PDA

View Full Version : Dumb question, SLI, which PCI-E slots?


Sabre2
05-26-2008, 07:53 AM
I have a P5N32-E SLI board and got a couple of 9800GTX cards... Theres three slots on the boards for PCI-E, Theres the 1st, 2nd and 3rd one... the 1st and 3rd are blue so I assume thats where I plug them. But can't I use the 2nd one instead? my SLI connector wont reach to the 3rd slot, and since my board was open box, there is no sli connector that came with it.

If that won't work, then I can install the card in the 3rd slot and just use them as it is till I get a SLI connector that reaches.

Thanks for the help, I know its kinda stupid :rofl:
Rob_B
05-26-2008, 08:06 AM
They work in the 1st and 2nd slot. But the 2nd slot is slower, PCIe x8 slot.

The 1st and 3rd slots are the PCIe x16 slots.

Not sure how much difference it will make.
Giannis86
05-26-2008, 08:06 AM
to my knowledge you can but it would be 8x instead of 16x:p:
Sabre2
05-26-2008, 08:10 AM
I don't want that then! Thanks for the info, Ill buy a SLI bracket that fits.
Giannis86
05-26-2008, 08:44 AM
performance gains are minimal from 8x to 16x as current gpus dont take up enough bandwidth to take advantage of 16x fully...i remember reading a review of this kind of testing on ATI cards...the jump from 4x to 8x showed good performance benefits but the jump from 8x to 16x almost nothing..anyway i would simply do it anyway.. until you get another sli bridge.
Kilyin
05-26-2008, 08:51 AM
Yeah, honestly.. you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 8x and 16x. Try it, and then when you get the bridge you can compare the results. I'm betting you won't see any significant change.
jadeskye
05-26-2008, 09:14 AM
however, depending on what method you're using to water them, it could be easier to get the larger sli bridge and have the additional space for tubing.
BlazinTiger
05-26-2008, 09:50 AM
utilization of 8x vs. 16x depends on which game and which settings
new games especially use tons of bandwidth (e.g. crysis...which nobody plays anyways)
NaeKuh
05-26-2008, 09:58 AM
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/flslicafornv.html

problem solved.
Kilyin
05-26-2008, 10:08 AM
utilization of 8x vs. 16x depends on which game and which settings
new games especially use tons of bandwidth (e.g. crysis...which nobody plays anyways)

I'm pretty sure the limiting factor here isn't the 8x, but the 256 bit bus width of the card, especially at 1600x1200 or greater res.
BlazinTiger
05-26-2008, 02:10 PM
the pcie is from cpu to gpu and gpu to onboard mem is 256, so yes, if u turn on high AA, etc. there'd be a problem
but really, 8x vs. 16x doesnt matter much (am i contradicting myself? oops, who cares :))
radaB
05-26-2008, 02:42 PM
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pci-express-2-0,1915-9.html
Sabre2
05-26-2008, 03:46 PM
I spaced them out in slot 1 and slot 3, i dont have the SLI Bridge yet, but I assume I dont need that to run the machine... only if I do SLI, so i can wait on the bridge. Besides... with the barbs installed and having the cards in slot 1 and 2, there was virtually no gap between them, now I have a bit of tubing to cover it all.

I use a resolution of 1900X1200 (27inch Dell Flat Panel)...

Thanks for the input everyone :)