PCI E lanes from chipset and CPU explanation

[NonTechSavvySheep]

I have come across this link from another thread in this forum. https://www.techspot.com/article/1088-Intel-100-series-chipset-family-detailed/

I do not understand the differences between PCI E configuration, PCI E lane from the chipset and from the CPU.

The Z motherboard have 1x16, 2x8 and so on.

Now that I have MSI H110M grenade. It's not a top notch motherboard and all. But it run GTA V just fine.

From that link, it says that H110 have 6 Pcie lanes 2.0 instead of 16, however, when I check my mobo model MSI official site
https://us.msi.com/Motherboard/H110M-GRENADE.html#hero-specification

It says PCI E gen 3 x16. Do they refer it to the processor or the chipsets? It has M.2 SATA slots though.

I also check NewEgg and the review from TomsHardware too about this Mobo and it has x16. I l'm not sure if I understand what I read.
If we add single GPU, does it use PCI E lanes from the chipset or from the processor? Please enlighten me. Thanks

I read again that H110 allows me 1 GPU but no additional peripheral. Please explain me what kind of peripheral that we are talking in this context? WiFi card? Pcie nvme SSD? Well I won't need those. If I can afford those things, I'd certainly be able to afford better Motherboard.

 

[t53186]

Here are a couple of intel block diagrams which may help.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/chipsets/performance-chipsets/x99-chipset-diagram.html
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/embedded/products/kaby-lake-s/specifications.html

 

[Dunlop0078]

If you added a GPU it would use the 16 lanes from the CPU, chipset lanes are typically used for things like M.2 storage, capture cards, or other peripherals that use pcie lanes. I think you would be able to add a peripherals that uses pcie lanes even with a gpu installed, doesn't it have 6 pcie 2.0 lanes for the chipset? Not sure hard to find a diagram for H110 for some reason.

 

[NonTechSavvySheep]

I need to make sure if you read the MSI H110M grenade. it says x16 pcie Gen 3. Need to make sure if it is from the chipset or from the CPU.

I have single RX 480 4 GB. So it will use 16 pci e lane from i5 6500 and not from the chipset right? So it won't be a problem unless if I add wifi card, nvme ssd which I won't add?
Need to clarify if the dedicated gpu use pcie lane from processor or motherboard?

 

[t53186]

It uses both

 

[t53186]

16 lanes to the CPU via the 16 lanes on the MB

 

[NonTechSavvySheep]

It uses both

So that means that the GPU will use 6 lanes instead of 8 or 16?

The cpu itself has 16 lanes. So if you say that 16 lanes to CPU via the motherboard than it will only take 6 lanes for the CPU? If so then what about the GPU? I'm a bit confused.

 

[rgd1101]

gpu use the CPU PCIe lane.

 

[NonTechSavvySheep]

gpu use the CPU PCIe lane.

So that means it doesn't really matter if the chipset has 2.0 6 lanes because the GPU is actually using the PCI E lane from the CPU instead of the chipsets one. The chipset one will use it for other pcie lane peripheral such as wifi, nvme , more usb port etc? Am I right or do I miss something? The thing that slowing down abit is because it uses dmi 2.0 instead of 3.0 which I don't really understand what dmi actually is.

So if I use H110 motherboard, I have 16 pcie lanes 3.0 from CPU and 6 pcie lanes 2.0 from motherboard? And the GPU will not use that 6 pcie lanes?

Not so many people talk about motherboard.

 

[cin19]

gpu use the CPU PCIe lane.

So that means it doesn't really matter if the chipset has 2.0 6 lanes because the GPU is actually using the PCI E lane from the CPU instead of the chipsets one. The chipset one will use it for other pcie lane peripheral such as wifi, nvme , more usb port etc? Am I right or do I miss something? The thing that slowing down abit is because it uses dmi 2.0 instead of 3.0 which I don't really understand what dmi actually is.

So if I use H110 motherboard, I have 16 pcie lanes 3.0 from CPU and 6 pcie lanes 2.0 from motherboard? And the GPU will not use that 6 pcie lanes?

Not so many people talk about motherboard.

You are right.
The GPU will use the cpu gen3 x16 pcie lane, and the chipset pcie lanes will use for other pciex1/x2 for wifi, or the M2 ,etc.
For the DMI ( Direct Media Interface ), with 3 version the chipset will support DDR4, more pcie lanes, and more USB3.0 etc. more info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Media_Interface

 

[raisonjohn]

The H110 chipset from the techspot link you posted (https://www.techspot.com/article/1088-Intel-100-series-chipset-family-detailed/) does say,

"Chipset PCI-E lanes (Gen)* -----> 6 (2.0)"

But, when you said, "From that link, it says that H110 have 6 Pcie lanes 2.0 instead of 16...", you may have missed the note (indicated by the asterisk *) below the table in that link which states,

"*In addition to the 16 PCI-E 3.0 lanes from the CPU"

Which is also found in the same table,

"Processor PCIe configuration -----> 1x16"

Thus, the H110 provides a grand total of x22 PCIe lanes, that is, x16 PCIe Gen3 lanes coming from the Processor (CPU) plus x6 PCIe Gen2 lanes coming from the Chipset.

