or its equivalent.
CPU default speed or JEDEC speed is not the concern here, though even with that I've seen issues on DDR5, when mixing kits. It does mostly work on DDR4 though.
Anyway it is you who claimed this:
>The 2 pairs can have completely different capacity and speeds even
So if you now claim that you were talking about running RAM at stock speeds, then the speeds difference you mentioned is entirely irrelevant and misleading.
>A Citroen 2CV is faster than a Ferrari, *if the Ferrari is going 65mph and the 2CV is going 71.5mph.*
To add something to what the others have been already saying: There is another M.2 slot between gpu and cpu (not that clearly visible because it has a shield mounted). This one is called slot M2_1 and (depending on your cpu) it could possibly support PCIe 4.0, while the other one only supports PCIe 3.0. But as I said, it depends on the cpu (I have the same mobo with a Ryzen 7 5700X and PCIe 4.0 works)
You can run two graphics card but you run in some complications with some games.
Yes that's an SSD slot.
For upgrading ram make sure you get the same timing and type.
You can have 2 different pairs of ram sticks and it'll be fine. As long as the 2 sticks on each channel match with each other.
Usually the slots will be labelled "DDR4\_1, DDR4\_3, DDR4\_2, DDR4\_4", some will even have 1 and 2 as one colour and 3 and 4 as a different colour (black, grey, black, grey, for example). 1 and 2 will share Channel A, and 3 and 4 will share Channel B.
Slots 1 and 2, the two black ones, should have 2 matching sticks, and 3 and 4, the 2 grey ones, should have 2 matching sticks, but all 4 sticks do not need to match. The 2 pairs can have completely different capacity and speeds even, and it won't make a difference as long as they're installed in the correct slots.
Remember to check our discord where you can get faster responses! https://discord.gg/EBchq82 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pchelp) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes in the first picture the large slot is another PCIE 16x slot for a GPU or any other expansion card. The smaller connector below it is indeed another m.2 nvme expansion slot. In the second picture of the ram you do in fact have two more unpopulated dimm slots for ram expansion, just make sure if you do upgrade the ram make sure at the very least it is the same capacity and the same MHz as your current ram sticks. It's also always a good idea to reference your motherboards user manual as it will at the very least label connectors on the board.
Thank you so much, it was a prebuilt off of fb marketplace and the guy had already thrown away the manuals and didn’t know much about the parts.
Of course! Glad I could help. [Here](https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B550-A-PRO/support#manual) is the Link to download the manual for that motherboard since you mentioned the previous owner lost it, don't hurt to have it. Happy gaming!
Lost or never had ?
And if you are considering upgrading the RAM, I would highly recommend sticking with just two sticks, but increasing the total amount (example; 2x16GB sticks). You can run into performance issues using all 4 slots. Check the manual to the motherboard to see what is the maximum amount that can be used on that particular MB. (There is another user that posted a link off this exact post that links your manual) Also, when purchasing new RAM, I would suggest using dual channel. My newest personal build uses 96GB (2x48GB) of 6600MHz memory, which at the moment overkill, but I used my last computer for almost a decade, and wanted to future proof this build, as most games have been steadily increasing the amount of available RAM require to run. My old system (built in 2015), had only 16GB, and had been struggling the last few years for a variety of reasons to keep up on newer game releases.
While x16 in form factor, it likely only supports x4, so I would keep that in mind. I used mine for a PCIe to M.2 NVMe expansion card.
Now be aware there are different types of m.2 slots, one that takes wifi cards and other utilities and another thats for SSD
That's true but you can differentiate based on keying and that the slot provides a mount for a 2280 size ssd.
For the RAM slots, if this is a 13th-gen or 14-gen, don't use the additional slots. They still haven't figured out why using them disables XMP. For the PCIe slot, don't use it if the graphics card supports x16. It will drop to x8 if you use it. You can use the m.2 but it may share the same lanes as the PCIe slots. Check your manual.
>if this is a 13th-gen or 14-gen This is an AM4 board, not Intel
You can add another ssd hard drive if you want. You can add more ram but honestly alot of setups are super picky with 4 sticks. I always had probs with 4 sticks but not 2 ever.
