B450 Tomahawk Max offers an x16 physical port but is limited to x4 connections.
B450 Tomahawk Max offers an x16 physical port but is limited to x4 connections.
I thought I’d get two x16 slots on my motherboard, so putting the NIC in the second one should let both run at x8. But if it’s only x4, why bother with the extra slot? Check the manual here for details.
Likely it can physically accommodate an X16 card. The specifications mention: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450-TOM...cification 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (PCI_E4, supports x4 mode). One PCI_E4 lane operates at double speed during installation in PCI_E2/PCI_E3 slots. ~Note: It might also be more cost-effective to produce with the same slot type everywhere, irrespective of the connection standard.
It might relate to cost considerations. It seems confusing since a real slot can only use up to one-quarter of the available bandwidth, which feels misleading.