Hey everyone, I'm looking into upgrading my PC storage and I'm considering an M.2 SSD. I have an Intel i5-10400F processor and a Gigabyte B460M DS3H V2 motherboard which has only one M.2 socket. My concern is whether adding an M.2 SSD will take away bandwidth from my GPU, since my CPU supports only 16 PCIe lanes, not 20. From what I understand, the M.2 socket uses PCIe lanes directly from the CPU, not from the chipset. I mainly use my PC for gaming, and interestingly, the prices for SATA and NVMe drives are about the same in my region. Any insights would be appreciated!
4 Answers
Nope, your M.2 SSD won't share bandwidth with your GPU. Your CPU has 16 PCIe lanes dedicated to the GPU, plus another 4 lanes for storage. So, you should be good adding an M.2 without affecting your GPU's performance!
Your M.2 socket probably uses extra PCIe lanes from the motherboard’s chipset, so it shouldn’t interfere with your GPU lanes at all. Your setup should allow you to install the M.2 drive without any problems regarding bandwidth. Just check the motherboard documentation; it usually explains how they allocate these lanes. Here’s a useful diagram of the layout if you're curious: [link]
Thanks for breaking that down! I’m also leaning towards NVMe for future-proofing, especially for games that need faster loads. Really appreciate the insights!
Just to clarify, while your CPU lists 16 lanes, there are actually 4 lanes specifically for storage that often don’t get mentioned by Intel. It's a bit misleading, but it should allow you to add an NVMe drive without impacting your GPU.
I didn’t realize that! I definitely want an NVMe for games like Doom, since more require it now.