Z390 Taichi additional M2's

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   Hi community,

My Z390 is still going strong. For some background, I do a little development with a number of flight simulators, so sometimes for me space can be at a premium, so I would like to ask this question please:

At the moment, all 3 of the M2 slots on my motherboard are occupied, and working well. I was considering adding a PCIe card that holds additional M2 drives. I know that this (potentially) can slow down drive access, but I'm not sure if the card adds additional data lanes?

Can anybody advise as to whether or not this would work please?

Many thanks,

Andrew.

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LDH67 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 14 Jun 2022 Location: Perth Status: Offline Points: 70	Post Options Post Reply Quote LDH67 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Z390 Taichi additional M2's Posted: 28 Apr 2023 at 7:26am
	Hi community, My Z390 is still going strong. For some background, I do a little development with a number of flight simulators, so sometimes for me space can be at a premium, so I would like to ask this question please: At the moment, all 3 of the M2 slots on my motherboard are occupied, and working well. I was considering adding a PCIe card that holds additional M2 drives. I know that this (potentially) can slow down drive access, but I'm not sure if the card adds additional data lanes? Can anybody advise as to whether or not this would work please? Many thanks, Andrew.
	Kind regards, AJ

threadzipper1957 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 05 Mar 2022 Status: Offline Points: 9365	Post Options Post Reply Quote threadzipper1957 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 Jun 2023 at 8:24pm
	When You are referring to PCIE cards, that can hold up to 4 M.2's. the PCIE slot must support bifurcation, so the 16 PCIE lanes, must be divided in 4x 4 lanes. You should check this in your BIOS Here is the layout of the PCIE slots - 3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (PCIE2/PCIE4/PCIE5: single at x16 (PCIE2); dual at x8 (PCIE2) / x8 (PCIE4); triple at x8 (PCIE2) / x4 (PCIE4) / x4 (PCIE5))* Meaning PCIE2 has 16 lanes, but when also adding a card in PCIE4, both slots get 8 lanes each. From the manual, I see that, there is no bifurcation, so I would say no
	Kind Regards

krateaustin412 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2023 Location: united states Status: Offline Points: 15	Post Options Post Reply Quote krateaustin412 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Jul 2023 at 4:22am
	Hey Andrew! It's great to hear that your Z390 is still performing well. Adding a PCIe card to hold additional M.2 drives is definitely a possibility. However, it's important to consider that the card itself will use PCIe lanes, which might affect the bandwidth available for your existing M.2 drives. The number of data lanes provided by the card depends on the specific Development model you choose. I would recommend checking the specifications of the PCIe card you're considering and comparing it with the available PCIe lanes on your motherboard. That way, you can make an informed decision. Good luck with your upgrade!
	sagadsg