PCIe Lanes question for 960 pro

[mb7756]

Hello, I have a 6700k, z170 board, gtx 1080, sound blaster Z pcie card, 2x sata 850 pro's, and 3x sata WD black 1tb drives. Just ordered an m.2 960 pro. I do not understand how lanes work. Can I just drop in the m.2, or will I have lane issues with this configuration? I could remove the 2x 850 pros if needed but I'd prefer max performance from the m.2 and 1080 if this setup will be crippling.

Thanks!

 

[Tech_TTT]

your motherboard ?

in General you can Just install it in your M2 and make sure not to use the SATA port that is shared with it. you can read the manual to know which SATA port is shared with it.

no need to remove any drives or SSD you already have ..

 

[mb7756]

I have an Asus Hero VIII hero alpha board https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-MAXIMUS-VIII-HERO-ALPHA/specifications/

 

[mb7756]

Thanks Tech_TTT, I appreciate your response

 

[Tech_TTT]

you will be fine , your M2 is shared with PCIEx4 slot number 3 ..

when you enable the M2 from the bios it will disable that slot.

Read the Manual carefully ... maybe you need to change where you put your sound card.

 

[mb7756]

My manual says:
"This motherboard features an M.2 slot, which supports both PCIE and SATA modes. The PCIE mode operates at full PCI Gen. 3.0 x4 speeds. The SATA mode shares bandwidth with PCIEX4_3 and will automatically be disabled when a PCIe device is inserted."

 

[mb7756]

Thanks Tech! I really appreciate your help

 

[Tech_TTT]

you are welcome

 

[mb7756]

Wow, thank you! My sound blaster is actually in slot 3...so I will need to move it. I really appreciate your help.

 

[mb7756]

Moved the sound blaster to a slot above the 1080.

 

[Tech_TTT]

enjoy your machine.