Guidance on PCIe bifurcation for motherboards
Guidance on PCIe bifurcation for motherboards
Hi everyone, I hope I'm in the right spot for this. If not, please let me know and I'll share it here. I'm trying to understand the bifurcation options for the two motherboards I'm considering: the NZXT N7-Z69XT and the ASUS ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi D4. Both are 12th and 13th Gen Intel chipsets, with a Z690 and Z790 respectively. My CPU is an Intel Core i9-12900KS. The PCIe setup I have in mind includes one Thunderbolt card, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 card, an RTX 3060, two capture cards, and four Asus 730 GPUs. For guidance, I'm looking into resources that detail the bifurcation support for these boards. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer, Toshi!
Get the manuals and check for references to bifurcation. Reach out to NZXT and inquire about support for bifurcation. As a smaller company, they might reply to your emails promptly.
This scenario involves several challenges and considerations. The setup relies on HDMI signal strength suitable for my Asus 730 cards and requires many USB ports between the front and rear interfaces (3.2 Gen 2 Card). One capture card is needed for retro game recording/streaming, while a Retrotink 5x is used. I opted for a CPU that fits my budget rather than a high-end threadripper. Thanks for understanding!
It's uncommon to find bifurcation support mentioned in specifications or guides, so you might need to rely on someone who has verified it elsewhere. Also, since bifurcation is typically only available on the primary x16 slot, you'd probably have to use a different chipset slot for your main GPU. Keep in mind that Thunderbolt cards aren't standard; only certain motherboards support TB expansion, and you must use the corresponding card from the same brand. Because it doesn't require two drivers, it's referred to as "the Nvidia driver," but note that a driver version old enough for the GT730 won't work with the 3060 and vice versa.