Should I get an M.2 to PCIe x4 adapter?

[Insomniator]

Hello -- my motherboard supports NVME but the M.2 connector is only 10Gb/s (PCIe x2).

Planning on upgrading my boot drive to an M.2, maybe 950/960 Evo/Pro all which looks like they would easily saturate a 10Gb/s x2 slot.

However I do have a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot available on my motherboard, would an adapter like this be worth it for only ~20 bucks?

https://www.amazon.com/XinYS-Expres...01M8IF0FF/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[PharetH]

Yes, a 950/950 will easily max out the x2 slot. If you want to get the full speed out of your drive you will need the M.2 to PCIe x4 card.

I used this one: https://www.amazon.com/Asus-M-2-X4-Card-flexibility/dp/B017YUCAXS

 

[jrweis]

I have used the Asus mini on the last 6 workstation builds with a 1TB 960 Pro and have had excellent results.
The one thing I have done though is remove the label from the top side and installed the following heat sinks. They really help with heat dissipation!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BWXW6E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[arestavo]

It will help you get the full rated specs out of the drive, however if you are a regular user/gamer it won't make any noticable difference for app/OS/game load times.

If you are a power user that does video editing, database work, etc., then it could help you see tangible differences (if the NVME drive doesn't thermal throttle).

 

[antok86]

can you boot from these expansion cards?

 

[arestavo]

can you boot from these expansion cards?

Depends on the motherboard (usually if it's older and non-UEFI the answer is no unless you jump through serious hoops to get it to work). FWIW, officially X58 boards won't, X79 board in many cases can (check with manufacturer), and X99 and X299 boards can.

 

[Insomniator]

Thanks guys, my board is an X99 with UEFI NVME supported BIOS, so I assume I should be able to boot from it.

I know I wont notice a difference, but I have a 6850k and want to use as many of my 40 PCIe lanes as possible

Between a couple NMVE drives and my GTX 1080.... I'll be up to... 22 lanes!! Though the 1080 doesn't even saturate half of 16 probably.