ASUS has demonstrated an idea for incorporating an M.2 SSD slot into a GeForce RTX 4060 Ti graphics card in order to utilize the GPU’s empty PCIe lanes.
ASUS General Manager Tony Yu demonstrated the possibility of having an actual Gen 4 M.2 SSD working alongside the GPU on the same PCB. They used a Samsung 980 PRO 2TB SSD that was mounted to the underside of the graphics card through a cut-out. This cut-out is easily accessible, and the backplate serves as a heatsink for the storage device.
During testing, the SSD displayed performance that was comparable to what it would provide when attached to a Gen 4 motherboard while using the ASUS GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPU. Even when the stress load was at its highest, the temperatures remained below 50C.
The price at which these GPUs are offered will be the deciding factor. If there is little to no difference between them and a regular graphics card, buyers will undoubtedly be interested.