nailmaker wrote:
i would say you can use the 3rd slot and not the second and not lose your x16 at the top. but it might disable some sata ports.. how many nvme slots does this board have? my hero xii z590 has 4 m.2 slots but i can only use two of them in a real world enviroment and keep my x16 slot for my new graphics card.

Look at the manual it seems that on my board, I think due to the WiFi card, the 3rd slot is disabled. I seem to remember this from a while back when I was testing something, that said given where it is and how close it is to my PSU I'm not sure what I would have been putting in there as I only have my 3090 in this machine. As for M.2 slots it only has 2 and they are both in use, hence me wanting to add a card so I can add a third.

When I search the motherboard manual, linked just below, there are no references to PCIEX16_3 - only to the _1 and _2 slots - you can see this on page 11 - the diagram shows the third slot with the correct name but the configuration chart below only shows the _1 and _2 slots.

Z490 Pro Gaming-E
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1200/ROG_STRIX_Z490-E_GAMING/E16538_ROG_STRIX_Z490-E_GAMING...

But when I look at the manual for the A revision I do see the _3 slot, there it does seem that it shares the 16 lanes with the other 2 slots so if I add an x4 card there it would cut my GPU to x8

Z490 Pro Gaming-A
https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1200/ROG_STRIX_Z490-A_GAMING/E16924_ROG_STRIX_Z490-A_GAMING...

so I *think* the only way for me to get maximum speed out of the drive would be to install it in a card but as that, at least I *think*, would cut my GPU to x8 - which I absolutely don't want to do with a 3090 - then I think I'm just stuck with using the external enclosure.

Thoughts?

~Ross

after looking at your manual the 3rd slot is indeed an x4 slot.. you can put your card in there but will only run at x4... you can look at the slot without anything in it and notice that it doesnt have pins going all the done inside.. about a quarter of the way down with pins is x4.. halfway down x8 and fully loaded with pins x16.. but it does show it is x4. so if your card is x4 or x1 it will work.. and the third slot will not drop your x16 slot 1 down.. only the second slot will do that. would only do it if your put a x16 card in it and will still only run at x4.. i see nothing about the wifi disabled in the manual though.. will look again

yeah i looked really close and i think you will have no problems running a x4 nvme pcie card in the third slot.. it doesnt share lanes with the x16.. my xii hero z490 board i could put anything in the 3rd slot and it didnt effect the x16 slot.. but the second slot populated and it dropped it down to x8.. you can try it and im 99 percent sure it will work.. if not you always have your enclosure to go back to.. get it off amazon and if it doesnt work you can always return it. hassle free. i have one setting here that i never used because of dropping my card down to x8.. only slot i had available was the second slot.

nailmaker wrote:
yeah i looked really close and i think you will have no problems running a x4 nvme pcie card in the third slot.. it doesnt share lanes with the x16.. my xii hero z490 board i could put anything in the 3rd slot and it didnt effect the x16 slot.. but the second slot populated and it dropped it down to x8.. you can try it and im 99 percent sure it will work.. if not you always have your enclosure to go back to.. get it off amazon and if it doesnt work you can always return it. hassle free. i have one setting here that i never used because of dropping my card down to x8.. only slot i had available was the second slot.

First I appreciate you taking the time to help - can you quote where in the manual you're getting this from? I see the following

Page 7
Intel 10th Gen Processors
2x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots

Intel Z490 Chipset
1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (supports x4 mode
3x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots

Page 11
Only references to slots _1 and _2 - the image shows slot 3 but it is not listed in the table. The "A" revision of the board DOES show _3 as part of the 16 lanes for the first two slots

Page 22
Again only references to slots _1 and _2 - however I do see a reference here to slot _3, that when using 3 "SSD on CPU" that _2 will be disabled and _1 will run at x8 speed (which is what I was thinking/worried about)

I in no way mean to argue with you, and I suppose I can always return the card if it does cut the GPU to x8 - which at this point might really be the only way to prove/ensure what will happen. That said if you can reference what's making you think this I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again for your help and time,

~Ross

ok.. i see your confusion about the whole thing.. unless your running the hyper x 16 m.2 cards and not just a regular nvme drive then it doesnt apply as those dont run at a full x16 in their m.2 slots.. page 11 is showing shared bandwidth...the first and second slots share bandwidth with the sata ports and the m.2 slots.. the pcie_3 slot does not share bandwidth with those as it is not a x16 or x8 slot... like on my board all three are x16 slots and they drop each time you add something to them. yours does not.. it is a true x4 slot.. just looks like a x16 slot.. just doesnt have all the pins in it. page 22 is referring to the hyper x ssd m.2 cards.. like i said if running just a normal nvme m.2 drive then you dont have to worry about it.. those hyper x16 cards are made by intel.. hope im of some help.. joe. and by the way. they make a x1 pcie nvme card adapter that fits in a x1 slot and doesnt mess with anything if you have an open x1 slot..here is a link to it... x1 slots only disable certain sata ports. https://www.amazon.com/Sintech-NGFF-PCIe-Adapter-Samsung/dp/B07F1J7S3F/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3FKGVZKHJI368...

nailmaker wrote:
ok.. i see your confusion about the whole thing.. unless your running the hyper x 16 m.2 cards and not just a regular nvme drive then it doesnt apply as those dont run at a full x16 in their m.2 slots.. page 11 is showing shared bandwidth...the first and second slots share bandwidth with the sata ports and the m.2 slots.. the pcie_3 slot does not share bandwidth with those as it is not a x16 or x8 slot... like on my board all three are x16 slots and they drop each time you add something to them. yours does not.. it is a true x4 slot.. just looks like a x16 slot.. just doesnt have all the pins in it. page 22 is referring to the hyper x ssd m.2 cards.. like i said if running just a normal nvme m.2 drive then you dont have to worry about it.. those hyper x16 cards are made by intel.. hope im of some help.. joe. and by the way. they make a x1 pcie nvme card adapter that fits in a x1 slot and doesnt mess with anything if you have an open x1 slot..here is a link to it... x1 slots only disable certain sata ports. https://www.amazon.com/Sintech-NGFF-PCIe-Adapter-Samsung/dp/B07F1J7S3F/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3FKGVZKHJI368...

Okay, so I'm following you - but I'm still don't understand your source for what you're claiming, that's all I'm asking for now. I don't necessarily disagree but I still don't get where you're sourcing your claims. That said I did order the card - but the link you provided is only a x1 card, as you said, but wouldn't that cut the performance quite a bit, as don't you really want x4 for an NVMe drive to get full speed? When I saw the picture I was sure you'd linked the wrong thing then I saw how it plugs into the slot - it looks goofy as crap!

So for now I've ordered an x4 card to try in the bottom slot, if that does cut my GPU to x8 I'll return it and try the x1 card you posted. Either way I'll post back in a few days to share how it goes.

Thanks again for the help,

~Ross

first .. glad it worked for you.. im sure your happy.. lol.. and the second part is a question and a statement. do you have anything else on that bandwidth lane? its still usb whether it be thunderbolt or usb a... and i think you may have hit the nail on the head.. the enclosure itself could have been limiting it.. but glad the pcie_3 slot worked out for you.. (knew it would.. lol)