Maximus XI Extreme m.2 Question

[scorch0062]

Hey guys, first time buyer of an m.2 SSD (and I'm upgrading my computer after a good 5 years of waiting). I was wondering which slot is the best to plug in the m.2 SSD that I bought or if it really matters. I know you can use the bundled DIMM.2 heatsink or you can install in the normal slots below the heatsink at the bottom of the board.

My question is that I have been reading a lot about m.2 SSD with this board taking PCIE lanes from the video card. My system will be running an RTX 2080ti so I definitely don't want that to happen. Which slot would be the best one to use so that I am not throttling my GPU's PCIE slot? The DIMM.2 heatsink that's bundled with the board, or the standard slot at the bottom of the board? Does it really even matter since I am only using the one m.2 board? Will both spots cause a throttling of the PCIE slot?

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[romirez]

Try different slots, each time check in GPU-Z programm at what mode your GPU is working currently (16x or 8x).

 

[scorch0062]

I was hoping someone would know off the top of their head, but thank you. I will use the first slot under the large heatsink and check with gpu z and see what it says. If that limits my video card, then I will reinstall it in to the dimm heatsink because I think it will run cooler in there, but I'd rather have the extra pci lanes

 

[scorch0062]

After reading the manual closer, it APPEARS that slots m2_1 and m2_2 do NOT use cpu lanes BUT the m2_3 and m2_4 slots that use the DIMM heatsink definitely DO use cpu lanes. So to avoid stealing lanes from your video card, make sure and do not use the dimm heatsink for your m2s. Even though it looks so cool