What are the benefits of PCIe Bifurcation?

What are the benefits of PCIe Bifurcation?

PCIe Bifurcation enables the use of multi-drive NVMe M.2 expansion cards, as each drive requires its own PCIe lane to function correctly. It also allows for the utilization of certain expansion cards without the need for additional bridge chips, reducing complexity and cost.

Multi-drive NVMe M.2 expansion cards typically require each drive to have its own PCIe x4 lane. PCIe Bifurcation enables a single PCIe x8 slot to be split into two PCIe x4 lanes, allowing each drive to function independently.