Question What non dual CPU solution gets me the most PCIe lanes? AMD or Intel?

boed · Jan 24, 2025

It is sometimes hard for me to figure out between on board resources what I'm consuming for pcie lanes. I know some boards used to have a bridge or a switch so you could use more of the lane capacity but that added latency.

My current motherboard is acting up but I've had it for 7 years so I can live with it.

I need a processor with a lot of horsepower as I'll probably run 2 VMs.

I'll boot off an nvme HD
I have a 3080 video card - 16 lanes (4.0)
I have an adaptec 3154 raid card 8 lanes (3.0)
I have a quad 10Gb nic x710 - 8 lanes (3.0)

Short of buying a server motherboard - what processor would you recommend AMD or Intel?

I'm trying to keep the price of the CPU, motherboard and memory down to $1000 TOTAL.

burninatortech4 · Jan 24, 2025

boed said:
It is sometimes hard for me to figure out between on board resources what I'm consuming for pcie lanes. I know some boards used to have a bridge or a switch so you could use more of the lane capacity but that added latency.

My current motherboard is acting up but I've had it for 7 years so I can live with it.

I need a processor with a lot of horsepower as I'll probably run 2 VMs.

I'll boot off an nvme HD
I have a 3080 video card - 16 lanes (4.0)
I have an adaptec 3154 raid card 8 lanes (3.0)
I have a quad 10Gb nic x710 - 8 lanes (3.0)

Short of buying a server motherboard - what processor would you recommend AMD or Intel?

I'm trying to keep the price of the CPU, motherboard and memory down to $1000 TOTAL.

Source: AMD

AM5

AM4 (500 series only)

Intel 600 and 700 series

With the add-in cards you mentioned you can probably get away with any board that has 3 full size PCIe slots (4.0 is fine - 5.0 is overkill).

Without knowing what you'll be using this computer for I can't suggest a build.

zir_blazer · Jan 25, 2025

You sound like someone that should be on a ThreadRipper or EPYC platform. Who doesn't like 128 lanes?

boed · Jan 26, 2025

burninatortech4 said:
Source: AMD

AM5

View attachment 115611

AM4 (500 series only)

View attachment 115612
Intel 600 and 700 series

View attachment 115613

With the add-in cards you mentioned you can probably get away with any board that has 3 full size PCIe slots (4.0 is fine - 5.0 is overkill).

Thanks for that very detailed response. I can never tell when it says maximum how many are really left. I wish they'd just say after you put in your x16 graphics card you'll have 3 lanes left over for another card.

burninatortech4 said:
Without knowing what you'll be using this computer for I can't suggest a build.

If you are curious I'm glad to share - I use it for gaming, plex server, vm server (hyper-V) and work.

boed · Jan 26, 2025

I'm sure a Threadripper would be great for my needs if they sold for about $450 or less. (same with the motherboard).

Thunder 57 · Jan 26, 2025

boed said:
Thanks for that very detailed response. I can never tell when it says maximum how many are really left. I wish they'd just say after you put in your x16 graphics card you'll have 3 lanes left over for another card.

If you are curious I'm glad to share - I use it for gaming, plex server, vm server (hyper-V) and work.

With AMD from the CPU you get 16 lanes for GPU, than 2 x 4, typically used for SSD's. Anything else comes from the chipset. Some of those lanes can be used on extra SATA, USB, and ethernet though depending on the board. This video (timestamped, AM5 only) explains it very well.

Unfortantly a quick look at both AMD & Intel on Newegg shows that mobo manufacters love to use up those PCIe lanes on anything BUT PCIe slots. Even the ones that physically have the slots are given few actual lanes. They seem to think nobody uses anything more than a GPU and maybe one or two minor PCI devices these days and that is probably true.

Funnily enough, if you go back to AM4, you can find more lanes dedicated to the slots. Take this board for example. You get 2 PCIe slots (GPU plus one device) at PCIe 4 x8, but your other device would be limited to PCIe 3 x4. That was the best I could find. If you can live with something missing 4 lanes it would work. Otherwise you would have to go Threadripper it seems.

I did take a quick look at Intel too but it seems to much the same. However someone who knows Intel better may chime in.

In2Photos · Jan 26, 2025

boed said:
I'm sure a Threadripper would be great for my needs if they sold for about $450 or less. (same with the motherboard).

Threadripper isn't the best for gaming depending on the type of games you play. But in all honesty for this use case I think 2 systems would be better. One for gaming/work and one for the Plex/VMs maybe.

Thunder 57 · Jan 26, 2025

In2Photos said:
Threadripper isn't the best for gaming depending on the type of games you play. But in all honesty for this use case I think 2 systems would be better. One for gaming/work and one for the Plex/VMs maybe.

Did you read the OP? No mention of gaming. You can infer that because of the 3080 I'll give you that. Two systems could work but would be out of budget, as would TR. I put out a more budget option. If he could live with the 4 x 10GBe only having 4 lanes it would work. 10GBe is 1250MB/s. 4 PCIe Gen 3 lanes is just shy of 4GB/s a second. If losing 1GB/s when all are completely saturated is a compromise he can live with that would certainly be well under his budget.

In2Photos · Jan 26, 2025

Thunder 57 said:
Did you read the OP? No mention of gaming. You can infer that because of the 3080 I'll give you that. Two systems could work but would be out of budget, as would TR. I but out a more budget option. If he could live with the 4 x 10GBe only having 4 lanes it would work. 10GBe is 1250MB/s. 4 PCIe Gen 3 lanes is just shy of 4GB/s a second. If losing 1GB/s when all are completely saturated is a comprimise he can live with that would certainly be well under his budget.

Did you read his follow up post that mentioned gaming? 😉

boed said:
If you are curious I'm glad to share - I use it for gaming, plex server, vm server (hyper-V) and work.

OP could use the existing system for the VMs/Plex and the new one plus 3080 for gaming and work perhaps. Just need to know a little more about the existing system and their requirements.

Thunder 57 · Jan 26, 2025

In2Photos said:
Did you read his follow up post that mentioned gaming? 😉

Touche. Between my comparing motherboards on Newegg and looking at the OP requirements I kept scrolling over the previous replies. My bad .

That said he also said his mobo is acting up so it sounds like using his current system is not an option. I would like to know what the current motherboard and CPU are though, it would help with recommendations.

boed · Jan 26, 2025

I think you've given me a great deal of info! I think I'm going to have to post the next question in the motherboard section.

Whoops - I've never had a ryzen cpu before - it says it has a dual graphic core count but when I google it it says it doesn't have integrated video - can you tell me what that is?

Question What non dual CPU solution gets me the most PCIe lanes? AMD or Intel?

boed

Senior member

burninatortech4

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zir_blazer

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boed

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boed

Senior member

Thunder 57

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In2Photos

Platinum Member

Thunder 57

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In2Photos

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Thunder 57

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boed

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