I'm planning to upgrade my AMD 9800X3D/9070XT build and need some advice. I'm repurposing my WD PCI-E Gen 4.0 SN850X 4TB as the main data drive, while I'm installing a new PCI-E 5.0 WD SN8100 2TB for the Windows 11 OS on my MSI B850 MPG Edge TI motherboard. Since this is my first time working with M.2 SSDs (I've only used SATA drives before), I'm a bit uncertain about the impact of using PCI-E lanes from the chipset versus the CPU.
According to the specs for my motherboard, slots 1 and 2 for PCI-E 5.0 connect to the CPU, while slots 3 and 4 connect to the chipset for PCI-E 4.0 speeds. I want to avoid using the second Gen5 M.2 slot for my 4TB SN850X because it will be under my 9070XT, which generates a lot of heat. I prefer to install it in the 4th M.2 slot, which has space for a dedicated heatsink.
My concern is whether using the chipset lanes for my Gen4 SSD will limit its performance compared to running it on a Gen5 CPU lane. Will I notice any significant slowdown, especially since I try to keep my OS and data drives separate for easier management?
2 Answers
Your SN850X will run just fine on the chipset lanes, even at PCI-E 4.0 speeds. Most workloads won't hit storage bandwidth limits, and you're unlikely to notice a difference in day-to-day use unless you're doing heavy downloading or large file transfers regularly. If you’re not pushing it hard, just enjoy the setup!
You're good to go with the chipset lanes. While it might cap the transfer speed a bit compared to the CPU lanes, for most users, especially with a Gen4 drive, it won’t make a noticeable impact. You've got it set up sensibly with cooling, so you should be fine!
I agree! The difference between chipset and CPU lanes really matters less for typical usage. Unless you plan on maxing out those speeds constantly, it should be all good!