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Maximus X Formula with 2 NMVe M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 drives

ExGreyFox
Level 7
Hello experts,

I have purchased a Maximus X Formula with a 500GB 970Evo NVMe M.2 for the OS and a 1TB 970Evo NVMe M.2 to store my games. Both are PCIe Gen3 x4. When I first boot my system, I will have only the 500gb installed to install Windows 10, and then once this is done, and drivers are installed I will add the second 1TB drive.

My questions is, do I need to make sure that both drives are configured for PCIe Gen3 x4 modes in BIOS or will the setting default to this? I see that both sockets support PCIe 3.0 x4 or SATA mode. Obviously I won't run either in SATA mode correct?

Intel i7-8700k Coffee Lake@stock
G.Skill TridentZ RGB 32GB (2x16) 3200MHz
ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 Ti
Maximus X FORMULA Z370 BIOS 1401
NZXT Kraken x62 AIO
SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 500GB (OS)
SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 1TB (Games)
Corsair AX1200i 1200 Watt
Cooler Master HAF X
HOTAS Warthog | TrackIR 5 | Saitek Pro Combat Pedals
Heatware

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2 REPLIES 2

SherardG
Level 7
Hey mate,

I own an X Hero, but I would suggest to force PCIe 3.0 and x4 mode for both your NVMe M.2 devices. You can add them both, at the same time, just choose the right drive based on label.
Keep in mind that some SATA ports would be disabled by running X4 PCIe modes, so take note of those based on your manual. For the X Hero at least, SATA Ports 5 & 6 get disabled.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

SherardG wrote:
Hey mate,

I own an X Hero, but I would suggest to force PCIe 3.0 and x4 mode for both your NVMe M.2 devices. You can add them both, at the same time, just choose the right drive based on label.
Keep in mind that some SATA ports would be disabled by running X4 PCIe modes, so take note of those based on your manual. For the X Hero at least, SATA Ports 5 & 6 get disabled.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!


Thank you mate! I will keep you guys posted. Thank you for all the help and advice!

Intel i7-8700k Coffee Lake@stock
G.Skill TridentZ RGB 32GB (2x16) 3200MHz
ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 Ti
Maximus X FORMULA Z370 BIOS 1401
NZXT Kraken x62 AIO
SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 500GB (OS)
SAMSUNG 970 EVO M.2 2280 1TB (Games)
Corsair AX1200i 1200 Watt
Cooler Master HAF X
HOTAS Warthog | TrackIR 5 | Saitek Pro Combat Pedals
Heatware