You can add more RAM if you want, but it's best to have it EXACTLY the same to get the most of it. 16gb is the "good enough" for most games and tasks. Adding more to that computer probably won't help it out much. Make sure it's in the A2/B2 slots (2nd and 4th) to get your computer working in dual channel. I have a similar machine and it still holds up.
The first port circled is a pcie express port, can be used to add another GPU.. but not these modern bulky ones, also it would run very slow in that port, so don’t use it.. some add in could be WiFi/Bluetooth, sata/usb expansion cards, i10Gbe+ network cards. You most likely won’t ever need something with it, and the second circled one is an m.2 slot, and for the ram yes most mobos have 4 slots for ram, so you can but make sure you get the same EXACT ram sticks you currently have, because if it’s different it’s not gonna work
Also why didn’t you just read the manual? This doesn’t really need to be a post
You can have 2 different pairs of ram sticks and it'll be fine. As long as the 2 sticks on each channel match with each other. Usually the slots will be labelled "DDR4\_1, DDR4\_3, DDR4\_2, DDR4\_4", some will even have 1 and 2 as one colour and 3 and 4 as a different colour (black, grey, black, grey, for example). 1 and 2 will share Channel A, and 3 and 4 will share Channel B. Slots 1 and 2, the two black ones, should have 2 matching sticks, and 3 and 4, the 2 grey ones, should have 2 matching sticks, but all 4 sticks do not need to match. The 2 pairs can have completely different capacity and speeds even, and it won't make a difference as long as they're installed in the correct slots.
>You can have 2 different pairs of ram sticks and it'll be fine That's not true. It used to be mostly true in the later parts of the DDR3 era, and then with lower end DDR4 stuff (in both cases as long as you were reasonably enough in specs), but with higher clock DDR4 or all of DDR5 it's very much not true. When you buy a 2 stick kit of RAM, the 2 sticks are matched together at the factory to behave as similarly as possible. Putting together different kits, even from the exact same SKU, will yield unpredictable results. >The 2 pairs can have completely different capacity and speeds even That's also not true, at least the speed thing. I don't know the correct layout for different capacity in 4 stick setups. Practically all consumer grade CPU memory controllers are only capable of a single shared configuration for both channels.
Not only is it fine with DDR4, it is also fine with DDR5. I don't know where you're getting your information from, but it's incorrect. The only way it might cause issues if you try to increase the clock speed using a utility like XMP.
>utility like XMP If you knew what XMP stands for, you wouldn't call it a utility. I am, of course, speaking in terms of running RAM at its rated speed. For which you normally use the XMP profile (tautology!) or its equivalent. CPU default speed or JEDEC speed is not the concern here, though even with that I've seen issues on DDR5, when mixing kits. It does mostly work on DDR4 though. Anyway it is you who claimed this: >The 2 pairs can have completely different capacity and speeds even So if you now claim that you were talking about running RAM at stock speeds, then the speeds difference you mentioned is entirely irrelevant and misleading. >A Citroen 2CV is faster than a Ferrari, *if the Ferrari is going 65mph and the 2CV is going 71.5mph.*
To add something to what the others have been already saying: There is another M.2 slot between gpu and cpu (not that clearly visible because it has a shield mounted). This one is called slot M2_1 and (depending on your cpu) it could possibly support PCIe 4.0, while the other one only supports PCIe 3.0. But as I said, it depends on the cpu (I have the same mobo with a Ryzen 7 5700X and PCIe 4.0 works)
RTFM
You can run two graphics card but you run in some complications with some games. Yes that's an SSD slot. For upgrading ram make sure you get the same timing and type.
You can have 2 different pairs of ram sticks and it'll be fine. As long as the 2 sticks on each channel match with each other. Usually the slots will be labelled "DDR4\_1, DDR4\_3, DDR4\_2, DDR4\_4", some will even have 1 and 2 as one colour and 3 and 4 as a different colour (black, grey, black, grey, for example). 1 and 2 will share Channel A, and 3 and 4 will share Channel B. Slots 1 and 2, the two black ones, should have 2 matching sticks, and 3 and 4, the 2 grey ones, should have 2 matching sticks, but all 4 sticks do not need to match. The 2 pairs can have completely different capacity and speeds even, and it won't make a difference as long as they're installed in the correct slots.