--- title: I used my spare M.2 slot for something boring, and it... description: Spare M.2 slots on motherboards can be used for more than just additional SSDs. Installing a 2.5GbE Ethernet card in an unused M.2 slot is highlighted as a... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-my-spare-m-2-slot-for-something-boring-and-it-became-my-favorite-pc-upgrade-wqvtewqak twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I used my spare M.2 slot for something boring, and it became my favorite PC upgrade | daily.dev og:description: Spare M.2 slots on motherboards can be used for more than just additional SSDs. Installing a 2.5GbE Ethernet card in an unused M.2 slot is highlighted as a... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-my-spare-m-2-slot-for-something-boring-and-it-became-my-favorite-pc-upgrade-wqvtewqak og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/WqvTEWQak.png og:image:alt: I used my spare M.2 slot for something boring, and it became my favorite PC upgrade og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I used my spare M.2 slot for something boring, and it became my favorite PC upgrade **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Spare M.2 slots on motherboards can be used for more than just additional SSDs. Installing a 2.5GbE Ethernet card in an unused M.2 slot is highlighted as a practical upgrade for faster home network file transfers, without sacrificing a PCIe slot. Other M.2 expansion options include Wi-Fi/Bluetooth cards, USB expansion, cellular (LTE/5G) modules, and AI accelerators. Compatibility is a key consideration — slot key type, module size, and supported interfaces must be verified before purchasing any M.2 expansion card. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Can I put something other than an SSD in an unused M.2 slot? Yes, M.2 slots can host more than storage drives, including 2.5GbE Ethernet cards, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules, USB expansion cards, LTE or 5G cellular modules, capture cards, and AI accelerators. Compatibility depends on the slot's key type, supported module size, and the number of PCIe lanes the motherboard allocates to that slot. _daily.dev surfaces practical hardware upgrade ideas for builders exploring unused M.2 slots._ ### Why choose an M.2 Ethernet card over a USB or PCIe network adapter? An M.2 2.5GbE Ethernet card frees up a PCIe slot for future upgrades while avoiding the less elegant setup of a USB adapter. This approach solved a real bottleneck when Gigabit speeds became limiting for transferring large files to a home server, without sacrificing other expansion options on the motherboard. _Readers weighing networking upgrades can track hardware trade-offs like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Your PC's second M.2 slot can do more than you think, and it costs almost nothing](https://daily.dev/posts/your-pc-s-second-m-2-slot-can-do-more-than-you-think-and-it-costs-almost-nothing-xfrb0mhua) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [5 expansion cards for that spare M.2 slot on your motherboard](https://daily.dev/posts/5-expansion-cards-for-that-spare-m-2-slot-on-your-motherboard-5rxdlzbnv) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I plugged a network card into my M.2 slot, and it's the most boring upgrade I love](https://daily.dev/posts/i-plugged-a-network-card-into-my-m-2-slot-and-it-s-the-most-boring-upgrade-i-love-chfmnziuc) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your M.2 slot does more than SSDs, but nobody talks about the boring cards that prove it](https://daily.dev/posts/your-m-2-slot-does-more-than-ssds-but-nobody-talks-about-the-boring-cards-that-prove-it-nuq1yix3u) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your PC's unused PCIe slot beats M.2 for expansion — and it's not even close](https://daily.dev/posts/your-pc-s-unused-pcie-slot-beats-m-2-for-expansion-and-it-s-not-even-close-ctlrlwqxk) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#hardware](https://daily.dev/tags/hardware), [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-my-spare-m-2-slot-for-something-boring-and-it-became-my-favorite-pc-upgrade-wqvtewqak) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I used my spare M.2 slot for something boring, and it became my favorite PC upgrade","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-my-spare-m-2-slot-for-something-boring-and-it-became-my-favorite-pc-upgrade-wqvtewqak","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-my-spare-m-2-slot-for-something-boring-and-it-became-my-favorite-pc-upgrade-wqvtewqak"},"datePublished":"2026-07-25T21:33:38.927Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T19:29:11.897Z","description":"Spare M.2 slots on motherboards can be used for more than just additional SSDs. 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