So, for your question, "It says PCI E gen 3 x16. Do they refer it to the processor or the chipsets?", the table you linked clearly shows that the PCI E gen 3 x16 lanes refer to the processor.

For your other question, "If we add single GPU, does it use PCI E lanes from the chipset or from the processor?", the GPU, which can only be plugged in your motherboard's single PCIe x16 slot, uses the x16 lanes coming from the processor.

As to the other "peripheral" or more appropriately, other PCIe devices (which uses PCIe lanes, such as PCIe Wireless Card, PCIe Sound Card, PCIe NVMe SSD, etc.), since the H110 motherboard is left with only x6 PCIe Gen2 lanes to use as provided by the Chipset (as the x16 PCIe Gen3 provided by the CPU is to be used by the GPU slot), it is distributed (if I'm not mistaken) in your MSI H110M Grenade motherboard as follows:

PCIe2.0 x1 slot --> x1 lane
PCIe2.0 x1 slot --> x1 lane
M.2 socket (in PCIe2.0 x4 mode) *or* DMI2.0 (not sure how MSI configured the use of the lanes) --> x4 lanes
TOTAL = x6 PCIe 2.0 lanes

DMI is the communication lane between the CPU and the Chipset/PCH.

So, if you use 1 GPU plugged in the PCIe x16 slot (which uses x16 lanes coming from your CPU), then, you can still populate the M.2 socket and the two PCIe2.0 x1 slots of your motherboard (all of which uses the PCIe lanes from your Chipset). Other PCIe devices may be configured by the motherboard manufacturer to use available HSIO (high-speed input-output) lanes (such as USB, LAN, and other PCIe devices), the table shows that H110 chipsets can have a "Maximum HSIO Lanes" of "14" (which may include the M.2 socket lanes).

 

[NonTechSavvySheep]

Okay, almost clear. So far so good explanation.

Yes, I was wondering because I read that asterisk (*) that the 6 PCIE lanes 2.0 is in addition to the PCI E lanes from the processor. But on that MSI it states 16 pci e lanes so that is the part where I have confusion, because I thought that this motherboard is somehow special or an exception that has 16 pcie lanes instead of 6 pcie lanes like the one in chipset comparison
But thanks for clearing up. So I guess that know I know that the number of PCI E lanes on the chipset won't effect that GPU performance as the GPU uses one from the CPU and not from the chipset. The only thing that slows down a bit is the DMI 2.0.

So I guess the number of PCIE lane will benefit if I add more peripheral or having multiple GPU. But since I'm having a fairly basic simple desktop setup, then it shouldn't matter at all.

I really hope that the Motherboard won't overheat because of the bad mosfet as I will be playing GTA V or any 3D games for hours. Can someone confirm one more time about this statement where H110 mosfet tends to heat up reach 100 celcius if we use i7 processor? So the motherboard will overheat even though the processor does not.

So I have M.2 SATA Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB in that motherboard. So will it takes the PCI E lanes or just disable SATA port? The link said that if M.2 SATA is installed, SATA IV will be disabled.

 

[raisonjohn]

Okay, almost clear. So far so good explanation.

Yes, I was wondering because I read that asterisk (*) that the 6 PCIE lanes 2.0 is in addition to the PCI E lanes from the processor. But on that MSI it states 16 pci e lanes so that is the part where I have confusion, because I thought that this motherboard is somehow special or an exception that has 16 pcie lanes instead of 6 pcie lanes like the one in chipset comparison
But thanks for clearing up. So I guess that know I know that the number of PCI E lanes on the chipset won't effect that GPU performance as the GPU uses one from the CPU and not from the chipset. The only thing that slows down a bit is the DMI 2.0.

So I guess the number of PCIE lane will benefit if I add more peripheral or having multiple GPU. But since I'm having a fairly basic simple desktop setup, then it shouldn't matter at all.

I really hope that the Motherboard won't overheat because of the bad mosfet as I will be playing GTA V or any 3D games for hours. Can someone confirm one more time about this statement where H110 mosfet tends to heat up reach 100 celcius if we use i7 processor? So the motherboard will overheat even though the processor does not.

