The unexpected has happened - my add-ons folder in MSFS is almost full!

My MSI Mag X570 motherboard has dual x16 slots, one of which houses the GPU and the other has one of my NVMe SSDs on a PCIe card. Both dedicated MVMe slots are also in use. So I'm looking at getting a dual slot card to add both the existing SSD and a new one, but PCIE x16 cards appear to be well over £100.

I know that x8 cards are compatible with x16 (smaller cards always fitting in larger PCIe slots) but will it affect the speeds of the SSDs, i.e. if both are being accessed will there be a bottleneck, and likewise will a single card being accessed be any slower on a dual card than the existing single one?

What I have:

Sabrent 1TB Rocket Nvme PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280

NVME Adapter PCIe x16 with Heat Sink

 

What I'm considering:

Sabrent 2TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 (combined with the above, faster, Sabrent). Currently £189.99.

on

Dual M.2 NVMe SSD to PCIE Adapter Card X8 M Key PCIe x8 card. Currently £24.99.

 

I might be tempted to swap the 2TB Sabrent for a 1TB Samsung 980 PRO 1TB PCIe 4.0 M.2  (currently £119.99) due to its reputation/warranty/speed but not sure I'd be getting the benefits in this setup, especially over the reassurance of double the space on the Sabrent 2TB for not too much more money.

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Edited January 9, 20224 yr by Emerson67
Wrong mobo

21 minutes ago, Emerson67 said:

The slots of your motherboard - info from the manual

The OP has a x570 motherboard. Not a Z690. 

1 minute ago, Greggy_D said:

The OP has a x570 motherboard. Not a Z690. 

ops!

Yeah, if you want to send me a Z690, it would save my problems!😁

NVMe drives only use 4 lanes each so if you have 2 or them on one card it only really needs 8 lanes for full speed, ergo, 8 instead of 16 won't make any difference.

Note : on the Amazon page for the Dual M.2 NVMe SSD to PCIE Adapter Card X8 M Key there is also the option (for an extra £13) for a 4 way, 16 lane PCIe card. That would future proof your storage for a while...

3 hours ago, iwebber said:

NVMe drives only use 4 lanes each so if you have 2 or them on one card it only really needs 8 lanes for full speed, ergo, 8 instead of 16 won't make any difference.

Note : on the Amazon page for the Dual M.2 NVMe SSD to PCIE Adapter Card X8 M Key there is also the option (for an extra £13) for a 4 way, 16 lane PCIe card. That would future proof your storage for a while...

Thanks, you've confirmed what I suspected but wasn't sure of.👍

Yes, I noticed that, but until I was sure that even the 2 way card would be ok, I wasn't going to consider that. Now, as you say, it would be a bit of future-proofing, especially as NVMe SSDs are showing signs of dropping in price. My two Sabrent drives cost me £170 (new) and £150 (as new) from Amazon and Amazon Warehouse respectively in July last year, with the same drive now only £120 new.

Incidentally, I never seem to get a notification at the top of the page for replies in this sub-forum, only in the MSFS one for some reason, so I don't realise there's been a reply.🤔

I ordered the 4 slot card and the Sabrent 2TB Rocket complete with the Sabrent heatsink. The size of the heatsink probably means using it on the 3 slots furthest from the mobo but that's not a problem as the existing Sabrent SSD in that PCIe slot has a low enough profile heatsink for the nearest slot.

Heatsink arrives today, SSD and card tomorrow.

I didn't expect it to be a week before I could report back, but I've just had a very expensive experience.🤬

I took the usual precautions before fitting the card and drive (disconnecting power etc.) but when I powered back on, nothing happened - the motherboard is dead!😠No POST lights lit on the mobo.

I paperclip tested the PSU and it started fine, tried another PSU, still no luck.  Tried with just the CPU fitted, then CPU plus GPU but still no power. Absolutely fuming, especially as the mobo is 4 months outside the 12 month warranty.

SO, I bit the bullet and decided to upgrade to an ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 and Intel Core i5-12400 (opted for the integrated graphics model as it was only £18 more and not only gives me backup graphics but I have the option of tailoring some lesser programs to use it rather than the GPU. Fitting the stock cooler was a nightmare. What should have been a simple procedure took the best part of 2 hours as the push-in clips wouldn't play ball. Wish it had just been screw-in. But now it is done, it's looking good so far. Chose the Z690 because although it's considered overkill for that CPU, it had 4 rather than 2 or 3 full speed M.2 slots - no need for the expansion cards* which will be going straight back to Amazon!

The UEFI/BIOS is a rabbit warren of settings, so if anyone has any tips on what I should change from default, please chip in (pardon the pun!).

The CPU is regarded as the go to price to performance option now, over the previous Ryzen 5 3600 and then 5600X, and my early experience supports that. I've lost all my aircraft sounds, but I don't then that's a direct result of the change of hardware.

(*Yes, cards as I accidentally put 2 in the basket🙄).