What version of PCIe SSD should I be using?!?!

[SnakeFighter]

Hi everyone.
I've been using my Ionico for the last couple of years, and I'm thinking of treating myself to a new SSD. I currently have an Intel 670p in one slot and an WD Sn850 in the other. That's right, one PCIe 3.0 and one PCIe 4.0 drive. So, I thought I'd better check what version of PCIe my lappy supports, which has been surprisingly tricky!

It seems like there's precious little documentation available from TongFang about the GM5TN0Y motherboard. The CPU is an i7-11800H, about which Intel has this to say:

• Microprocessor PCIe Revision Gen 4
• Chipset / PCH PCIe Revision Gen 3

Which is a bit confusing! CPU-Z says:
Bus Specs: PCI-Express 4.0.

So, is there a definitive way of finding out? I don't want to waste my money on a PCIe 4.0 if I can't take advantage of it, but obviously don't want to hold back on the speed.
Ta!

Full specs:
Chassis & Display
Ionico Series: 15.6" Matte QHD 165Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1440)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Eight Core Processor 11800H (2.3GHz, 4.6GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2500MB/sW)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
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1 x 230W AC Adaptor
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1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
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Ionico Series Integrated 62WH Lithium Ion Battery
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ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
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2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
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IONICO SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
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[SnakeFighter]

Bump! Bueller?

 

[TonyCarter]

Are you planning on replacing one of those you already have? Is it due to one of them 'feeling' slow? How full are they (as this impacts speed)? A 'fast' PCIe 3.0 drive might not feel any different to a 'slow' PCIe 4.0 drive.

Unless there's a significant difference in price, I'd just default to the PCIe 4.0 one.

However, make sure you check out the specs of each drive, as you may find some PCIe 4.0 ones that don't offer much more than PCIe 3.0 speeds...and those speeds will be reliant on the size of the SSD. Some will advertise their top speeds for their big drives with lots of cache, but the smaller drives may deliver less than half that performance...or drop of very quickly due to having a tiny cache.

1TB seems to be the point at which there's not a lot more performance on offer.

Of course, there's lots of other things in an NVME drive to worry about...but don't want to add to the confusion.

 

[Scott]

I'm not sure if I'm following what the confusion is. From what you are saying it seems you have a PCIe4.0 slot with lanes directly into the CPU, with a PCIe3.0 slot connected to the motherboard chipset.

You currently have a PCIe4.0 M2 drive in the PCIe4.0 slot (presumed) and a PCie3.0 M2 drive in the PCIe3.0 slot.

If you want to replace the 4.0 drive then get another 4.0. If you're looking to replace the 3.0 drive then go for a high end 3.0. If the pricing is similar the 4.0 will be compatible, it just won't run past 3.0 speeds.

 

[SnakeFighter]

Thanks for the replies, @Scott and @TonyCarter

Just to be clear, I have 1 Gen 4 drive and 1 Gen 3 drive. I'm not entirely sure whether I have 2x Gen 4 slots (one with a Gen 3 drive in), or 1 Gen 3 and 1 Gen 4 slot. HWInfo seems to suggest I have one slot of each type (I think), so I'm going to replace the 0.5TB Gen 4 drive with a 2TB Gen 4 drive, I think. The upgrade will be for good old-fashioned capacity, as well as being able to move some applications and stuff to the new, faster drive, for speediness.

 

[Scott]

Thanks for the replies, @Scott and @TonyCarter

Just to be clear, I have 1 Gen 4 drive and 1 Gen 3 drive. I'm not entirely sure whether I have 2x Gen 4 slots (one with a Gen 3 drive in), or 1 Gen 3 and 1 Gen 4 slot. HWInfo seems to suggest I have one slot of each type (I think), so I'm going to replace the 0.5TB Gen 4 drive with a 2TB Gen 4 drive, I think. The upgrade will be for good old-fashioned capacity, as well as being able to move some applications and stuff to the new, faster drive, for speediness.

Yes, 1 of each. That's what your processor is capable of handling as per the Intel blurb

 

[SnakeFighter]

Thanks, @Scott. Very helpful.