[SOLVED] Which M.2 Socket for OS NVME PCIE x4, CPU or Z690 Chipset?

[dugt]

I'm getting a new ASUS TUF Z690 motherboard and I'm wondering which M.2 socket would be best. The 1st M.2 socket communicates directly with the CPU. The other M.2 sockets are PCIe-4x4 or SATA and they communicate with the Chipset. Is communicating directly with the CPU fastest with no disadvantages?

I know that, with many motherboards, using the 1st M.2 socket steals lanes from the first GPU PCIE 16 socket but there is no mention of this in the TUF manual. According to the manual, the GPU socket is "Intel 12th Gen Processor PCIe 5.0 x 16". About the 1st M.2 socket, "Intel 12th Gen Processor supports PCIe 4.0 x 4 mode." I'm hoping that the fast CPU M.2 slot will be best for the OS and games. What do you think? Should I use the 1st slot for my NVME M.2?

Thanks for any input!

 

[Bob.B]

I'm getting a new ASUS TUF Z690 motherboard and I'm wondering which M.2 socket would be best. The 1st M.2 socket communicates directly with the CPU. The other M.2 sockets are PCIe-4x4 or SATA and they communicate with the Chipset. Is communicating directly with the CPU fastest with no disadvantages?

I know that, with many motherboards, using the 1st M.2 socket steals lanes from the first GPU PCIE 16 socket but there is no mention of this in the TUF manual. According to the manual, the GPU socket is "Intel 12th Gen Processor PCIe 5.0 x 16". About the 1st M.2 socket, "Intel 12th Gen Processor supports PCIe 4.0 x 4 mode." I'm hoping that the fast CPU M.2 slot will be best for the OS and games. What do you think? Should I use the 1st slot for my NVME M.2?

Thanks for any input!

Try it both ways.
Do you see a diff?

 

[dugt]

Try it both ways.
Do you see a diff?

If I don't get a definitive answer to this question, I will try it and test it in two different sockets. I would rather not because there are heat pads involved and I'm not fond of installing and uninstalling my GPU. What would be a good way to test it? My best guess is run a benchmark both ways.

 

[Bob.B]

If I don't get a definitive answer to this question, I will try it and test it in two different sockets. I would rather not because there are heat pads involved and I'm not fond of installing and uninstalling my GPU. What would be a good way to test it? My best guess is run a benchmark both ways.

Yes a benchmark should show if there is any big diff.

 

[USAFRet]

Which CPU and drive?

The M2_1 only works with a 12th Gen CPU.

Overall, though...you'd see ZERO difference.

 

[dugt]

The CPU is an i5-12600. The MB is a Z690 so it had to be a 12th Gen CPU.

The SSD is a 2017 Samsung 1TB 960 EVO NVME M.2. It doesn't say which PCIe level it is and it doesn't specify that on Samsungs web page for this SSD.

You said I would see zero difference. Is that because communicating with the CPU through the chipset adds an insignificant amount of lag during game and photoshop applications?

 

[USAFRet]

The CPU is an i5-12600. The MB is a Z690 so it had to be a 12th Gen CPU.

The SSD is a 2017 Samsung 1TB 960 EVO NVME M.2. It doesn't say which PCIe level it is and it doesn't specify that on Samsungs web page for this SSD.

You said I would see zero difference. Is that because communicating with the CPU through the chipset adds an insignificant amount of lag during game and photoshop applications?

The 960 EVO is a PCIe 3.0.

"insignificant amount of lag" is overstating the difference.
Not even that much...

In a blind test, you could not tell any difference.

For instance:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YoRKQy-UO4

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9LyNXpsOo

 

[dugt]

The 960 EVO is a PCIe 3.0.

"insignificant amount of lag" is overstating the difference.
Not even that much...

In a blind test, you could not tell any difference.

For instance:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YoRKQy-UO4

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9LyNXpsOo

That was educational. Thanks for going to the trouble of being very convincing.

Now I'm going to put my NVME in the most acceptable x4 socket because it will work just as well in any M.2 socket this motherboard has.