Clarify PCI-e 4.0 support for the x570 with recent AMD processors
Clarify PCI-e 4.0 support for the x570 with recent AMD processors
All, older and wiser (49), but having some trouble understanding how x570 motherboard manufacturers advertise 2x, 3x or even 4x PCI-e x16 slots in their datasheets, but when I read the manual for the board, the PCI-e slots are only 1 x16, some are disabled, and some only run x8, x4 or even x1 when using up the first x16 slot. I'm just really confused. Admittedly, most manuals only show up to Matisse support for now, so I'm not sure if the Zen3/Vermeer CPU's change this behavior of the slots or not. Would someone be kind enough to explain it to me, please? What I am trying to build is this (when they become widely available this year): Fractal Design Define 7XL case 850W power supply (?) x570 MB AMD Zen 3/Vermeer CPU (leaning toward the 5900x) Crucial Ballistix RGB 3600 MHz DDR4 ( BL2K32G36C16U4BL) (64GB now, add more later) 6800XT/6800/3800 series GPU (overkill for what I need, but I only want to buy once) AIO (EK/Arctic) or Noctua NH-D15 (not sure for what I need) Samsung 980 Pro 1TB NVMe Avago/LSI/Broadcom 9560-16i RAID controller (needs a PCI-e x8 lane) x6 (for now) Seagate Exos x18 SAS drives (backups and PLEX movie server with UHD support to NVidia Shield Pro 2019 x2) My son won't be gaming on this machine (nor will I) but I do get tired of uploading mkv movies as slow as possible, and my wife is a professional violinist, so we convert a lot of performance videos or her and her University students.
I'm using a software RAID setup for this. If you're unsure, I might suggest going with hardware RAID instead. Storage performance is solid in Windows and offers more adaptability than hardware RAID. Any x570 board should be compatible. The RAID card functions well at speeds of four times, and the GPU is the other component.
Thank you for your response. She works with Adobe Premiere Pro and Corel Video Studio for video editing, uses Pro Tools for audio, and prefers a hardware RAID controller over software solutions. Regarding RAID, past issues with software-based RAID have been inconsistent, so I’m sticking with a physical controller.
We often hide data in secret spots, but this method is simpler than a physical raid card. You can easily switch it between systems since it fits any Windows setup, and you won’t need any extra hardware. Make sure to include the battery if using a RAID setup, or performance will drop significantly.
Because there are physical slots and they support x16 cards, the bandwidth information helps ensure compatibility. For your needs, any x570 or b550 board should work well. The HBA/RAID card can operate at x4 speeds without issues, as HDDs are slow enough. No changes needed—same PCIe support as the 3000 series chips.
PCIe connections are limited in number, consisting of a specific count. For AMD Ryzen processors (without the 'G' suffix) and the x570 chipset, there are 36 available PCIe lanes—20 from the CPU and 16 from the chipset. The manufacturer determines how these lanes are allocated. On the CPU side, it can accommodate 20 lanes: 4 dedicated to M2 storage, with the remaining 16 for general peripherals. These peripheral lanes can be combined—such as inserting one PCIe device with 16 lanes, splitting it into two x8 lanes, or four x4 lanes. The process of dividing these lanes is referred to as bifurcation. The X570 chipset contains 16 PCIe lanes organized into four groups of four, allowing flexible configuration. This setup lets you create 16 separate PCIe slots, each handling a specific number of lanes. The X570 can either run all lanes together or split them into smaller groups depending on the configuration chosen. The exact arrangement is managed by the manufacturer, often splitting lanes into two x4 and eight x1 slots, or adjusting based on the needs of the system. The details of how these lanes are placed inside the slot can be complex, but the overall goal is to optimize performance and compatibility.