I recently bought an ADATA premium M.2 Gen 4 SSD that's supposed to be great, with 99% health, for a low price of 93 CAD (about 68 USD). It's working well in some games, like Street Fighter 6, which load noticeably faster. I checked its health using CrystalDiskInfo and HD Tune, and both tests came back clear with no errors. However, I'm concerned about the speed because it seems to be running at only about 25% of the advertised performance. My motherboard is an Aorus X470 Ultra Gaming, and according to the specifications, it has two M.2 slots: one supports PCIe 3.0 x4 and the other supports PCIe 2.0 x4. I think I may be using the second slot, but I can't find concrete info online about its performance.
2 Answers
Right on! You're using a Gen 4 SSD in a Gen 2 slot, which means it's functioning at half the potential speed. The upgrade to the PCIe 3 slot is definitely a step in the right direction. Expect around 50% of what the SSD is capable of if you switch. It's all about finding the right balance on the motherboard!
Looks like you've figured it out! Your M.2 Gen 4 SSD is in a PCIe 2.0 x4 slot, which definitely limits its speed to about 25% of what it can achieve. If you switch it to the PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, you should see a significant boost in performance, although it won't reach the full Gen 4 speeds. Just make sure to check the motherboard manual for the proper slot assignments to ensure you're optimizing your setup!
Exactly! Any PCIe version number reflects the generation. It's good you moved it to a Gen 3 slot at least; it should run much better there.
Great move! Just keep in mind that even the PCIe 3 slot won't let you hit full Gen 4 speeds, but it will be a lot better.