Question Question about running GPU at 8x instead of 16x: "If you want to run your gpu x16 @3.0, never use these parallel SATA ports for storage." is this true

[Westley The questionnair.]

Question about running GPU at 8x instead of 16x: "If you want to run your GPU x16 @3.0, never use these parallel SATA ports for storage." is this true? I found this answer in a different forum and was wondering if this is right.

 

[Math Geek]

every mobo is different in how it lays out the lanes. you have to look at your specific board to know the answer.

most of the time the main pcie slot and the main m.2 slot both run at full speed. it's usually only when using the second slots that you have to start compromising. but again this is different for every board out there.

so no there is no hard and fast rule like whatever it is you saw.

 

[iTRiP]

Question about running GPU at 8x instead of 16x: "If you want to run your GPU x16 @3.0, never use these parallel SATA ports for storage." is this true? I found this answer in a different forum and was wondering if this is right.

every mobo is different in how it lays out the lanes. you have to look at your specific board to know the answer.

most of the time the main pcie slot and the main m.2 slot both run at full speed. it's usually only when using the second slots that you have to start compromising. but again this is different for every board out there.

so no there is no hard and fast rule like whatever it is you saw.

Now that's funny that somebody should want to know that very thing again, I was also wondering the same thing just a few months ago when I thought that if you install a pcie storage card for an nvme drive allong side a gpu that it would greatly impact potential max fps that the gpu could render, I know like Math Geek is saying above that every mobo is different.

I'm running a bit older Gigabyte a 400 series mobo and for my setup doing such I was told my gpu would run at 8x instead of 16x when the storage card is installed.
(actually I hadn't even checked that yet if it's changed to 8x now since the expansion cards installation) Anyhow what I meant to add to this thread is that I have not noticed any fps drops since utilizing all lanes. same goes for the drives in the setup they all run at advertised speeds.

 

[USAFRet]

Question about running GPU at 8x instead of 16x: "If you want to run your GPU x16 @3.0, never use these parallel SATA ports for storage." is this true? I found this answer in a different forum and was wondering if this is right.

Context matters.

This is NOT, I repeat NOT, a universal rule.
Or a rule in general.

SATA ports rarely impact the PCIe slots.


What motherboard is this?

 

[Math Geek]

Now that's funny that somebody should want to know that very thing again, I was also wondering the same thing just a few months ago when I thought that if you install a pcie storage card for an nvme drive allong side a gpu that it would greatly impact potential max fps that the gpu could render, I know like Math Geek is saying above that every mobo is different.

it's actually a very common question we get around here. mostly due to the fact there is so much mis-information and just plain wrong info to be found all over the place on the subject. if i had a nickle for every time someone posts a redit/youtube/twitter link full of total nonsense around here, i'd have a whole bunch of nickles

but that's what we're here to do is help clear up all that BS being spread everywhere else. well one of the things we do around here anyway. lol

 

[USAFRet]

it's actually a very common question we get around here. mostly due to the fact there is so much mis-information and just plain wrong info to be found all over the place on the subject. if i had a nickle for every time someone posts a redit/youtube/twitter link full of total nonsense around here, i'd have a whole bunch of nickles

but that's what we're here to do is help clear up all that BS being spread everywhere else. well one of the things we do around here anyway. lol

"I heard..."
"I read..."
"My friend told me..."

 

[bill001g]

As stated above you must read the manual, all kinds of strange restrictions you might not expect.

It likely also doesn't matter a lot. It depends on your video card. When the 4090 came out they wanted to test pcie3 x 16 vs pcie4 x 16. Problem is most motherboards you can't set that and they wanted to use the same exact motherboard. They taped over some of the pins so it ran pcie 4 x 8 which is the same as pcie3 x 16. The results was even a 4090 can't really use a full pcie4 x16 connection.

It all depends on if you current video card can exceed pcie3x 8

 

[iTRiP]

"I heard..."
"I read..."
"My friend told me..."

As stated above you must read the manual, all kinds of strange restrictions you might not expect.

It likely also doesn't matter a lot. It depends on your video card. When the 4090 came out they wanted to test pcie3 x 16 vs pcie4 x 16. Problem is most motherboards you can't set that and they wanted to use the same exact motherboard. They taped over some of the pins so it ran pcie 4 x 8 which is the same as pcie3 x 16. The results was even a 4090 can't really use a full pcie4 x16 connection.

It all depends on if you current video card can exceed pcie3x 8

I guys know what, I've been with these forums for 5 years now, posting my knowledge on and of whilst gaming, everybody has helped expand what is known to me and what I'm able to share with others, all through these tom's hardware forums... it's been great... still one thing remains in my mind and that is trying and testing all theories myself and seeing what the actual results are... on my pc's, but alas having access to all this knowledge is just the best when venturing into something unknown to get some more insight before going into the rabbit hole say to speak, long live Tom's Hardware!


I just did a little test here on my setup, a copy and pasting data on my pcie nvme drive whilst running a render test on the gpu simultaneously, my pcie lane still reads x16, and doesn't clock down to x8.

Just my latest findings, and don't really know if it has anything to concur about what the op was insinuating or asking.