Sata3 or PCIe x16

Your trying to confuse the issue, keep it simple. It says the motherboard supports USB3, SATA3, and PCIx16, first USB3 is for portable devices (which there are not alot of) but it's capable, there is really no speed lose that you can tell between Sata2, Sata3, it's mileseconds, PCIx16 is for graphic cards which can never use all the bandwidth it puts out. That is my simple explanation of the three, there all there if needed so go for it. Hope this helps.

You probably won't notice a speed issue between the settings, but if you choose that board, I would test the drives in SATA3 and SATA2 to see if you notice a difference, as well as see if the graphics card is slower at 8x.

My understanding is. PCI Express is for your video card. Install you card there. USB and SATE has nothing to do with it. Sata 3 and Usb 3 are backward capable to 2.0 if the proper connectors and cables are used. Sata/Usb 3 are only faster if hooked up to something that is compliant for the use of them. When I say faster I mean it has to be where you can see the deference. Example a SSD hooked to Sata 3 is going to fly compared to HHD hooker to a Sata 2.

Layback Bear said:

My understanding is. PCI Express is for your video card. Install you card there. USB and SATE has nothing to do with it. Sata 3 and Usb 3 are backward capable to 2.0 if the proper connectors and cables are used. Sata/Usb 3 are only faster if hooked up to something that is compliant for the use of them. When I say faster I mean it has to be where you can see the deference. Example a SSD hooked to Sata 3 is going to fly compared to HHD hooker to a Sata 2.

that isn't the issue at hand. The issue is that on some newer motherboards, the PCI lanes that communicate between the various components can be split and shared.
He is wondering if sharing the PCI lanes will impact his Hard disks or graphics speed.

My miss understanding of the OP question. To the best I know, when you install you video card into the proper slot it will not upset USB 2 or 3, Sata 2 or 3 other then the fact they might need to go back and use the same memory and cpu. If you have the proper amount of memory it will handle it. Question because I could be missing the question. Where else would you put the video card other than PCI Express x 16 and why. If it uses system resources so be it. I know of no place to install a video card that it will not use system resources. Will it slow other things down. Not if the computer has proper resources. Every thing you use in a computer uses resources. If by chance you use more than the system has everything is effected. I still might be missing the whole question. I'm sorry and I will shut up.

Matts1 said:

Thanks guys. I guess I'll put the HDDs in sataII ports then (that should work, right?).
Also, layback bear. The problem is that if I install it into the x16 slot and the HDDs into the sataIII slots, the x16 will turn into a x8.

No, you have a choice in the BIOS, you can use the Sata3 ports while the PCIe is set to 16x, you just won't get the full 100% speed of SATA 3, but you probably wouldn't get it anyways with the current drives.