question about a b350 motherboard PCIe slots

simondk40

Prominent
Sep 10, 2017
10
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510
I recently bought parts for a new pc. All the parts fitted and all, but the issue is that i found out, i needed a wifi adapter for my pc and i started to wonder if it would fit on my motherboard.

These are the current parts:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BfGHPs

I dont fully understand the PCIe stuff on a motherboard so would the
ASUS PCE-AC56 AC1300 wifi adapter fit the motherboard together with the other parts without trouble?



 
Solution
Yes, the wifi adapter can be fitted in your motherboard without trouble in selected PCIe slots.

Further information:

Your motherboard has two PCIe x16 slots (the longer ones with the red LED lighting in the photo below), two PCIe x1 slots (those smaller slots), and two PCI slots (the medium-sized ones), for a total of six slots in all, of different sizes. The terms "x16" and "x1", in this case, means the physical length of the slot.
Yj1Homup7tWymw5a_setting_fff_1_90_end_1000.png

The wifi adapter you will install has a PCIe x1 interface (see the small x1-sized contacts below).
33-320-181-07.jpg

You can plug the wifi adapter in...
Yes, the wifi adapter can be fitted in your motherboard without trouble in selected PCIe slots.

Further information:

Your motherboard has two PCIe x16 slots (the longer ones with the red LED lighting in the photo below), two PCIe x1 slots (those smaller slots), and two PCI slots (the medium-sized ones), for a total of six slots in all, of different sizes. The terms "x16" and "x1", in this case, means the physical length of the slot.
Yj1Homup7tWymw5a_setting_fff_1_90_end_1000.png

The wifi adapter you will install has a PCIe x1 interface (see the small x1-sized contacts below).
33-320-181-07.jpg

You can plug the wifi adapter in either a PCIe x1 slot or a PCIe x16 slot (but not the PCI slot as it uses a different and non-compatible interface).

Note that in your specific motherboard, the topmost PCIe x16 slot (the grey-colored one) is where you plug your GPU as that slot always runs in full PCIe3.0 x16 speeds, electronically. The second x16 slot (black one) only runs at a slower PCIe2.0 x4 speed and shares PCIe-lanes with the two PCIe x1 slots. This does not matter as you will only be using a single GPU plugged into the topmost PCIe x16 slot.

So, you can plug that wifi adapter into any of these slots: 1) the first PCIe x1 slot, 2) the second PCIe x2 slot (at the bottom-most), or 3) the second PCIe x16 slot. All without any problems based on your current parts list.
 
Solution

simondk40

Prominent
Sep 10, 2017
10
0
510


Thank you alot! :D and great explanation btw.