3rd party USB 3 controllers, soundcards and PCIe lanes

[ivanlyf_2011]

Hi everyone

Do 3rd party USB 3 controllers like those from Marvel, NEC, Renesas etc consume PCIe lanes when they are activated or in use (activated plus USB3 device plugged in)?

I understand that LGA 1155 chipsets only have 16 PCIe lanes and so if we install a GPU, it's the full 16 lanes and if we put 2 GPUs...it's X8 X8 unless the motherboard has a NF200 controller.

However, what will happen if we activate and use our USB3 3rd party controllers? Do these controllers steal PCIe lanes from the GPU?

If these controllers steal PCIe lanes from the GPU when activated or in use, does disabling the controllers free up the PCIe usage so that the GPU gets a full 16 lanes of bandwidth?

Also, if I buy a soundcard, does the soundcard have it's own PCIe lanes or does it share PCIe lanes with the GPU?

Thank you so much for your comments guys and sorry if somebody else has already asked these questions and for missing such a thread