M.2 on X99-s and 5820K with SLI on?

[MVPernula]

So I barely know anything about M.2 drives except that they're crazy fast. I'm running dual 970's and a 5820K on an X99-s MOBO, I know there's a catch about the 28 PCI-e lanes but no specifics. Are there any specific drive(s) I can use for it to work smoothly without any performance loss?

[Lotus]

Your GPUs are already running at x8 speed instead of x16 (which is not a limiting factor) so you still have 12 lanes available. M.2 PCIE drives actually using PCIE (NVMe) take 4 lanes. That leaves 8 open after the fact, which is even enough for a third GPU.

 

This is why the 5930k is a waste of money. It's really hard to use all of the PCIE lanes on the 5820k.

[MVPernula]

3 minutes ago, Lotus said:

Your GPUs are already running at x8 speed instead of x16 (which is not a limiting factor) so you still have 12 lanes available. M.2 PCIE drives actually using PCIE (NVMe) take 4 lanes. That leaves 8 open after the fact, which is even enough for a third GPU.

 

This is why the 5930k is a waste of money. It's really hard to use all of the PCIE lanes on the 5820k.

So you're basically saying there are no drawbacks?

[wyattzx]

4 minutes ago, MVPernula said:

So you're basically saying there are no drawbacks?

Yes, running three GPUs and an NVMe SSD is just fine on a 5820k. 

[MVPernula]

Just now, NonaHexa said:

Yes, running three GPUs and an NVMe SSD is just fine on a 5820k. 

I understand there are different types of M.2 drives, can you explain them?

[wyattzx]

Just now, MVPernula said:

I understand there are different types of M.2 drives, can you explain them?

Oh, my apologies. I meant to say M.2, but the poster above me said NVMe, so I wrote what I saw. 

 

M.2 uses a key on your motherboard, that connects to your PCIe lanes. These keys can vary in design, and there isn't really much of a "standard." The most common right now is M.2, and it looks something like this these:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147467

 

NVMe drives connect directly into the PCIe lane itself, similar to how a GPU or wireless card would.They look more like this:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167359

 

 These all consume 4x PCIe 3.0 lanes, which again is fine to use alongside three discrete GPUs on an i7-5820k.

[MVPernula]

6 minutes ago, NonaHexa said:

Oh, my apologies. I meant to say M.2, but the poster above me said NVMe, so I wrote what I saw. 

 

M.2 uses a key on your motherboard, that connects to your PCIe lanes. These keys can vary in design, and there isn't really much of a "standard." The most common right now is M.2, and it looks something like this these:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147467

 

NVMe drives connect directly into the PCIe lane itself, similar to how a GPU or wireless card would.They look more like this:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167359

 

 These all consume 4x PCIe 3.0 lanes, which again is fine to use alongside three discrete GPUs on an i7-5820k.

Sounds awesome, so I'll be completely fine running 2 GPU's! I'm not looking for anything too expensive but also worth the money, any recommendations?

Many thanks for this info!

[wyattzx]

16 minutes ago, MVPernula said:

Sounds awesome, so I'll be completely fine running 2 GPU's! I'm not looking for anything too expensive but also worth the money, any recommendations?

Many thanks for this info!

The Samsung 950 M.2 drives are excellent, although they are a bit pricey. It's likely your best bet until NVMe becomes the standard. 

[MVPernula]

3 minutes ago, NonaHexa said:

The Samsung 950 M.2 drives are excellent, although they are a bit pricey. It's likely your best bet until NVMe becomes the standard. 

Well from what I've seen they're not too expensive compared to most, I can afford those at least!