PCIe Lane allocation, Bifurcation and RAID on 2 ASUS Thunderbolt 4 Prime Z590 Motherboards

Questions of specifics on the last Video regarding the use of Quad M.2 NVMe and Dual M.2 NVMe Adapters on 2 ASUS Thunderbolt 4 Prime Z590 Motherboards for PCIe Lane allocation, Bifurcation and RAID. We're Answering Subscribers Questions for Clarity!
Components mentioned, Listed below:
1. ASUS Thunderbolt 4 AIC Tech Specs
www.asus.com/u...
2. System Builder - PCPartPicker
pcpartpicker.c...
3. Intel Z590 Chipset
4. Intel Core i9-11900K 3.5 GHz 8-Core Processor
ark.intel.com/...
5. ASUS PRIME Z590M-PLUS Motherboard
www.asus.com/M...
6. ASUS Prime Z590M-PLUSPRIME Z590-P ATX LGA1200 Motherboard
www.asus.com/M...
7. ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 with Intel Thunderbolt 4 JHL 8540 Controller, 2 USB Type-C Ports, up to 40Gb/s bi-Directional Bandwidth, DisplayPort 1.4 Support, up to 100W Quick Charge.
amzn.to/3blbZDr
8. ASUS Prime Z590M-PLUS LGA 1200(Intel11th/10th Gen) microATX Motherboard (PCIe 4.0, 10 Power Stages, 3X M.2 Slot,Thunderbolt 4 Header,1Gb LAN, SPI-TPM Header,M.2 Socket -Key E Wireless,Aura Sync RGB)
amzn.to/3vWhe5O
9. ASUS Prime Z590-P LGA 1200 (Intel 11th/10th Gen) ATX Motherboard (PCIe 4.0, 10+1 Power Stages, 3X M.2, 2.5Gb LAN, Front Panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB Type-C, Thunderbolt 4 Support)
amzn.to/3BpdQBP
10. Intel Core i9-11900K Desktop Processor 8 Cores up to 5.3 GHz Unlocked LGA1200 (Intel 500 Series & Select 400 Series Chipset) 125W
amzn.to/3nHVRln
11. ASUS ProArt B550-Creator AMD (Ryzen 5000/3000) ATX Content Creator Motherboard (Thunderbolt 4, Dual M.2, PCIe 4.0, Dual 2.5 Gb LAN, DisplayPort/HDMI, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and Type-C, and RGB headers)
amzn.to/3vW7ecV
12. Gigabyte TRX40 Designare Motherboard for AMD Threadripper III
amzn.to/3xB6MzW
Support BuildOrBuy... www.buymeacoff...
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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Subscribe, Thumbs Up, Comment! Appreciate Your Support!

[@prithwijitde4765]

A good teacher is always been a good teacher. Thanks a million. Hats off to u.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Prothwijt De, Welcome! Fantastic! Appreciate Your Comments! Thanks for Watching! Success and Best Wishes!

[@romainbailet6488]

a little hello from france , your video and explanation a rare and uniq in youtube , great

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi romain BAILET Welcome France! I'm honored! These details matter very much! We're all about Answering Subscribers Questions! Appreciate Your Comments! Thanks for Watching!

[@sauloramales5685]

Gill, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I love it and you've been for me like great help.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Saulo Ramales, Abasolutely! Been a while! Happy Holidays! Good to hear from You! Here to help! Thanks for Watching!

[@abinaslimbu3057]

RAM RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY

[@whittymusic]

So great Gill! Id love to have you as a guest on my music channel! So many of us would love some insight on tech and speed for music!

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi whittymusic, Welcome! Absolutely! I'd be honored! Great idea! Here to help! Thanks for Watching! All about the Music!

[@whittymusic]

@@BuildOrBuy Fantastic just let me know the best way to reach out!

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@whittymusic, I'm honored! Whatever works best for You! I'll contact You on Your Channel as well. Sometimes Comments get held by KZbin for any number of reasons. Just like email and Spam Filters. Working on next Video. When Filming and Editing I literally have to hibernate to complete the Project! I know You can relate! Success and Best Wishes!

