PCIe lanes for Crosshair VII hero in Crosshair VII PCIe mode
PCIe lanes for Crosshair VII hero in Crosshair VII PCIe mode
I need to set up a WLAN PCIe card. However, I’m unsure how my PCIe connections are arranged on the motherboard since I’m using an NVMe SSD. I placed the SSD in the second slot (the one below). My current setup includes: Mobo: Crosshair VII Hero x470 GPU: GTX 1080 SSD: Samsung Evo 970 CPU: Ryzen 3700x
1080 receives x16 from the CPU, 970 Evo receives x4 from the CPU, and the Wi-Fi card will draw whatever it requires from the chipset.
x16 is connected to the GPU via the chipset, while x4 links the chipset to the CPU. With the NVMe in the second slot, you might wire it to the chipset. Verify the lane configuration on the board and ensure the Wi-Fi card receives its lanes from the chipset—this depends on the slot and wiring arrangement.
Reviewing the motherboard user guide thoroughly reveals all details within. It outlines the specifications in the motherboard manual. The X470 chipset delivers full PCI-E bandwidth to the bottom PCI-E X16 (X16 physically, X4 electrically) port, as well as PCI-E X1 ports. On page xi of the manual, it clarifies: M.2 slot data originates from the CPU, distinct from the 16 PCI-E lanes destined for the graphics card *when* you select the bottom M.2 slot. The second PCI-E lane utilizes 4 of the 8 PCI-E lanes from the second PCI-E X16 slot (top GPU port) plus 0 from the top M.2 slot, or alternatively: 8 from the first GPU port + 8 from the second GPU port + 4 from the top M.2 slot, or 8 from the first GPU port + 4 from the second GPU port + 4 from the bottom M.2 slot. In your case, the optimal setup is: install M.2 NVMe in the top port, place the GPU in the top PCI-E X16 slot, and add a PCI-E WiFi LAN card into any PCI-E X1 port.