Planning an upgrade - need help with PCI lanes and MOBO!

[The Pikachu Mafia]

So in the next couple weeks I'm planning on upgrading several components in my desktop. Here are the relevant parts of my current setup:

 

MOBO: Asus x99-A

CPU: Intel i7 5820k

GPU: 2x 980ti in sli

Case: Corsair 760T

SSD: Samsung 850 evo (SATA)

 

A few months ago I had issues with a power surge that ended up frying my Motherboard and I've been without a desktop since, so I figured now is a good a time as any to do some upgrades. Right now I'm looking to upgrade the CPU, Motherboard, SSD, and Case. I also want to add in an Elgato 4k60 Pro so I can record/stream console gameplay. Ideally I would like to upgrade my CPU to an i9 9900k and pickup something like a Samsung 970 evo NVMe SSD. However I've never been very good at figuring out whether a component would use the CPU's or the Chipset's PCI lanes. My 5820k has 28 lanes which is more than enough, but the 9900k only supports up to 16 lanes.

 

If I got a 9900k I'm pretty sure that my GPUs would run in x8/x8 off of the CPU, taking up all 16 lanes. I'm also pretty confident that the NVMe SSD would take a lane away from the Chipset instead of the CPU which is fine since the chipset has plenty of spare lanes. What confuses me is the Elgato Capture card, I'm not sure based on my research where it would draw its lanes from - the CPU or the Chipset. Would all this stuff be compatible together? If so, what Motherboard would you recommend me getting? I need something with ample space to plug everything in and space out my graphics cards. Thank you all very much in advance!

 

 

 

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

NVMe will take 4 lanes away from the chipset.

GPUs will run at x8/x8 from the CPU.

 

I would imagine the Elgato card would run off of the CPU, but I'm not sure how that would impact the GPU bandwidth.

 

What really confuses me is why Intel would launch the 9900K with only 16 PCIe lanes....

[The Pikachu Mafia]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

NVMe will take 4 lanes away from the chipset.

GPUs will run at x8/x8 from the CPU.

 

I would imagine the Elgato card would run off of the CPU, but I'm not sure how that would impact the GPU bandwidth.

 

What really confuses me is why Intel would launch the 9900K with only 16 PCIe lanes....

That's basically what I feared. If the Elgato runs at x4 off the CPU I'm not sure if it will be compatible with my setup...

 

Also, I know right? I was pretty disappointed when I saw that the 9900k only had 16 lanes. I could in theory upgrade to a 9920x (and I do a fair bit of productivity work outside of gaming so I might be able to justify it), but I really don't want to spend more than twice as much on a CPU/MOBO combo if I can avoid it. =_=

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, The Pikachu Mafia said:

That's basically what I feared. If the Elgato runs at x4 off the CPU I'm not sure if it will be compatible with my setup...

 

Also, I know right? I was pretty disappointed when I saw that the 9900k only had 16 lanes. I could in theory upgrade to a 9920x (and I do a fair bit of productivity work outside of gaming so I might be able to justify it), but I really don't want to spend more than twice as much on a CPU/MOBO combo if I can avoid it. =_=

I'd have to double check this, so take it with what you will until I confirm it, but I believe the Elgato will run off of the CPU.

 

My reasoning behind this is that the chipset actually manages storage, the CPU does not. This is why NVMe drives take chipset lanes. Basically everything that isn't storage should run off of the CPU lanes.

 

I'm gonna head over to the good ol' interwebz to confirm this, but that's my guess and logic. If it does run off of the CPU, I'm not sure how that would impact your SLI config.

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 minutes ago, The Pikachu Mafia said:

That's basically what I feared. If the Elgato runs at x4 off the CPU I'm not sure if it will be compatible with my setup...

 

Also, I know right? I was pretty disappointed when I saw that the 9900k only had 16 lanes. I could in theory upgrade to a 9920x (and I do a fair bit of productivity work outside of gaming so I might be able to justify it), but I really don't want to spend more than twice as much on a CPU/MOBO combo if I can avoid it. =_=

if you get a 9900k, the capture card will run off the chipset and the gpus will still be at 8x 8x.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

d have to double check this, so take it with what you will until I confirm it, but I believe the Elgato will run off of the CPU.

Depends on the slot, but with most 115x board, there are 2 pcis slots using cpu lanes, either in 16x with one used or 8x 8x, the last slot at the bottom almost always using chipset lanes.

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, Electronics Wizardy said:

Depends on the slot, but with most 115x board, there are 2 pcis slots using cpu lanes, either in 16x with one used or 8x 8x, the last slot at the bottom almost always using chipset lanes.

Thanks for confirming that.

 

@The Pikachu Mafia if you install it in the bottommost slot on your motherboard, then it should work.

From my online findings involving this capture card and SLI configurations, your system won't like booting with all of those at once and will instead either not boot at all, or boot to a black screen.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3793742/pcie-configuration-elgato-hd60-pro-wont-boot-sli.html

 

It looks like unless the bottom slot does indeed run off of chipset lanes, you'll get one or the other.

[The Pikachu Mafia]

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Depends on the slot, but with most 115x board, there are 2 pcis slots using cpu lanes, either in 16x with one used or 8x 8x, the last slot at the bottom almost always using chipset lanes.

 

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Thanks for confirming that.

 

@The Pikachu Mafia if you install it in the bottommost slot on your motherboard, then it should work.

From my online findings involving this capture card and SLI configurations, your system won't like booting with all of those at once and will instead either not boot at all, or boot to a black screen.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3793742/pcie-configuration-elgato-hd60-pro-wont-boot-sli.html

 

It looks like unless the bottom slot does indeed run off of chipset lanes, you'll get one or the other.

 

Okay, thank you both for your help! Do either of you have any specific motherboard in mind that might support my configuration then? (As I understand things it would need a spare x4 slot that run off the chipset?)

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, The Pikachu Mafia said:

Do either of you have any specific motherboard in mind that might support my configuration then?

What kind of budget are you looking at? For the 9900K, I'd recommend something closer to the high end, there aren't many places boards can go wrong once you go above the $250-300 mark.

 

2 minutes ago, The Pikachu Mafia said:

As I understand things it would need a spare x4 slot that run off the chipset?

The bottom slot should run off of the chipset on its own, no matter what kind. If it's an x16 slot, it'll just look a little funky since you're installing an x4 card.

[The Pikachu Mafia]

4 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

What kind of budget are you looking at? For the 9900K, I'd recommend something closer to the high end, there aren't many places boards can go wrong once you go above the $250-300 mark.

 

The bottom slot should run off of the chipset on its own, no matter what kind. If it's an x16 slot, it'll just look a little funky since you're installing an x4 card.

Yeah, $300 was around what I saved up for a motherboard, maybe slightly more. I have had some pretty awful experiences with super cheap boards in the past.