[@adzpana]

Thanks for this video. I own a Strix Z590 Gaming-A WiFi board, 11600k and ROG Hyper M2 card. I got the card from a Z690 Hero board. It’s a 2 slot card PCIE4x4. I own a few M.2 NVME drives, Samsung 980 Pro, WD SN850, Intel 660p. I’m gonna plug it in to my Z590 board and see which slots work in each PCIEx16 slots. My board layout is 1x16 4.0 off the CPU, 2x 16 electrically 8x Gen 3 of the chipset. I’ll post my results soon.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Adam Panagiotis, Welcome! Thanks for Watching! Appreciate Your Comments! That 2 Slot card will require an 8 Lane Slot, Bifurcated. Does Your Motherboard have the PCIe Resources for that card? You only have 20 PCIe Lanes to the CPU. Looking at Your PDF Manual, Page 22. PCIe Bifurcation & M.2 settings in PCIe x16 Slots (from CPU). Tricky! Looks like it will work! Depends upon the M.2 Drive sequencing. The key is Bifurcation of the PCIe Slot. A Quad x16 would see 3 Drives. Keep Us Posted on Your Progress!

[@adzpana]

@@BuildOrBuy you are correct, I wrote it wrong. My motherboard has 20 4.0 lanes via cpu though only top slot is 16 and m.2_1. The other 2 16x slots are elec x4 which will cause the 16_1 slot to run at 8x and the 2 lower 16x slots become x4. So it’s either 16x/0/0 or 8x/4x/4x. I currently have a sound card in the PCIe 4x slot that runs through the chipset but I would like to add a asus thunderboltex 4 card in that slot and move my 1x sound card to one of the pci_2 or _3 slot. Will that cause my gpu to run at 8x even though I’m not using a 4x device in the slot but a 1x instead? I will test it because I own all the hardware but maybe you have the answer to save me the trouble. Thanks GB

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@adzpana, That's OK! Keeping track of these Specs are a work in progress! We always have to double check! The Slot with Your GPU is the only Slot than can handle a Quad card but it's not a fully Bifurcated Slot. And that's a Bummer! You need a TRX40! Test and verify! Let Us know what You find!

[@maxhughes5687]

I love your analytical approach to new HW. To answer viewers questions on desktop boards you switched to X570 and Z590 boards. Could you give us your take on the appearance of PCIe GEN4 lanes at the same time ANTIFA dropped out of site?

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Max, Thank You very much! More of a Deep Dive. This needed a complete explanation of the What, Why and How. Funny how that works! Obfuscation. Stay Tuned! FYI: A Quad Adapter Concept Product - Icy Dock CP074 Quad Adapter. Fill Out the Feedback form. I thought about a Video. However, I may tack this on to the Amfeltec Squid Video! www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=416 Latest OEM / Concept Products topics - ICY DOCK Forums icydockforums.com/c/general-talk/oem

[@lhbbq]

Amazing content!

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Hawk, Appreciate Your Comment! Thanks for Watching! Helps Us to make better Videos while Answering Subscribers Questions!

[@hongockimquang1994]

