Question Storage Expansion on Gigabyte B760 Gaming X AX (DDR5) and Can I use a PCIE x16 to M.2. Board for extra storage?

[Gamefreaknet]

Link to the sort of board I am trying to describe: here
PC Build Link: (Parts Marked Purchased in the build I already have installed) - here
Since my PC got custom built (and setup) in RAID it's awkward to move that data to a new higher capacity drive however:

1. I have heard of boards that can hold multiple M.2.s connected from a PCIEx16 connector (which if the build on PCPartpicker shows correctly I should have 2 PCIEx16s available. I had a quick look and found on an LTT Forum Page that said:

The motherboard DOES HAVE 2 pci-e x16 slots, but only the first is pci-e x16 electrically and physically.
The botton pci-e x16 slot is pci-e x4 electrically, it has only 4 pci-e lanes coming from the chipset.
(not for my mobo but for the person who asked in the forum) - page link here

2. Whilst looking for alternatives to storage a noticed that it said some SATA slots get disabled as they'll use the same data line as a M.2. slot. When I redid my build (as it currently is) in PCPartPicker it didn't come up with that message (which it does register in some other builds I have previously done before). Does this mean I am in the clear to use all 4 of those SATA slots for storage?

For reference on the SATAs I have listed I might buy I do know the Samsung 870 Evo is faster however I selected the QVO as it supports a higher storage capacity even though it is slower.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Your questions can be answered by checking the motherboard's manual or spec sheet.

But if you don't feel like doing that:

1. The other two PCIe slots are PCIe 3.0 x1, per the spec sheet
2. You can use all four SATA ports and M.2 slots, as there's no warning specifically saying that ports will be disabled if you use an M.2 slot.

 

[Gamefreaknet]

Your questions can be answered by checking the motherboard's manual or spec sheet.

But if you don't feel like doing that:

1. The other two PCIe slots are PCIe 3.0 x1, per the spec sheet
2. You can use all four SATA ports and M.2 slots, as there's no warning specifically saying that ports will be disabled if you use an M.2 slot.

So in theory if I wanted to I could use 2 of the PCIEx16 to M.2. storage boards?
Also since the board is PCIE 4.0 and the 2 spare PCIEx16 slots I have on my board are rated at PCIE 3.0 will it just run at PCIE 3.0 speeds?

 

[hotaru.hino]

So in theory if I wanted to I could use 2 of the PCIEx16 to M.2. storage boards?

Also since the board is PCIE 4.0 and the 2 spare PCIEx16 slots I have on my board are rated at PCIE 3.0 will it just run at PCIE 3.0 speeds?

In theory, but if it works, the SSDs will be limited to PCIe 3.0 x1 speeds, which is at best, 985MB/sec.

 

[thestryker]

You cannot do what you're thinking of with those cards period. They do not support bifurcation so if you got those x16 storage boards not only would they only run PCIe 3.0 x1, but they would only see 1 drive. If you want to hook up multiple M.2 drives via PCIe on any client platform while using a video card at x16 you have to buy a card that supports PCIe bifurcation on the board.

If you need more storage you should either buy single slot PCIe to M.2 adapters and use a single drive in each slot and/or get the sata drives. Really if you wanted more storage you should have bought a Z690/Z790/W680 based motherboard.

 

[Gamefreaknet]

You cannot do what you're thinking of with those cards period. They do not support bifurcation so if you got those x16 storage boards not only would they only run PCIe 3.0 x1, but they would only see 1 drive. If you want to hook up multiple M.2 drives via PCIe on any client platform while using a video card at x16 you have to buy a card that supports PCIe bifurcation on the board.

If you need more storage you should either buy single slot PCIe to M.2 adapters and use a single drive in each slot and/or get the sata drives. Really if you wanted more storage you should have bought a Z690/Z790/W680 based motherboard.

So im assuming most Z790 boards supports bifurication?

 

[hotaru.hino]

So im assuming most Z790 boards supports bifurication?

It doesn't matter in this case, because bifurcation is for splitting lanes. You can't split past x1.

 

[thestryker]

So im assuming most Z790 boards supports bifurication?

No Intel client platforms support anything but splitting CPU lanes to x8. As it is even though AMD systems do go down to x4 they only do this on CPU lanes so when you're using a video card this becomes pointless. The three chipsets I mentioned use a higher bandwidth connection to the CPU and thus have more storage options available. Take my W680 board: 2x M.2, 2x PCIe x4 and 8x SATA (off the chipset, there's 1x M.2 and 2x PCIe off the CPU) so while you can't be using all of them at the same time due to the limited bandwidth you have more available options.