Question a lot of PCIE X16

.valkyrie.

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hi, i bought a b660ma and i was wondering why did they put 3 pcie x16 on that board.
2x gen 3
1x gen 4
people may use 1 for VGA or even 2 for crossfire or SLI. whats the point of 3 or am i missing something?
i dont think its possible to use X1 wifi pcie on that slot. i dont have one to try. i had a dialup fax modem , with pci interface, it wont fit either. so its just for 3 VgA ? luckily i Bought WiFi edition
 

Eximo

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Your Gen 4 slot is intended for GPUs, yes, but there are MANY options.

You can plug 1x/2x/4x/8x cards into x16 slots, it is a matter of maximum compatibility. (The reverse is also true you can plug an x16 card into a 1x slot and still have it function, if you have open ended slots (typically found on more server oriented products)

High speed network cards may require 4x slots, think 10Gb/s or 40Gb/s rather than the typical 1Gb/s or 2.5Gb/s found on consumer hardware. Disk controllers for multiple NVMe SSDs, or a large amount of SATA or SAS drives. Plenty of 1x PCIe wireless cards, and that is how your Wifi is likely connected internally, via an M.2 slot to the chipset. Some high end audio devices. Simple adapters for older equipment. Nothing says you can't put in a parallel port on a PCIe adapter car, or maybe an old fashioned serial port. Or maybe a game port for an old joystick. If you really needed a floppy disk controller. (Though several of these have USB adapters that are just as good)
 

Zerk2012

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hi, i bought a b660ma and i was wondering why did they put 3 pcie x16 on that board.
2x gen 3
1x gen 4
people may use 1 for VGA or even 2 for crossfire or SLI. whats the point of 3 or am i missing something?
i dont think its possible to use X1 wifi pcie on that slot. i dont have one to try. i had a dialup fax modem , with pci interface, it wont fit either. so its just for 3 VgA ? luckily i Bought WiFi edition
You probably only have one that runs @ x16 speed
 
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.valkyrie.

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Your Gen 4 slot is intended for GPUs, yes, but there are MANY options.

You can plug 1x/2x/4x/8x cards into x16 slots, it is a matter of maximum compatibility. (The reverse is also true you can plug an x16 card into a 1x slot and still have it function, if you have open ended slots (typically found on more server oriented products)

High speed network cards may require 4x slots, think 10Gb/s or 40Gb/s rather than the typical 1Gb/s or 2.5Gb/s found on consumer hardware. Disk controllers for multiple NVMe SSDs, or a large amount of SATA or SAS drives. Plenty of 1x PCIe wireless cards, and that is how your Wifi is likely connected internally, via an M.2 slot to the chipset. Some high end audio devices. Simple adapters for older equipment. Nothing says you can't put in a parallel port on a PCIe adapter car, or maybe an old fashioned serial port. Or maybe a game port for an old joystick. If you really needed a floppy disk controller. (Though several of these have USB adapters that are just as good)
omg i always thought, PCI 1x are those small ports on some mobo. and 4 are a little wider and 8 are those that look like the one for VGA. but without safty clip.

although i have Wi-Fi edition of the mentioned MoBo and wont need a wifi card, but out of curiosity, i checked TP-Link N 881 wifi adapter that seems to be 1X card. there is an extra PCB board next to it (to the side that goes to antenna ending and to the case wall) that prevents it to fit to the slot.... so how is that?
was that supposed to fit to one of my PCIE X16 or still i am making mistake?
i am almost sure it's PCIe and not pci.
by the way, is PCI also compatible with PCIe? i see on Google image that small section on PCI is on the right but for PCIe is in the left so that make me wonder
 
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Eximo

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PCI is Parallel. There are several versions including a PCI-X standard that was quite short lived. They are not compatible with PCIe

PCIe (PCI Express) is a serial connection. More pins means more bandwidth, and each generation basically doubles the communication speed.


PCIe 2.0 x16 slot = PCIe 4.0 4x.

So those 1x slots at PCIe 3.0 are still quite fast, and why they haven't really needed to get bigger. That does mean when you start looking at more recent PCIe cards it can be worthwhile to check the PCIe revision.