Do you recommend W480 chipset sir? Gigabyte W480 Vision W and D motherboard can take from Gen 10th, W-1200 series to Gen 11th, W-1300 series CPUs. On the later ones, there're 2 PCIE 4.0 x16 for 2 GPUs (x8 mode for each in that case). I just want to know if a full length GPU wont be bottlenecked as statically 4.0x8 isn't differ much from 3.0x16. Right now these 2 boards are top budget ones for me. Those B550/X570 boards which have the same feature will make my build very expensive.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Ngọc Kim Quang Hồ, Welcome! You're facing the same technological challenges even though these are both Workstation Motherboards with Xeon CPUs. Not enough PCIe Resources! Gigabyte W480 Vision W www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/W480-VISION-W-rev-10#kf Gigabyte W480 Vision D www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/W480-VISION-D-rev-10#kf Intel W-1200 - 10 CPU Cores - 40 PCIe 3.0 Lanes & Thunderbolt 3 [PCIe 3.0] www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/processors/xeon/xeon-w-1200-processor-brief.html Intel W-1300 - 8 CPU Cores - 20 PCIe 4.0 Lanes & Thunderbolt 4 [PCIe 3.0] www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/processors/xeon/xeon-w-1300-processors-brief.html Great Questions! Both Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 are PCIe 3.0. If You used an external GPU, that would require 4 PCIe Lanes. Let's look at this from another direction. What applications will You be using? Mostly Single Threaded or Multi-Threaded? And what GPU are You considering? Of these 2 Motherboards, the Gigabyte W480 Vision W would be preferable. Now I see where the x8x8 Bifurcation is used for the Thunderbolt 4 AIC. Interesting. PDF Manual, Page 22. W480 VISION W Motherboard Block Diagram - PDF Manual, Page 5. W480 VISION W Motherboard Layout - PDF Manual, Page 4. 1 PCIex16 1 PCIex4_1 1 PCIex4_2 1 PCIex8 M2A_CPU M2M_SB Product Specifications, Expansion Slots - PDF Manual, Page 7. Thunderbolt 4 can be to the CPU or through the Chipset from what I gather. Interesting. Product Specifications, Storage Interface - PDF Manual, Page 8. - 1 x M.2 connector (M2A_CPU) PCIe x4. - 1 x M.2 connector (M2M_SB) PCIe x4. W480 VISION D Motherboard Block Diagram - PDF Manual, Page 7. Thunderbolt 3 through the Chipset. W480 VISION D Motherboard Layout - PDF Manual, Page 6. 1 PCIex16 1 PCIex8 1 PCIex1 1 PCIex4 M2A_CPU M2M_SB M2P_SB Product Specifications, Expansion Slots - PDF Manual, Page 11. Product Specifications, Storage Interface - PDF Manual, Page 11. - 1 x M.2 connector (M2A_CPU) PCIe x4. - 1 x M.2 connector (M2M_SB) PCIe x4. - 1 x M.2 connector (M2P_SB) PCIe x4. Interesting choices, Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4. 1 M.2 to CPU and 1 or 2 M.2 through Chipset. With 10 CPU Cores, this is still an Entry Level Computer for Content Creation. What will You be using this for? If You need Processing power, suggest more CPU Cores. Start at 16 CPU Cores. That would be a 2nd Level Computer Build. If this is for Content Creation, the Adobe Mult-Frame Rendering Spec would be: 1. CPU Cores x 4 = RAM 2. CPU Core count - VRAM. Hope that helps! Tell Us more! We need to do more 'what if' scenarios! Possibility Thinking!

[@hongockimquang1994]

No heavy or important production at all, just a hobby of mine. I'm just using Blender, Character Creator and some additional software which help render things in a small room. I have no need of external GPUs at all, though the thought of mining coins in the mean times is extremely attractive - especially with the W480 Vision W, so many x16 slots. I've never considered that option so Thank you a lot for bringing it up. When the pandemic and shortage are over, I will get 2x RTX 3060 (blower) or somethings similar. With my little knowledge, CUDA cores number isn't much as a concern - time is plenty, so VRAM may be better as I think it will determine if the setup work or not. Having the thoughts of upgrading to another pair of GPU in the future, getting 11th gen or W-1300 CPU. Either W-1290P or W-1390P or 10900 or 11900 should be enough. Still it's just a shame that there're no W580 boards here... Even though the Gigabyte's W480 ones are pretty much prepared as they support PCIe 4.0, I still feel something's off...

[@jagostudioireland]

Hi there! I would really appreciate it if you could answer my question - Asus Z590-P + i9-11900K + all 3 m.2 slots engaged (incl. m.2 PCIe 4.0)... Can I add the Thunderbolt EX 4 card? Will it work? Thanks a lot!