So I have M.2 SATA Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB in that motherboard. So will it takes the PCI E lanes or just disable SATA port? The link said that if M.2 SATA is installed, SATA IV will be disabled.

You're welcome!

The H110 is a budget, entry-level mobo that (if I'm not mistaken) only has 4 + 2 power phases, and no heatsinks on them. It's not meant for OC'ing and high TDP CPUs, so, it's recommended that your case is laid out to provide ventilation in that area to allow good amount of airflow going through them in case they heat up. A good CPU cooler that blows into the CPU and the surrounding components (where mosfets are located) is also a good option. I cannot confirm the statement where H110 mosfets tend to heat up reaching 100*C if an i7 CPU is used (it may be a case-to-case basis).

If you have a SATA-based M.2 SSD (Samsung 850 EVO M.2), you can't take full advantage of the M.2 socket's PCIe x4 speeds. It will only run in slower SATA 6Gb/s speeds. In any case, whether you use a PCIe/NVMe M.2 SSD or a SATA M.2 SSD, populating the M.2 socket of your specific motherboard will disable a SATA port (SATA4, if I'm not mistaken). That's just how the MSI H110M Grenade was configured.

 

[NonTechSavvySheep]

Okay, almost clear. So far so good explanation.

Yes, I was wondering because I read that asterisk (*) that the 6 PCIE lanes 2.0 is in addition to the PCI E lanes from the processor. But on that MSI it states 16 pci e lanes so that is the part where I have confusion, because I thought that this motherboard is somehow special or an exception that has 16 pcie lanes instead of 6 pcie lanes like the one in chipset comparison
But thanks for clearing up. So I guess that know I know that the number of PCI E lanes on the chipset won't effect that GPU performance as the GPU uses one from the CPU and not from the chipset. The only thing that slows down a bit is the DMI 2.0.

So I guess the number of PCIE lane will benefit if I add more peripheral or having multiple GPU. But since I'm having a fairly basic simple desktop setup, then it shouldn't matter at all.

I really hope that the Motherboard won't overheat because of the bad mosfet as I will be playing GTA V or any 3D games for hours. Can someone confirm one more time about this statement where H110 mosfet tends to heat up reach 100 celcius if we use i7 processor? So the motherboard will overheat even though the processor does not.

So I have M.2 SATA Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB in that motherboard. So will it takes the PCI E lanes or just disable SATA port? The link said that if M.2 SATA is installed, SATA IV will be disabled.

You're welcome!

The H110 is a budget, entry-level mobo that (if I'm not mistaken) only has 4 + 2 power phases, and no heatsinks on them. It's not meant for OC'ing and high TDP CPUs, so, it's recommended that your case is laid out to provide ventilation in that area to allow good amount of airflow going through them in case they heat up. A good CPU cooler that blows into the CPU and the surrounding components (where mosfets are located) is also a good option. I cannot confirm the statement where H110 mosfets tend to heat up reaching 100*C if an i7 CPU is used (it may be a case-to-case basis).

If you have a SATA-based M.2 SSD (Samsung 850 EVO M.2), you can't take full advantage of the M.2 socket's PCIe x4 speeds. It will only run in slower SATA 6Gb/s speeds. In any case, whether you use a PCIe/NVMe M.2 SSD or a SATA M.2 SSD, populating the M.2 socket of your specific motherboard will disable a SATA port (SATA4, if I'm not mistaken). That's just how the MSI H110M Grenade was configured.

Define High TDP. I mean not the definition of TDP. I5 6500 has 65Watt
Is 65 Watt considered high TDP? So i7 6700 has higher TDP?

 

[raisonjohn]

65W is relatively low (which most non-OC'able CPUs are).

High TDP is somewhere in the range of 100W++ such as Intel's HEDT (High-End Desktop), Extreme Edition, or some Xeon CPUs (for example, i7-7740X at 112W, 15-5820K and i9-7900X at 140W, Xeon E5-2687W V3 at 160W) or ~90W unlocked Intel CPUs (such as i7-7700K at 91W) but may go ~20W over TDP when overclocked.

Most older AMD CPUs also exhibit high TDP range (for example, Phenom II X4 970 at 125W Black, FX-8320/50 and FX-4350 at 125W, and FX-9590 at 220W) as well as newer AMD Enthusiast-Level CPUs (such as Threadripper 1950X at 180W).

All of the above mentioned CPUs tend to consume more power and produce more heat, thus, a very good cooling system should be supplied for such.

An i7-6700 only has a TDP of 65W (like the i5-6500) - as both are non-OC'able. Not much heat to dissipate compared to enthusiast-level and unlocked CPUs.