On a more recent motherboard you will find the following:

PCIe:
PCIe x16 - main slot and secondary x16 slot generally connect directly to the CPU.
PCIe x16 slots (8x connection), Typically this is shared with the first x16 slot, and each slot will run at 8x when ANY card is plugged into the second slot.
PCIe x16 slots (4x connection). These are usually connected to the motherboard chipset, not the CPU. Just gives you an option for larger cards if needed.
PCIe 1x slots. Pretty much always connected to the chipset, it is common for the x16 (4x connection) slot to share connections with the other 1x slots and potentially SATA ports on the motherboard.

M.2 slots. 2280 and up are generally for mSATA and NVMe SSDs. These can be connected to the CPU or chipset. These can share connections with SATA ports, GPUs, and all sorts of things. Depends on the motherboard.
Shorter 2242 M.2 slots are usually wired for 1x and are for WiFi modules and connect to the chipset.

Internally, all other devices are generally connected to PCIe lanes on the chipset. Internal network adapters, USB controllers, SATA controllers, audio chipsets, etc.



That little extra bit on that WiFi is just a guide so that you don't plug the card into the middle of a slot or something else odd. The card CAN go into an x16 slot, but you don't have to. If you have an open 1x slot, that would make more sense, if you needed it anyway.

If you are having trouble installing a card, it is likely you might have one of the types of cases where the metal bracket to screw it down has a guard/shield and/or is actually outside the case.
 
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.valkyrie.

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PCI is Parallel. There are several versions including a PCI-X standard that was quite short lived. They are not compatible with PCIe

PCIe (PCI Express) is a serial connection. More pins means more bandwidth, and each generation basically doubles the communication speed.


PCIe 2.0 x16 slot = PCIe 4.0 4x.

So those 1x slots at PCIe 3.0 are still quite fast, and why they haven't really needed to get bigger. That does mean when you start looking at more recent PCIe cards it can be worthwhile to check the PCIe revision.



On a more recent motherboard you will find the following:

PCIe:
PCIe x16 - main slot and secondary x16 slot generally connect directly to the CPU.
PCIe x16 slots (8x connection), Typically this is shared with the first x16 slot, and each slot will run at 8x when ANY card is plugged into the second slot.
PCIe x15 slots (4x connection). These are usually connected to the motherboard chipset, not the CPU. Just gives you an option for larger cards if needed.
PCIe 1x slots. Pretty much always connected to the chipset, it is common for the x16 (4x connection) slot to share connections with the other 1x slots and potentially SATA ports on the motherboard.

M.2 slots. 2280 and up are generally for mSATA and NVMe SSDs. These can be connected to the CPU or chipset. These can share connections with SATA ports, GPUs, and all sorts of things. Depends on the motherboard.
Shorter 2240 M.2 slots are usually wired for 1x and are for WiFi modules and connect to the chipset.

Internally, all other devices are generally connected to PCIe lanes on the chipset. Internal network adapters, USB controllers, SATA controllers, audio chipsets, etc.



That little extra bit on that WiFi is just a guide so that you don't plug the card into the middle of a slot or something else odd. The card CAN go into an x16 slot, but you don't have to. If you have an open 1x slot, that would make more sense, if you needed it anyway.

If you are having trouble installing a card, it is likely you might have one of the types of cases where the metal bracket to screw it down has a guard/shield and/or is actually outside the case.

wow thank you. i learned alot.
the reason i made mistake is this:
i have also a asus h81 plus that up to this hour, thought that it have 3 full size PCIe 8X . yet i know its a PCI. i just tried to install TP-Link 881 to those slot and now i know its not possible.

So i have two more question and i appreciate it if you could clear that for me.
1- this Mobo (b660 ma wifi) have 2X M.2 nvme slot that one is connected to cpu and one goes through chipset. is it possible to install B+M Sata M.2 to any of those slot? those are really cheap and i am hoping i could use extra empty one for something. also i didnt find anything to confirm or deny it on user manual..

2- after i bought this Board , instantly i regret it since h610MA wifi, had everything i needed for 20% lower price. and i bought this with the hope that i can O.C my 3200mhz ram to 5333 that now i know its impossible and a joke.
now you said that some of those slot connect through Chipset. does that mean a better chip can do better in this situation? basically was there any difference between h610 and b660 ?
 

Eximo

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The various chipsets are designed for different price points. B660 is actually pretty good. H610 is really for budget builds and can come with some pretty harsh limits.