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Jago, Welcome. Just now seeing Your question. According to ASUS, For Z590, Z490, Z390 and Z370 series motherboard, install IRST version 16 or above to use RAID on CPU function. Only Intel SSDs can activate Intel RAID on CPU function in Intel platform. ASUS has done more that any other Vendor to enable Bios Bifurcation on their Motherboards. You'll need to verify in your Bios those settings related to the PCIe Slot in question.

[@SrChalice]

This is why I'm finally moving to TRX40, Resources. I'm tired of all this obfuscation. My only problem is finding the right TRX40 Mobo and I fear I may be coming to Ryzen threadripper 3960x too late in the game, because they might come with something new around the corner. Do you have any thoughts on the MSI Creator TRX40?. Seems like one of the most solid boards in the line up. But it's sold out every damn where.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Sr Chalice, All about PCIe Resources! You're right! Some of the MSI Creator TRX40 complaints are disconcerting. However, We always have to consider the source on Reviews and read between the lines. What about ASUS? There are 14 TRX40 Motherboards now Listed. ASUS has 5 Listed on Amazon. Here are Two: 1. ASUS Prime TRX40-Pro S AMD sTRX4 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper ATX Content Creation Motherboard (16 Power Stages, PCIe 4.0, DDR4, Triple M.2, Gigabit LAN, Aura Sync RGB). amzn.to/3q6lWNO 2. ASUS ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha TRX40 Gaming AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper sTRX4 EATX Motherboard with 16 Infineon Power Stages, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6 [2 x16 and 2 x8] amzn.to/3jZIlsb 3. Gigabyte TRX40 Designare amzn.to/3EDriDW As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Hope that helps! Now if You can wait a bit, there are suppose to be more CPUs coming for the TRX40. We have to let Intel have their party first! Mu personal preference is still the Gigabyte TRX40 Designare with Thunderbolt 3 and a Quad AIC.

[@SrChalice]

@@BuildOrBuy damn thanks for the effort that you've put into this write up. I'm guess from what you're saying is that TRX40 might be getting a refresher like the X570's are currently doing with the x570s? I was hoping to build this year, have my 3960x being delivered to me. Thanks for the insider info I wish they would've announced these supposedly newer TRX40's because I was under the impression that that was it for them. Well hopefully some news hit first because I'm not very impressed with the current offerings of TRX40 boards. If I decide to buy anything I'll just go through your affiliate link. Peace & Blessings.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@SrChalice, Absolutely! Here to help! Right now there's only talk about new CPUs after the first of the year. My guess would be March 2022. Nothing yet about new TRX40 Motherboards. Appreciate Your Support!

[@SrChalice]

@@BuildOrBuy I checked out those boards, unfortunately the only one that's available to fit in my case is the PRIME TRX40-PRO S. I have a Phanteks Eclipse P600S. I was hoping to go with the Designare but as big as my case is it only fits these boards: Asus Prime TRX40-Pro S, ROG STRIX TRX40-XE, TRX40 AORUS PRO WIFI, ASRock TRX40 Creator, MSI TRX40 PRO WIFI, ASRock TRX40 TAICHI & ROG Strix TRX40-E. The MSI TRX40 PRO WIFI looked promising but that's nowhere to find in stock where i am at the moment. ASRock TRX40 TAICHI is also out of stock but seems a little lackluster. The only pros there is the add-on card that it comes with. Which now leaves me with the Asus Prime TRX40-Pro S. Quite a bummer, I'm just wondering between the Asus Prime TRX40-Pro & the ASRock TRX40 TAICHI Which would be a better buy. They both have 3 PCIE Gen 4 x16 slots, there is that plus. It just seems as if they aren't making much TRX40 boards these days.

[@BuildOrBuy]

HI@@SrChalice, Been busy Filming! And the TRX40 Designare is the only one with Thunderbolt 3! Hold on before You leap. Motherboards are in high demand right now. Watch for more stock and when available, jump on it! Agreed, 3 x16 Slots, electrically are very enticing! Keep Us Posted on Your Progress!

