I have a Z790 Dark Hero motherboard paired with a 14900K CPU, and I'm looking to maximize my setup. I currently have a 990 Pro SSD installed in the first M.2 slot, and I'm planning to add two more NVMe drives (one 4TB and one 1TB). The 1TB will be used for a fresh Windows installation and the 4TB for games. I've come across some comments suggesting that installing these drives might limit my GPU to x8, but I'm not quite sure what that means or how it could impact my GPU performance, which is a 5080. Could someone clarify this for me?
5 Answers
If you put an SSD in M.2_1, it typically causes the main PCIe slot to switch to x8 mode. This might sound concerning, but even high-end GPUs like the RTX 5090 only see about a 1% performance loss in x8. Since you're using a 5080, you probably won’t notice any difference at all in your gaming performance.
I recommend not using the M.2_1 slot for SSDs since it impacts GPU performance more than the others. It's better to use the other slots to ensure your GPU runs at full potential while keeping your drives usable without significant slowdown!
Populating all the M.2 slots might slow down other things like SATA and USB ports, but it won't restrict your GPU’s performance in the primary slot. So feel free to install your NVMe drives; your gaming won't be affected much!
Just make sure the NVMe drives are in the right slots! Only worry if you're putting them in the same PCIe lane as your GPU, as that can limit the bandwidth. Check your motherboard specifications to see which slots share lanes with the GPU.
Having your GPU drop to x8 means it has fewer PCIe lanes available—specifically, it would have 8 instead of the usual 16. However, in real-world scenarios, this usually doesn’t make a huge impact; the difference in performance is often less than 2%. So, install your drives and don't stress over it too much!
So, just to clarify, are you saying that while all M.2 slots might have some impact on other peripherals, the main GPU should remain efficient? That's good to know!