I believe all of those boards have M class M.2 slots support NVMe (PCIe), SATA, and SMBus, so yes, B+M Key will work fine. There are some older laptops and motherboards out there with B only slots, which only accept SATA, but that was pretty short lived. Most of the other M.2 port types haven't seen much adoption in the consumer space.

B660 supports PCIe 4.0
H610 only has PCIe 3.0

Other major differences are less USB and SATA ports as you go down the cost scale. And you lose raid support, which is basically useless these days with fast NVMe drives.

I recommend getting the cheapest NVMe drive you can rather than a SATA one, the performance difference is pretty significant for a few dollars.
 
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.valkyrie.

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The various chipsets are designed for different price points. B660 is actually pretty good. H610 is really for budget builds and can come with some pretty harsh limits.

I believe all of those boards have M class M.2 slots support NVMe (PCIe), SATA, and SMBus, so yes, B+M Key will work fine. There are some older laptops and motherboards out there with B only slots, which only accept SATA, but that was pretty short lived. Most of the other M.2 port types haven't seen much adoption in the consumer space.

B660 supports PCIe 4.0
H610 only has PCIe 3.0

Other major differences are less USB and SATA ports as you go down the cost scale. And you lose raid support, which is basically useless these days with fast NVMe drives.

I recommend getting the cheapest NVMe drive you can rather than a SATA one, the performance difference is pretty significant for a few dollars.
yea i have a 1Tb NVMe on Cpu slot. its fine. i may never use 2nd slot at all... i had plan to use intel optain first gen m10 , i'm not sure about the model but its a 16Gb one , to boost my h.d.d but it seems it doesn't work on 12 gen so i forgot about it and never tried it.
but to be fair i was curious to know if it support it (sata) since on manual its fine only written NVMe.
guess PCIe side is wrong because ,
Asus prime h610 m-a have PCIe Gen 4 x16.
 

Eximo

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Hmm, not according to Intel, but ASUS may have messed with it a little. Technically that does come direct from the CPU, no reason it shouldn't be able to.

But you might notice that board only has one additional slot at all, so if you install anything else, that is your one thing you can have. Two M.2 is nice though. A lot of low end boards don't bother.
 
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.valkyrie.

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Hmm, not according to Intel, but ASUS may have messed with it a little. Technically that does come direct from the CPU, no reason it shouldn't be able to.

But you might notice that board only has one additional slot at all, so if you install anything else, that is your one thing you can have. Two M.2 is nice though. A lot of low end boards don't bother.
i'm using asus prime b660 ma and it have 2X m2.

by the way, i can buy a 128 GB sata m2 for just 5$ with few hour work (2nd hand). this is really tempting to get one and have my NVME for just game and stuff i care about.... also i watch YouTube alot , its a waste of NVMe for that .
so basically , PCIE m.2 nvme slot, is backwards compatible with Sata m.2?
 

Eximo

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As long as the M.2 SATA drive has a B+M key, then it will work with an M key slot like you have there.

I guess, not sure what a storage drive has to do with youtube, but extra storage is extra storage.

Brand new $20 you can get an PCIe 3.0 256GB drive vs $15 for a 256GB M Sata.
 
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Eximo

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Your motherboard (ASUS PRIME B660M-A WIFI D4) supports NVME M.2 drives only.
SATA M.2 drives are not supported.

I hope that isn't right, they need to make that clearer if so.

Wait, lets be clear. Are you talking about getting an mSATA drive, or an M.2 SATA drive. mSATA will be B-Key only, M.2 SATA should be B+M which is compatible with M slots.

mSATA drives are usually shorter 42mm or 60mm sticks vs the more typical 80mm sticks.
 
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.valkyrie.

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As long as the M.2 SATA drive has a B+M key, then it will work with an M key slot like you have there.

I guess, not sure what a storage drive has to do with youtube, but extra storage is extra storage.

Brand new $20 you can get an PCIe 3.0 256GB drive vs $15 for a 256GB M Sata.
unfortunately its at least+30 around here.
but, its fine i am not going to grt either one. i just need to know
 
I hope that isn't right, they need to make that clearer if so.
IMHO it's clear enough.
No mention of SATA mode support means exactly that.
Storage
Total supports 2 x M.2 slots and 4x SATA 6Gb/s ports*
Intel® 13th & 12th Gen Processors

M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280
- Intel® 12th Gen processors support PCIe 4.0 x4 mode.
Intel® B660 Chipset **
M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)*
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
 
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