PCIe Slot Setup Guide Configure your PCIe slots according to the required specifications for optimal performance.
PCIe Slot Setup Guide Configure your PCIe slots according to the required specifications for optimal performance.
I'm working with a Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H board and an i7-4790 processor. The Ethernet port is set up via the manual as using a PCIe X1 Gen 2.0 from the Z97 chipset. I have two SATA slots for an SATA SSD, and I'm curious—do these SATA ports connect through PCIe lanes from the motherboard? How many lanes are involved? Regarding the M.2 NVMe slots, I understand they're using a Z97 chipset. Are the USB ports connected via PCIe lanes from the same chipset? As for configuring things, I've got two RX 580 8GB cards installed: one on x16 PCIe ports and another on x8 PCIe ports (they rely on x8 and x8 Gen 3.0 PCIe lanes from the CPU). I'm using a single RX 580 8GB at PCIe x1_1, which uses PCIe x1 Gen 2.0 lanes. My questions:
1. I want to add another RX 580 8GB. The manual says PCIe x1 Gen 2.0 works fine, but I tried using x1_2 and x1_3 ports and got driver errors. How can I fix this?
2. All my RX 580 8GB are intended for Ethereum mining. Can I use all the PCIe x1 Gen 2.0 slots? Are x4, x1_1, x1_2, x1_3 possible? Also, with the M.2 NVMe SSD removed, is this setup still feasible?
3. If it's not possible, can I switch to using PCIe x4 riser for the RX 580? The manual mentions a 4-port setup and asks if that works.
4. Should I replace all PCIe x1 riser with PCIe x4 riser? I have an M.2 adapter for a PCIe x1 riser and a PCIe x16 slot for a USB 3.0 card (gen 3.0, 7 ports). Is that doable?
5. The Ethernet port is using the manual's description—do I need to change anything there?
Refer to page 107 onward in the Z97 chipset datasheet: https://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/pu...asheet.pdf. Essentially, consider the chipset as a PCI-E controller featuring 18 lanes, though up to 8 lanes can extend beyond the chipset into different devices or be organized into PCIe slots. Additionally, two of those eight lanes might connect to external devices; two lanes share bandwidth with USB or SATA ports, depending on BIOS or motherboard configuration. Some systems may omit certain lanes from physical slots or leave them unused if the BIOS doesn't support them. Later note: based on the image in my previous post, your motherboard only supports 6 PCIe lanes—1 for network, 1 to a PCIe bridge chip, and the remaining 4 to either an x4 slot or individual x1 slots, with a switch handling lane distribution. Consequently, only four SATA ports are available, meaning the two lanes typically shared with SATA may be utilized by M.2 connectors instead.
Do you believe the manual is incorrect? I tried using PCIe x4, PCIe x1_1, and they function together. Can you say I can also use PCIe x4, PCIe x1_1, PCIe x1_2, PCIe x1_3 at once? (By changing x4 slots to x1, manual suggested using x4 as x1 or x4 mode, which is available in BIOS.) Second, why don’t my GPUs show up when I only used PCIe x1_1 (Gen 2.0 x1) and PCIe x4 (Gen 2.0 x1), but everything works perfectly with PCIe x16 (Gen 3.0 x8 lanes mode), PCIe x8 (Gen 3.0 x8 lanes), PCIe x4 (Gen 2.0 x1 lanes mode), and PCIe x1_1 (Gen 2.0 x1 lanes)? What’s happening? Please help me understand...
You need to figure out how to fit the video cards into the PCI-E X1 or X4 slots. Some setups use a riser cable and a different board with an X16 port. If you use that board, it might require its own power connection since the data cable only sends information, not power. Your question is unclear—could you clarify what you mean? The image you mentioned suggests you can use either three X1 slots or one X4 slot. Inserting a card into the X4 slot blocks others. You may need to adjust BIOS settings to change the slot speed and then try installing cards in other slots after restarting. Check the manual, look up your BIOS, and see if the software has any issues with missing cards.
Maybe the manual isn't up to date or could be wrong. It seems I can work with four slots using x1 Gen 2.0. There might have been a BIOS update before, so I could only use x4 mode for PCIe x4. Perhaps before the update, I was limited to x16 mode for PCIe x16. I bought this board in 2020 and didn't try such extreme settings—using all lanes on both CPU and chipset, pushing everything to full capacity. For clarity, the slot names are: PCIe x16 (Gen 3.0, x16/x8), CPU PCIe lanes (x8/8), CPU PCIe lanes (x4/x1), Chipset lanes for various generations. This issue likely happens because of incorrect BIOS configuration or outdated settings. What I need is confirmation whether the BIOS supports the required lanes and mode before proceeding.
I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling frustrated. How can I assist you?