How many PCI-E do I really need?

[markgerardpelaez]

So I'm slowly diving deep into PC building and I'm beginning to learn each parts through forums and reviews however, I'm also seeing builders say that the more PCI-E the better. Apart from having a PCI-E for dgpu, what else do they plan to put on other PCI-E? Yes, there's wifi and probably sound card, but how is more PCI-E slot better than having only enough for the core needs?

 

[Peter Martin]

All kinds of devices use PCIE including new NVMe SSD drives

A normal GPU card will take 16 lanes of PCIe
The more the better especially as you add more video cards

As a general rule I do not buy CPU lower than 16

 

[markgerardpelaez]

All kinds of devices use PCIE including new NVMe SSD drives

A normal GPU card will take 16 lanes of PCIe
The more the better especially as you add more video cards

As a general rule I do not buy CPU lower than 16

I see. more PCIE more dgpus, and for more ssd. So this is what they mean when they say "room for expansion"? Expansion for SSDs, HDDs? does this include the USB ports?

 

[Peter Martin]

Yes you can buy PCIE cards that host USB ports to expand

 

[markgerardpelaez]

Yes you can buy PCIE cards that host USB ports to expand

Now that's clear. I just learned some new stuff again in less than 10 minutes. Thanks mate! You da best!