PCIe segmentation
PCIe segmentation
Hello, I'm currently assembling a new computer. It will mainly handle input/output tasks for research purposes. I plan to install four M.2 SSDs using an ASUS Hyper M.2 X16 PCIe 4.0 X4 card. For this to work, the motherboard must support PCIe expansion. I assumed most boards have this feature and bought a Gigabyte B560M Aorus Elite, but it doesn’t allow enabling it. Now I’m looking for another board that supports it, especially one compatible with an Intel i5 11400. It seems there’s limited information on this on the manufacturer’s sites. Perhaps someone here can share their experiences? We could also create a table in this thread to list boards with expansion support.
This was my consideration too, yet it doesn’t appear to hold. The B560M Aorus Elite supports one PCIe 4.0 4x and one PCIe 3.0 4x port, but I’m unable to locate a BIOS setting to divide the PCIe 4.0 16x into four PCIe 4.0 4x channels.
From what I discovered through some research, bifurcation is typically found in X or Z type chipsets and not present on B type boards.
Single M.2 slots on B560 boards lack PCIe splitting, the 11th generation provides exclusive lanes from the CPU to an M.2 port. Additional M.2 connections aren't guaranteed, and you can also link M.2 directly to the chipset. For details, refer to Asus' FAQ but check individual manufacturer manuals for other models.
It might be simpler to purchase a PCIe card that natively supports BiF. I currently have two of these in my Ivy Bridge workstation, and they function perfectly.
I don't have the cards listed. It seems PCIe4.0 isn't compatible with them. Linus mentioned honey badger cards, but they're costly. Intel 11000 series chips don't support the required split for these M.2 cards, likely limiting you to three slots out of sixteen when divided into eight-four-four configurations. You might have considered AMD instead.
These items come in a bundle. They aren't inexpensive, but they justify the cost.