5 Things to Know About the Gigabyte Z690 AORUS ELITE’s PCIe Slots

The primary x16 slot runs at PCIe 5.0 x16 directly from the CPU, making it future-proof for next-generation graphics cards.

A second x16 slot runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 through the chipset, which is slower and best for storage or secondary GPUs.

Two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots are available for smaller expansion cards like sound cards or network adapters.

The Gen 5 slot is the main reason to choose this board if you plan a long-term build without upgrading the motherboard soon.

Do not expect full Gen 5 bandwidth from the second x16 slot; only the primary slot delivers the full 16 lanes.