I'm working with an ASUS B450-F motherboard and I'm not sure which PCIe devices to install in which slots. The slots are arranged like this from top to bottom:
1. PCIEX1_1 slot
2. PCIEX16_1 slot
3. PCIEX1_2 slot
4. PCIEX16_2 slot
5. PCIEX1_3 slot
6. PCIEX16_3 slot
The devices I have are a graphics card, a WiFi card, and a PCIe to USB 19 pin since the 19 pin on my motherboard has some missing pins. I know the graphics card should go into the first x16 slot, but it blocks access to the x1 slot below it, which means I can't fit the WiFi card there. Do I need to consider anything else apart from making sure the GPU is in that first slot? What's the optimal way to set up the other devices?
2 Answers
Definitely place your graphics card in the top x16 slot. After that, the placement of other devices isn't as critical. You can actually plug an x1 card into any x16 slot if needed, so don’t worry too much about that! Just check your motherboard’s manual to ensure other slots are wired properly for your cards.
And remember, just because a slot looks available doesn’t mean it will work optimally. Always double-check the manual for details on lane distribution.
To clarify, your motherboard has some slots that share bandwidth. Specifically, the PCIEX16_2 shares lanes with other slots, which can affect performance if used improperly. Place your GPU in PCIEX16_1 and then connect the WiFi card to the third x1 slot, which seems to be your only option due to the GPU's size. As for the PCIe to USB card, it can be plugged into any of the x1 slots too.
Got it! So the WiFi card in the third x1 slot is fine, but I should avoid using the x16 slots for my x1 devices if I want the best performance.
Exactly! Just avoid PCIEX16_2 to keep your GPU performance intact.
Good to know! I wasn't sure about using x1 cards in x16 slots. Thanks for the tip!