The most straightforward reason for the second SLI PCIe slot to be x8 is that PCs have limited PCIe lanes coming from the CPU and must be shared among the two graphics cards. A full x16 slot uses 16 lanes. If you have two full x16 slots, that will amount to 32 lanes, and no …
PCIe slots allow you to add expansion cards on your motherboard to provide additional functionality to your PC. They come in various sizes, each designed for a specific category of expansion cards. Whether you want to add a graphics card for gaming, a WiFi network card, or a dedicated sound card, you use the PCIe …
PCIe lanes serve as the information highway through which data bits are transferred from the PCIe device connected to the motherboard to the CPU for processing. In the following text, we read more about what PCIe lanes are. PCIe is a high-speed standard that allows you to add extra functionalities to your motherboard with the …
Yes, the PCIe slot you use for your expansion card matters. Different PCIe slots have different throughput rates (speed) and lane widths. Depending upon the throughput rate requirement of the expansion card, you should choose the relevant PCIe slot to plug it in. While PCIe slots and cards are backward and cross-compatible, and smaller cards …
The amount of PCIe express lanes you need depends upon the amount and the type of expansion cards you plan to install. In the following text, I explain in detail what PCIe lanes are. The type of expansion cards out there and their lane requirements in an attempt to answer the query: “how many PCIe …
The number of PCIe lanes on AMD Ryzen CPUs ranges from 24 on consumer-grade Ryzen 3, 5, 7, and 9 to 128 on workstation-grade Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. The popular desktop Ryzen series, i.e., 3000 and 5000, have 24 lanes. Ryzen 4000 CPUs for mobile devices have 16 routes in total. It should be noted that …
Yes, you can fit a PCIe x1 card in an x4 slot. Thanks to the cross-compatibility of the PCIe slots and the way the standard is designed, smaller cards can be installed into larger slots and vice versa. However, whether this is a good idea or not is another concern that we will explore in …
Yes, the PCIe x16 slot you use DOES matter because, on most motherboards, the second one only offers eight or even just 4 PCIe lanes. PCIe x16 slots are the most confusing to understand. Knowing which one to use is very important if you are building a PC and have multiple x16 slots on the …
Currently, PCIe 3.0 is the most common version on motherboards, but if you have an older PC, it may conform to the older PCIe v2.0. With most new expansion cards coordinating with v3.0, it is common to ask: can I use a PCIe 3.0 card in a 2.0 slot? Yes, you can use a PCIe …
Desktop computers that come with onboard or built-in WiFi are rare. This leaves many users who wish to connect wirelessly with two popular options: a USB WiFi dongle or a PCIe card. But the question is, which one is better when it comes to PCIe vs. USB WiFi? As far as the performance goes, PCIe …