Desktops General - Read Only

[JRN92]

I have a Dell XPS 8900 purchased about a year ago.  I am exploring some possible upgrades for the XPS 8900 and have questions about the PCI Express slots on the system board.

The first slot (SLOT 1) is blue and appears to be an X16 slot.  It is where the supplied Nvidia graphics card was factory installed.  I assume that an upgraded graphics card (Nvidia GTX-1050) would go there as well.

There is another full size slot that appears to also be X16.  It is black in color and is labeled as SLOT 4 in the Dell service manual.  However, according to the Dell specifications for the XPS 8900, there is only one true X16 slot on the system board.  The second slot that appears to be X16 is in fact only X4 (SLOT 1).  Is that correct?

Finally, the smaller slot (SLOT 3) is identified as being an X1 slot, but I have read elsewhere on the forum that it is actually X4 (four lane).  I am planning to use an Addonics ADM2PX4 adapter for an M2 Samsung SSD drive.  The Addonics card requires a four-lane slot.

The purpose behind upgrades like this is, of course, improved speed and performance.  However, no chain can be faster than its slowest link, which is why I am asking these questions.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[ejn63]

That black slot is X16 in size but wired for X4 -- you are correct that there is only one X16 native slot in the system.

[DELL-Chris M]

Just adding some data to this thread.

#16 Blue PCIe x16 card slot (Video Card)
#15 Black PCIe x4 card slot (Sound card)
#14 Black PCIe x16 (wired for x4) card slot

Two M.2 NGFF (Next Generation Form Factor)
#21 Slot 1 for WLAN
#9 Slot 2 for SSD

[mattspc]

DELL Chris M - What Gen of PCIe does the 8900 have and will any of the slots on the board (including the M.2) support a USB 3.1 card or port?

[ejn63]

The PCIe X4 slot will take a USB 3.1 card.  The M.2 socket will not.