M2 ssd using sata express and sli on a z97 board with a 4790k

[BradleyJames]

Im thinking of getting an m2 sata ssd sata express drive, my motherboard is an Asus ROG hero vii z97 with an intel 4790k and im running 2 780tis in sli.

My question is can i use an m2 sata that uses sata express with my sli setup? the 4790k only has 16 pce lanes, each card uses 8 and sata express uses 4 lanes.

will sli work with an m2 ssd that uses sata express or not?

 

[Karsten75]

The question is this: If you can find a board that has both M.2 and SLI, then it will work on that board. That's what PLX chips are made for and why they add $100 to the base cost of a motherboard - so that you can multiplex the limited PCIe lanes.

 

[BradleyJames]

so does my motherboard have plx chip? it supports both m2 and sli, but i cant seem to find if it can at the same time. Could you explain a little please?

 

[BradleyJames]

so basically i need a board with 4 way sli support?

 

[Karsten75]

so does my motherboard have plx chip? it supports both m2 and sli, but i cant seem to find if it can at the same time. Could you explain a little please?

On this page: http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VII_HERO/specifications/

Look at the section titled: Expansion slots. See what Asus did htere? your first card runs in x16 or x8 mode, the second in x4.

Also read their footnotes:

*1: The PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (PCIEX4_3) shares bandwith with PCIe 2.0 x1 and M.2 slot. The default setting is Auto Mode, which automatically optimizes the system bandwidth. If you install a PCIe 2.0 x4 device, the system will automatically detect and disable PCIe 2.0 x1 and M.2 slot.
*2: The PCIe 2.0 x1 slots (PCIEX1_1/2/3) will be disabled when PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (PCIEX4_3 ) operates under x4 speed or M.2 mode.

So no, they didn't spring for the PLEX chip, they trimmed down the PCIe lanes.

 

[BradleyJames]

so does my motherboard have plx chip? it supports both m2 and sli, but i cant seem to find if it can at the same time. Could you explain a little please?

On this page: http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VII_HERO/specifications/

Look at the section titled: Expansion slots. See what Asus did htere? your first card runs in x16 or x8 mode, the second in x4.

Also read their footnotes:

*1: The PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (PCIEX4_3) shares bandwith with PCIe 2.0 x1 and M.2 slot. The default setting is Auto Mode, which automatically optimizes the system bandwidth. If you install a PCIe 2.0 x4 device, the system will automatically detect and disable PCIe 2.0 x1 and M.2 slot.
*2: The PCIe 2.0 x1 slots (PCIEX1_1/2/3) will be disabled when PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (PCIEX4_3 ) operates under x4 speed or M.2 mode.

So no, they didn't spring for the PLEX chip, they trimmed down the PCIe lanes.

awesome, thanks for the info. that really helped and i learned alot.