Which M.2 slot for OS

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   I have searched and I have looked and I just cannot seem to find a black and white answer.

ASRock B250 Pro4

I have in the M.2_1 (Ultra) slot Silicon Power 256GB NVMe M.2 2280 PCIe 3x4

I have in the M.2_2 slot Western Digital WD Blue 500GB NVMe M.2 2280 PCIe 3x4

The WD 500gb was added recently and after the SP 256gb. I moved the OS to the WD 500gb.

In the WD toolbox it states for the 500gb WD with the OS
Capability Gen3 (4 Lanes)
Connection Gen3 (2 lanes)

I read that as "it'll run the 4 lanes but as it sits, you're running it at 2 lanes."

Is this due to the M.2 slot being used? Would the "connection" change to the same 4 lanes capability if the Ultra slot was used for the 500gb? 

If so, is that a negligible performance difference connecting at 2 Lanes vs 4 Lanes or would it make a huge difference? 

Or would the 500gb WD SSD show 2 lanes regardless of M.2 slot used?
Would the 256gb lose lanes therefore slow down if they were swapped? I would rather have that SSD getting the slower end of the stick as it doesn't contain the OS.

I've been satisfied with load time performance but if there is THAT much more to gain I would happily make the changes.

Lane sharing etc (obviously) gets outside of my knowledge base and I didn't want to start physically moving them around unnecessarily if there was no gain.

Thanks for any assistance and, again, sorry if this is a well worn topic that I've totally managed to miss in my endeavor.

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Dasho Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 12 Jan 2021 Status: Offline Points: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote Dasho Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Which M.2 slot for OS Posted: 12 Jan 2021 at 2:45am
	I have searched and I have looked and I just cannot seem to find a black and white answer. ASRock B250 Pro4 I have in the M.2_1 (Ultra) slot Silicon Power 256GB NVMe M.2 2280 PCIe 3x4 I have in the M.2_2 slot Western Digital WD Blue 500GB NVMe M.2 2280 PCIe 3x4 The WD 500gb was added recently and after the SP 256gb. I moved the OS to the WD 500gb. In the WD toolbox it states for the 500gb WD with the OS Capability Gen3 (4 Lanes) Connection Gen3 (2 lanes) I read that as "it'll run the 4 lanes but as it sits, you're running it at 2 lanes." Is this due to the M.2 slot being used? Would the "connection" change to the same 4 lanes capability if the Ultra slot was used for the 500gb? If so, is that a negligible performance difference connecting at 2 Lanes vs 4 Lanes or would it make a huge difference? Or would the 500gb WD SSD show 2 lanes regardless of M.2 slot used? Would the 256gb lose lanes therefore slow down if they were swapped? I would rather have that SSD getting the slower end of the stick as it doesn't contain the OS. I've been satisfied with load time performance but if there is THAT much more to gain I would happily make the changes. Lane sharing etc (obviously) gets outside of my knowledge base and I didn't want to start physically moving them around unnecessarily if there was no gain. Thanks for any assistance and, again, sorry if this is a well worn topic that I've totally managed to miss in my endeavor.