PCIe Adapters and Lanes

[napstersquest]

I have a Ryzen 5 5600G in MSI X470 Gaming Plus.
The main PCIe x16 slot, for Ryzen procesors with integrated graphics, runs in x8 mode as per documentation.
If I put a PCIe expansion card like this:

And set the slot in BIOS manually to x8,
Will I be able to use 2x NVME drives on the expansion card (instead of all 4)?

 

[rsaeon]

Theoretically yes, it's one of the really cool things that PCIe can do. But this needs BIOS support for PCIe bifurcation two allow for more than one device per slot (and having the slot divided). I didn't see any option for this in your motherboard's manual.

B550 motherboards usually have the best bifurcation options, with Gigabyte's B550M DS3H being the most cost effective option:

For that motherboard, you'd choose PCIe 4x4 and you can use the first two slots for two nvme drives. Otherwise only the first nvme will be detected.

As for the adapters cards, MSI's Aero Xpander is a far better option (I have a few of them):

MSI M.2 XPANDER AERO Additional 4 M.2 NVMe slots

Supports 10th Gen Intel® Core™, 11th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® processors for LGA 1200 socket · Supports DDR4 Memory, ...

deltapage.com

 

[napstersquest]

I do see the option for PCIe lanes bifurcation, and it does say it is for the MSI Aero card as well.

Is the site (deltapage) legit? I was thinking about getting the expansion card (the one I attached the image of) from Ebay for $18.

 

[rsaeon]

The IT Depot also has it: https://www.theitdepot.com/details-MSI+M.2+Xpander+Aero+PCI-Express+Card_C93P34740.html

Is the site (deltapage) legit?

I haven't personally shopped there but other forum members have had good experiences:

List Of Recommended Direct Seller/Websites (Better than amazon/flipkart)

Coming from anti competitive experiences of marketplaces like Amazon/Flipkart, we should have a list of direct sellers or websites (non-marketplaces) who are specialized into their niche and provide very good service. Please list, discuss or critic direct sellers/websites you know. Buying from...

techenclave.com

I do see the option for PCIe lanes bifurcation, and it does say it is for the MSI Aero card as well.

That's good to see, but there's no option for x4x4x4x4 even though it's mentioned in the background. The options list x8 as the first bifurcation which would mean the 8 lanes you have from your CPU won't be divided. Maybe a different BIOS would unlock 4x4, or installing the card would trigger the option to become available.

From the manual:

 

[napstersquest]

From the manual:

Yes, probably, with 5600G as it only has x8 lanes on the x16 slot, it can't be divided. Will have to try it out I guess.

 

[Panda]

I do see the option for PCIe lanes bifurcation, and it does say it is for the MSI Aero card as well.

Is the site (deltapage) legit? I was thinking about getting the expansion card (the one I attached the image of) from Ebay for $18.

Deltapage is legit. Its my preferred shop for buying PC stuffs. But I haven't bought anything from the online shop, so unsure about it.

Just email them first or call them (they speak hindi).

 

[napstersquest]

That's good to see, but there's no option for x4x4x4x4 even though it's mentioned in the background. The options list x8 as the first bifurcation which would mean the 8 lanes you have from your CPU won't be divided. Maybe a different BIOS would unlock 4x4, or installing the card would trigger the option to become available.

Yes, probably, with 5600G as it only has x8 lanes on the x16 slot, it can't be divided. Will have to try it out I guess.

I think I got it. I guess what the motherboard means by X8,x4,x4 is that the first x8 lanes are used by the integrated graphics card, the next x4 and x4 by the PCIe slot device. Will give this a try!
Correcting myself here, 5000G series processors do have x16 GPU lanes directly attached.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/pkwi83/_/hc6h1tu

So I don't need to get non-G series CPU to use full 4 drives on the primary GPU slot, it seems.