Asus Rog Strix B550-F gaming with NVMe Gen 4.0 – top choice or down?
Asus Rog Strix B550-F gaming with NVMe Gen 4.0 – top choice or down?
Hello, I'm wondering if upgrading from a 1TB Gen 3.0 NVMe SSD to a 2TB Gen 4.0 would be feasible. Prices seem reasonable for Gen 4 models. I haven't purchased one yet, but I'm planning. When Gen 4.0 arrives, will I need to replace the Gen 3.0 and move it down, or should I install the Gen 4.0 directly as the main drive? That sounds good.
It appears the highest slot is designated for PCIe Gen4 while the lower one fits PCIe Gen3. This seems confirmed in the manual you referenced. According to the update, simply relocate the existing Gen3 drive to the bottom and insert the Gen4 one there. This should ensure both operate as intended without any drop in performance from the Gen3 drive. Edited November 15, 2023 by okkee
PCIe supports both backward and forward compatibility, meaning either connection will function in any slot. For maximum performance on 4.0 speed, use a 4.0 slot. As mentioned, the 4.0 port is typically the highest priority on that board. Running OS operations usually won’t show a noticeable difference since the gains are mainly for handling large files, which most systems and programs don’t need. If you’re not concerned about file sizes, you can safely skip the upgrade.