Check if the card fits in a Gen 5 x8 slot.
Check if the card fits in a Gen 5 x8 slot.
Checking if all four drives can run on the card with a Gen5 X8 slot. I’m curious whether the card distributes the X8 speed equally across all drives or if it limits two at once, using just two drives in pairs. Your motherboard: https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-cr...eme-model/ Card: https://www.asus.com/motherboards-compon...-Gen5-Card
For an x8 slot, you can only use two drives if the board supports bifurcation. You’d need to check the manual for bifurcation details and the specific slot it applies to. For typical desktop setups, using Gen4 drives is common, or opt for Optane for better speed.
I already possess a dedicated PCIe Gen3 card with four slots, yet they operate at shared Gen3 X4 speeds. That’s why I’m curious if this card could truly be an upgrade and deliver the four slots you’re expecting.
The card uses bifurcation from the motherboard's BIOS to divide the 16 PCIe lanes in the slot into four sections of four lanes each. If your motherboard only provides eight PCIe lanes to the slot, but supports bifurcation for that slot, you could accommodate two M.2 drives on the card. On your motherboard, when a card is placed in the second slot, the lanes from the top slot are now split evenly between the first and second slots.