[@LordChariot]

I happen to have a Asus Z590 WiFi (Gundam Edition) lying around. I looked at the manual and saw something interesting about they way they bifurcate the PCIe x16_1 slot for the Hyper M.2 card. It states (page 1-8) that the lanes are split x8+x4+x4. That would explain the strange NVMe layout on the card. It's a shame the x8 is wasted by only using 4 lanes. It also recommends using the integrated graphics when using this, not a discrete GPU. Obviously because the other slot is only running x4.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi £ordÇhariot, Crazy, right! Not enough PCIe Resources. And Viewers are just now finding this Information out. Absolutely amazing and incredulous! Thanks for Sharing!

[@LordChariot]

@@BuildOrBuy I think we are going to be going through all this again with 12th gen and Z690 mobos.

[@BuildOrBuy]

HI@@LordChariot, Absolutely! This only gets more complicated on Z690!

[@mzerv00]

I really appreciate the time you took to make this video, although it was difficult for me to keep up. I’m new to pc building and while this did help me, I’m still really confused haha. I have an ROG Maximus XIII Hero z590 motherboard with an Intel i9 11900k CPU. I’m building in an inverted Lian Li Evo with an upright GPU. Can I run the riser cable to the PCIEx16_2 slot without losing bandwidth? (It’s for aesthetic reasons. Because the motherboard is upside down, connecting to the PCIEx16_2 slot would show a lot less of the cable)

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Mike Z, Welcome! Thank You for Your Comments! Look in Motherboard PDF Manual on page 13. ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero z590 rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-maximus/rog-maximus-xiii-hero-model/ 1. PCIex16_1 - Prioritized for x16, electrically. 2. PCIex16_2 - Prioritized for x8, electrically. Based on what they say, try it and see how it works for You. Worst case scenario, Slot will be x8, electrically. You will not overwhelm the PCIe Bus. Therefor, a x8 Slot is OK for GPU. Hope that helps!

[@mzerv00]

@@BuildOrBuy Thank you for the quick response man, you’re awesome! I’ll take your advice and try it out.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@mzerv00, Absolutely! Good timing! Working on next Video! Keep Us Posted on Your Progress!

[@mzerv00]

@@BuildOrBuy I definitely will. 👍👍

[@mzerv00]

@@BuildOrBuy One more question… do you know if there is a motherboard that is prioritized for x16 in slot 2?!

[@ImOlegna]

Hey Mr.Gill, I currently have this motherboard(asus z590 but the prime p version)and I have referenced my manual but still need a tiny bit of help if you'd be willing. I am reaching my maximum storage capacity for my M.2 PCIE 4.0 1tb(The mp600gs by Corsair I believe). My PC works perfectly for everything that I need exactly how it is except for the storage, I game a lot so would prefer games on an ssd rather than hdd, so here is my question: Could I just install another identical m.2 into my 3rd slot instead of my 2nd slot? I ask because I have too shakey of hands to comfortably remove the gpu safely to access my 2nd slot. Thank you in advance sir, Angelo Nash

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Angelo Tarabay, Welcome! Excellent Question! Your Motherboard - ASUS Prime Z590-P www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/prime-z590-p/techspec/ Yes, Absolutely! That's a better idea! 1. M.2_1 to CPU, Dedicated 2. M.2_2 through Chipset, Shared. 3. M.2_3 through Chipset, Dedicated! Leave Your GPU as is! Hope that helps!

[@ImOlegna]

@@BuildOrBuy IT DOES ABSOLUTELY! Thank you so much sir!

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@ImOlegna, Outstanding! Enjoy Your Build!

