Question NVMe adapter card with MSI Z97s SLI Krait?

[jsmith24]

Hi folks!

I have an MSI Z97s SLI Krait motherboard, currently using only a single GeForce GTX 960, all other slots are open. My boot drive is a Samsung 850 EVO m.2 in the motherboard's 2280 Key M(PCIe Gen2 x2/SATA) slot. I'd like to add another SSD, specifically another m.2 NVMe, but would have to use a PCIE adapter card in one of the empty slots. My question is: will this work without messing up my graphics card's speed? I've read a few things on other forums where certain motherboards just cut the graphics speed down to x2 or x4 when they have to share with the adapter card for NVMe drives. I know fairly little about how the PCI lanes work, so I'd appreciate any constructive help - even if that means I'd be better off with a 2.5 SSD drive. I wanted to get the m.2 so that I'd be able to use it in an upgraded system, eventually.

Thanks!

Jack

 

[USAFRet]

On a Z97 board, I wouldn't be too worried about trying to spin up a NVMe drive.
Especially if the slot you're going to put it in is only PCIe 2.0.

Just add another SATA III SSD.
No adapter needed, and you would not notice the theoretical difference.


For the possible "future use"....any drive you buy today will almost certainly be less expensive once you're in a position to actually use it.
Drive prices rarely go up.

 

[jsmith24]

On a Z97 board, I wouldn't be too worried about trying to spin up a NVMe drive.
Especially if the slot you're going to put it in is only PCIe 2.0.

Just add another SATA III SSD.
No adapter needed, and you would not notice the theoretical difference.


For the possible "future use"....any drive you buy today will almost certainly be less expensive once you're in a position to actually use it.
Drive prices rarely go up.

That all makes sense. I just need the space, and for what I currently do, an upgrade just doesn't make "dollar sense". I appreciate it!

 

[jsmith24]

On a Z97 board, I wouldn't be too worried about trying to spin up a NVMe drive.
Especially if the slot you're going to put it in is only PCIe 2.0.

Just add another SATA III SSD.
No adapter needed, and you would not notice the theoretical difference.


For the possible "future use"....any drive you buy today will almost certainly be less expensive once you're in a position to actually use it.
Drive prices rarely go up.

Although, I would be putting it in a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot.

I'm not sure if that makes a big difference.

 

[USAFRet]

Although, I would be putting it in a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot.

I'm not sure if that makes a big difference.

Even then.

I did the same with an ASRock Z97M board, and 1TB Intel 660p drive.
In daily use, could NOT tell the difference between the 660p and the other SATA III drives in the system.

The only reason I got that 660p was because it was a seriously good price in 2018. $88 for 1TB.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I'd like to add another SSD, specifically another m.2 NVMe, but would have to use a PCIE adapter card in one of the empty slots. My question is: will this work without messing up my graphics card's speed?

Would it work?
Yes, it should work.

Would it mess graphics card speed?
Yes, it would, but not significantly.

You can install PCIE M.2 adapter in second PCIE 3.0 x16 slot.
Doing this switches first PCIE 3.0 x16 slot into x8 operating mode.
With GeForce GTX 960 you probably wouldn't notice any performance difference.

 

[jsmith24]

Even then.

I did the same with an ASRock Z97M board, and 1TB Intel 660p drive.
In daily use, could NOT tell the difference between the 660p and the other SATA III drives in the system.

The only reason I got that 660p was because it was a seriously good price in 2018. $88 for 1TB.

Understood, thanks!

 

[jsmith24]

Would it work?
Yes, it should work.

Would it mess graphics card speed?
Yes, it would, but not significantly.

You can install PCIE M.2 adapter in second PCIE 3.0 x16 slot.
Doing this switches first PCIE 3.0 x16 slot into x8 operating mode.
With GeForce GTX 960 you probably wouldn't notice any performance difference.

Thanks! I think I'll skip this particular end-run upgrade and go with a 2.5 SSD.

Thanks for the input!