Hey everyone! I recently ordered the GIGABYTE X870 A Elite WIFI7 Ice Motherboard, but I canceled the order when I discovered that its NVMe slots share lanes with the GPU. I'm considering the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi Motherboard as an alternative, but I'm a bit unsure. I've also steered clear of ASRock motherboards due to reports of frying issues with the 9800x3d. What would you suggest for a motherboard that doesn't share lanes with the GPU?
5 Answers
Just a heads up: on the Aorus Elite/Pro x870/e, only the lower slots share PCIe lanes with the GPU. If you use the right slots, especially the top M.2 which goes straight into the CPU, you might be fine. The MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk has a decent PCIe lane configuration; you can check the detailed layout before deciding. Here's a link to a video that shows the PCIe lane configuration for the Tomahawk: https://youtu.be/gJn7DgqSNBA
I opted for an Asrock B650M-HDV M.2 motherboard for my 9800x3d. It was only $140 and it's been running flawlessly since February with optimized settings. Honestly, you don't even need PCIe 5.0 for good performance!
The X870 Tomahawk has a good PCIe layout for running your GPU at x16 and keeping your NVMe drives fast. Just keep in mind some M.2 slots might share bandwidth with USB 4.0 ports. If this is a concern for you, the B850 is an alternative that won't have this issue, although it does lose some USB type C functionality. Just weigh your options!
If you’re looking for another option, the ASUS X870E-E is compatible with two NVMe drives without affecting the GPU lanes. I’ve been enjoying it with my 9800x3d and a 4090, and it's performed really well!
It's essential to check the compatibility of your components and the motherboard manual to ensure you have enough slots ready without sharing lanes. I'm using the Gigabyte x870e Pro with my 9800x3d, a 9070xt, and an NVMe SSD, and everything runs smoothly without any lane-sharing issues.
I own one too and thought I could fit three NVMe drives without any issues, but it turns out adding a third does impact the x4 slot bandwidth. Just something to keep in mind!