[@DailyLiftsX]

Hey, can you do a video on the asus rog strix z590 e gaming motherboard? Just explaining how the 2 pcie 4 m.2s work. I can’t really understand the manual but if I understood correctly, it says that m.2_2 disables half of the pcie lanes for the gpu when its being used. Is that correct? Why would they make it like that. Great video though, I learned a lot.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Fire123, Welcome! Appreciate Your Comments! ASUS ROG Strix z590 E Gaming rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-z590-e-gaming-wifi-model/ PDF Manual, Page 18, Motherboard Layout: PCIex16_1 - PCIex16_2 - PCIex16_3 - M.2_1 M.2_2 M.2_3 M.2_4 PDF Manual, Page 7, Specifications Summary: To CPU: PCIex16_1 - x16, Dual x8, Electrically. PCIe 4.0 PCIex16_2 - x8, Electrically. PCIe 4.0 Through Chipset: PCIex16_3 - x4, Electrically. PCIe 3.0 Storage: To CPU: M.2_1 - PCIe 4.0 M.2_2 - PCIe 4.0 Through Chipset: M.2_3 - PCIe 3.0 M.2_4 - PCIe 3.0 To use Intel RAID (IRST) requires Intel M.2 NVMe SSDs. PDF Manual, Page 13, Connectors with Shared Bandwidth: Expansion Slots. See Configuration: 1-2-3. *To Your Question: You only have 20 PCIe 4.0 Lanes.* The PCIex16_1 and PCIex16_2 Share Bandwidth. Using both Slots, will cut the GPU to a x8 Slot. However, if You use both M.2_1 and M.2_2, then the GPU in PCIex16_1 is cut to x8 and PCIex16_2 is cut to x4. Wow! Hence: PCIex16_1 = x8; PCIex16_2 = x4 and both M.2_1 and M.2_2 are x4 which = 20 PCIe 4.0 Lanes. Not enough PCIe Resources on that Chipset to go around. Bummer. Been Filming! Sorry for not getting back to You sooner! Hope that helps!

[@DailyLiftsX]

@@BuildOrBuy Hey, I get it now, was a bit confusing just reading the manual. I have to use m.2_1 and m.2_3 to have my graphics card running at x16. Now I also realised the motherboard has 2 cpu connectors, a 4pin atx 12v and a 8pin atx 12v. I only got the 8 pin connected. Would I need the 4 pin additional power when running two m.2s, overclocked rtx 3070 and overclocked i5 11600k? Thanks for the help so far, you just gained a new subscriber ;D.

[@BuildOrBuy]

HI@@DailyLiftsX, This is probably one of the most confusing setups yet! You are not alone! Looks like the Z690 is going to be even more confusing! We shall see! Crazy stuff, right! You need both of those Power Taps! Those are for the CPU when it starts working, doing the heavy lifting! Test and verify! With Your setup, I'd say yes Connect Power Tap! I'm honored! Here to help! Sometimes a Project just needs another pair of eyes for another Perspective. Success on Your Build!

[@TheIceJester]

Hello i got that board '' Asus Prime-A '' for my 11700k build and i want to know if the Samsung 980pro m.2 will work on the slot 1. Thx

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Ice Jester, Welcome! Yes! Congrats! You're good to go! Thanks for Asking! Keep Us Posted on Your Progress!

[@THEGROCERYMANAGER]

I have a asus rgb strix b450-f gaming II mobo. For Christmas I’ll be getting a m.2 4 slot expansion card. I have a 3060rtx in the first 16_1x slot what the correct config or is there a different way of using all 4tb drives? Thanks

