{solved}How find out if the PCIe is PCIe 3.0x2 or PCIe 3.0x4?

[NoHo Hank]

We've been trying an awful lot of cli commands shown here https://dannyda.com/2020/08/20/how-to-f ... etc/#lspci
And installed CPU-X.
But still cant find if the PCIe is PCIe 3.0x2 or PCIe 3.0x4?!
We need to know this to check how usefull it is to buy a NVME SSD.

[absque fenestris]

After you have already tried "lspci", the command "sudo inxi -v8" would be a possibility.
On my device the output is :

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PCI Slots:
  Slot: 1 type: x1 PCI Express x1 PCI-1 status: In Use length: Other
  Slot: 2 type: x1 PCI Express x1 J6D2 status: Available length: Other
  Slot: 3 type: x1 PCI Express x1 J7C1 status: Available length: Other
  Slot: 4 type: x1 PCI Express x1 J7D1 status: Available length: Other
  Slot: 5 type: x4 PCI Express x4 J8C1 status: In Use length: Other

...and yes - without "sudo" inxi does not show the PCI slots.

[NoHo Hank]

...and yes - without "sudo" inxi does not show the PCI slots.

Unfortunately with sudo inxi -v8 this result

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PCI Slots:  Message: No PCI Slot data found.

Only wifi and network pci shows up.

[MiZoG]

Perhaps the closest to what you want and lspci command can give:

sudo lspci -vv | grep -E 'PCI bridge|LnkCap'

The relevant information is a) Speed, example 8GT/s that means pcie 3.0, have a look at this chart here b) Width, example x16

Still, you already got to know a bit about your hardware to distinguish, for instance, a M.2 slot connected to cpu from one connected to chipset in modern boards.

Safest way to confirm this compatibility is to read the "manual" or visit the site of motherboard / laptop vendor.

I'm under the impression that most nvme pcie 3.0x4 units will be perfectly OK attached to a slot supporting only 3.0x2.

[absque fenestris]

Hi NoHo
I come back to the sudo inxi -v8 command - also to clarify @MiZog's suggestion regarding speed and with.
Here is the output to my laptop (built-in Samsung SSD Evo 970, external Samsung SSD T7):

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Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.82 TiB used: 333.81 GiB (17.9%)
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Samsung
    model: SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 type: SSD serial: <filter>
    rev: 4B2QEXM7 temp: 37.9 C scheme: GPT
  SMART: yes health: PASSED on: 16d 5h cycles: 292
    read-units: 5,888,041 [3.01 TB] written-units: 5,844,774 [2.99 TB]
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 type: USB vendor: Samsung model: PSSD T7
    size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: SSD
    serial: <filter> scheme: GPT
    ... ... ...
    
USB:
    ... ... ...
  Hub-4: 4-0:1 info: Super-speed hub ports: 2 rev: 3.1 speed: 10 Gb/s
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 4-1:2 info: Samsung PSSD T7 type: Mass Storage driver: uas
    interfaces: 1 rev: 3.2 speed: 10 Gb/s power: 896mA chip-ID: 04e8:4001
    class-ID: 0806 serial: <filter>

Easiest, you post here the output of the sudo inxi -v8z and the sudo lspci -vv | grep -E 'PCI bridge|LnkCap' commands from your device.
Warning: Use the command sudo inxi -v8z (z because of private data) and publish only the part that is relevant to your question - inxi -v8 is a chatterbox.

[NoHo Hank]

sudo inxi -v8z shows

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PCI Slots:
  Message: No PCI Slot data found.

Searched the whole sudo inxi -v8z file for x2, x 2, 2x, 2 x. Same with for '4'. No nvme/ M2 slot speed spec came up.

[absque fenestris]

Well Yes - on my 14 year old Sony Vaio, inxi doesn't show a PCI slot either - I assume your device is a bit younger....

[NoHo Hank]

I'm under the impression that most nvme pcie 3.0x4 units will be perfectly OK attached to a slot supporting only 3.0x2.

The info in the manual doesn't sync with the hardware. Example there is a different cpu installed(slightly better one, my luck).
So it is sad i cant find that info by cli. Had to go through many sites etc to find it is a PCIE 2X.
That should mean it uses half the speed. No clue about how many (mili) seconds were talking. But i finally got the right specs to make a good decision.