What are Small PCIe x1 Slots Used For?

That board only has a single PCIe x1 slot I will need a HBA card to run those drives Info is hard to find for situations like this for

x1 is 500gb and is 1gb So pretty much go sata unless Will PCIe x1 x4 cards work in

pcie slot pinout List of Motherboards with 2 PCI-Express x1 Slots: ASRock B760M-H, ASRock H610MAC, ASRock B760M-HDV, ASUS ROG Strix B760-A Gaming WiFi,

pcie m2 slot 1 x PCIe x1 slot