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi THEGROCERYMANAGER, Welcome! Great Questions! You have a PCIe Resource problem. What do We mean? Not enough. How's that? 1. Motherboard: ASUS RGB Strix B450-F Gaming II rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-b450-f-gaming-ii-model/spec/ 2. M.2 4 Slot Expansion Card - Which one specifically? 3.RTX 3060 in PCIEX16_1 - ok. 4. AMD Ryzen 5950X CPU has 20 available CPU PCIe Lanes. That's 1 - X16 Slot plus 4 Lanes for 1 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Drive. To reiterate, You have 20 available CPU PCIe Lanes to work with. The Requirements for a Quad card are: 1. 1 - X16 Slot, electrically not just mechanically. 2. Full Bios Bifurcation. Each M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD Drive requires 4 PCIe Lanes. That's 4 x 4 = 16. You only have 1 - X16 Slot. Full Bios Bifurcation is from X16 to X4X4X4X4. Furthermore, according to the ASUS Bifurcation chart, looks like Your Motherboard only Supports Partial Bios Bifurcation. Meaning, You would only see 3 Drives and not 4. Limitations of the Chipset. See: Motherboard PDF Manual, Page 10 Connectors with Shared Bandwidth. Slots: PCIEX16_1 - 1 X16; 2 X8 to CPU, Shared PCIEX16_2 - X4 to CPU, Shared PCIEX16_3 - X4 through Chipset, Dedicated Storage: M.2_1 to CPU, Dedicated M.2_2 to CPU, Shared ASUS Bifurcation Chart www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1037507/ To do more simultaneously, You need a CPU and Chipset that each have more PCIe Resources! Hope that helps!

[@THEGROCERYMANAGER]

Will the second 16_2 slot be enough to work with the expansion card?

[@THEGROCERYMANAGER]

Thanks

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@THEGROCERYMANAGER, That 2nd Slot only has 4 Lanes. That's enough for one M.2 NVMe PCIe Drive, not 4 Drives! Bummer, right.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@THEGROCERYMANAGER, Absolutely! An unfortunate situation. Mechanically the Slots are X16 however, electrically, NO! Hope that helps! Think of it this way, for what You want, You need 2 - X16 Slots. That's 32 Lanes plus any M.2 NVMe PCIe Drives on the Motherboard. Each of those Require 4 Lanes. Adds up pretty quick. The next step to achieving that goal, a HEDT then a Workstation!

[@evilqtip7098]

EXCELLENT ❤❤❤ ❤❤❤ ❤❤❤ ❤❤❤ 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hello EvilQTip, Welcome. Fantastic! Just now seeing Your Comment. Thank You!

[@iRoyeaux]

How do I enable Pcie tunneling for Thunderboltex 4 on ROG Strix Z590-A Gaming Wifi? I am so lost, I cant seem to get this thing to work correctly, I dont see the setting in the Bios

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Alaric von Royeaux, Welcome! Excellent Question! The delineation for that feature is NOT on the Z590 Chipset but IS on the Z690 Chipset. And as You have described, there's a Bios Setting under Thunderbolt 4 for PCIe Tunneling over USB4 to expose those 4 PCIe Lanes out the USB-C Thunderbolt connection signifying USB4 support. To reiterate, You don't have that capability. Bummer, right. Those are Details that absolutely matter! Otherwise, Vendor Obfuscation! Built-in obsolescence! We talk about that in Our other Videos where We Discuss Slots and Storage for PCIe Lane allocations. Differentiating CPU PCIe Lanes and Chipset PCIe Lanes. Hope that helps! Not what You wanted to hear. I'm just the messenger! Thanks for Asking!

[@iRoyeaux]

@@BuildOrBuy That really is disappointing, like why the heck did they make the ThunderboltEx 4 compatibile with this Z590A motherboard, only to fail to support important features such as PCIE tunneling. Its so very frustrating, but thank you so much for the information and for getting back to me so quickly!

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@iRoyeaux, Agreed! Built-in obsolescence! I'm just the messenger! Glad to help! We don't know if that's a Hardware Chipset limitation or if that could be enabled through a Bios Update. Up for conjecture. Thanks for Asking!

[@renelabbe4171]

Great video and just subscribed! I'd like your thoughts if possible to use High Point's SSD7505 nvme PCIe 4.0 x16 adapter card with my current lab computer using the following: Intel Core i7-11700 Rocket Lake 8-Core 2.5 GHz LGA 1200 65W BX8070811700 Desktop Processor Intel UHD Graphics 750 Not using any of the x16 slots as utilizing the CPU onboard graphics ASUS ROG STRIX B560-A GAMING WIFI (2) Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 2TB PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 [Independent Non-RAID] (2) Samsung SSD 850 EVO 4TB [Windows Software RAID for one large volume] 128GB RAM My thought is I could use High Point's nvme adapter card in the first x16 slot on my motherboard as it should compensate for the lack of bifurcation on my motherboard from what I can tell. I'd like to install (4) 980 PRO PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ SSD 2TB drives in the adapter as RAID 0 to support virtualization needs as this is a VM Workstation lab workstation. Do you see any challenges with this? It would seem the CPU would have enough lanes and perhaps the x16 slot and NVME could operate at 4.0 speeds. Thanks in advance!

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Rene Labbe, Welcome! I'm honored! Thank You! Tight on PCIe Resources! That should work! - High Point SSD7505 - Install Windows StorPort Driver from HighPoint aka HighPoint NVMe RAID Controller Driver. Verify in Windows Device Manager. Configure from Windows, Disk Management or... Using HighPoint RAID Management (WebGUI) Software. Test and Verify to see which is best! Not enough Info provided regarding Options from HighPoint. Only Instructions refer to the HighPoint RAID Management (WebGUI) Software. Curious. - Intel Core i7-11700 Rocket Lake 8-Core 2.5 GHz LGA 1200 65W BX8070811700 Desktop Processor - OK! - ASUS ROG STRIX B560-A GAMING WIFI - OK! Hope that helps! www.highpoint-tech.com/ssd/ssd7505-overview Hope that helps! Keep Us Posted on Your Progress!

[@maxhughes5687]

I do like the Idea of the mobo and the add in cards all running on 12 volts. I'll get rid of that noisy crappy PC switching P/S. No Ham Radio operator wants one. The old P/S with a giant heavy hot transformer provided clean 12 volt power. Switching P/S cut the heat way down, dropped the 37 lb transformer and create enough noise to ruin even a dual heterodyne reciever. The only thing with cleaner 12 volt power would be batteries.

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi Max, We're definitely getting a PSU new design but not that radical. Only a new Power Tap for PCIE 5.0 GPUs! Finally, getting the Amfaltec Squid x16 completed! This was more involved than expected!

[@personaldronerepair6141]

" I don't know why guys put up with this from Intel " :) :)

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi PersonalDroneRepair, You caught that! I'm just the messenger! Looking and Comparing is absolutely fascinating! Some of this is hard to believe and even harder to accept.

[@personaldronerepair6141]

Amen

[@maxhughes5687]

Clock bragging rights. Clock speed does matter on new or old games with an antique game engine designed for a four core Intel rig. In antique 1080P it's all about the clock speed. In 4K it's all about your GPU. Nvidia makes better cards for high res monitors and gamers buy them to run 1080P any way. Alder Lake needs at least a 360mm thick radiator and review channels lock the pump and fans at max speed to run performance tests.

[@personaldronerepair6141]

@@maxhughes5687 No matter which brand we are loyal to, we , the consumer, are going to benefit when these two companies go head to head for our money. As economically difficult as the last two years have been, the upside will be that big business will have to cater to our needs to reclaim the crown. Better products at more reasonable prices....Win

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi@@maxhughes5687, Have You noticed everyone seems to be focused on clock speeds and not about Processing power nor PCIe Resources. Define Performance. What's up with that. Drinking Intel coolaid. More obfuscation!

[@vibinkv4698]

👍

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi vibin kv, Thank You for Watching! Appreciate Your Comment!

[@k.g.8290]

5:04 bifurcated

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi K. G., Welcome! Question or Statement? Anything We can help You with?

[@evilqtip7098]

I GOT ❤❤❤❤ ❤❤❤❤ ❤❤❤❤ ❤❤❤❤ THE NEED FOR SPEED..

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi evilqtip, Fantastic! We always want more!

[@abinaslimbu3057]

Computer Diginose card

[@BuildOrBuy]

Hi abinas limbu, Welcome! Great idea! Which one would You suggest? Eventually all of those problems were solved by Bios / UEFI Updates or Firmware Updates such as the Thunderbolt AIC. Thanks for Watching!