PCIE Lane Sharing on an X99 Extreme4

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Topic: PCIE Lane Sharing on an X99 Extreme4
Posted: 08 Mar 2016 at 3:32am

Hi, I am considering an X99 Extreme4 with a 5820K i7 (28 lane) cpu. I have read the motherboard manual and searched here but cannot find the details I am looking for.

I would like to know if PCIE slot 2 (PCIE 2.0 x16) is still available after populating slots 1,3, and 5. The only explicitly listed exclusion is slot 5 being disabled if using a M.2 PCIE SSD.

The reason I am asking is I would like to run 4 gpu cards, BUT NOT SLI. 1 card in slot 2 would actually run the monitor, while 3 other cards will be used for general processing. My software allows any combination of GPUS so I do not need SLI or identical GPUS. Furthermore, the cards do not need 16 or even 8 lanes for max performance.

Thank you!

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Posted: 08 Mar 2016 at 1:04pm

Well, there is both good and potentially bad news for you given what you wrote about you usage of the PCIe slots, and the board and CPU you are considering.

The good news is the PCIE2 slot's PCIe 2.0 lanes are provided by the X99 chipset, not derived from the CPU's PCIe 3.0 lanes.

The clue here is that the PCIE2 slot's resources are PCIe 2.0, while the CPU provides only PCIe 3.0 lanes.

The potentially bad news is, while the PCIE2 slot is PCIe x16 physically, it is PCIe 2.0 x4 electrically. From the X99 Extreme4's Specification page:

1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2 @ x4 mode)

http://asrock.com/mb/Intel/X99%20Extreme4/?cat=Specifications

If PCIe 2.0 x4 is enough for your video card and graphics needs, then you are fine.

BTW, what is the software that you are using called?

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Posted: 08 Mar 2016 at 4:09pm

Thank you for the clear answer. The gpu that would go in that slot is an Nvidia Quadro K2000. My assumption, or hope, is that it would work without restriction in a slot with only x4. I don't play games or do anything beside CAD work and watch youtube on this computer. What still isn't clear to me is whether the question of a gpu(that is PCIE2.0 x16) in an x4 electrical slot is: would it actually function, or would it potentially be restricted?

The software that will take advantage of the other gpus is Blender. It is pretty cool how efficiently it takes advantage of any gpus (Nvidia only really) available in the system.

Basically what I need is maximum single core performance for CAD (overclocked 5820K) and maximum GPU power for rendering of those CAD models. And of course goal number three is minimum budget! Hence avoiding the other Intel 2011 CPUs.

Thanks again.

Edited by audiologies - 08 Mar 2016 at 4:11pm

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Posted: 02 Apr 2016 at 12:34am

Here is an update in case anyone else is interested:

It works great.

I have 3 gtx770 cards in the pcie 3.0 slots for gpu computing and a quadro2000 in the pcie 2.0 slotfor video output and all works better than anticipated. The key here being they are not SLI. I do not require SLI. The CPU is a 5820k, with the 59xx cpus I assume SLI would be fine.

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audiologies Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 Mar 2016 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote audiologies Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: PCIE Lane Sharing on an X99 Extreme4 Posted: 08 Mar 2016 at 3:32am
	Hi, I am considering an X99 Extreme4 with a 5820K i7 (28 lane) cpu. I have read the motherboard manual and searched here but cannot find the details I am looking for. I would like to know if PCIE slot 2 (PCIE 2.0 x16) is still available after populating slots 1,3, and 5. The only explicitly listed exclusion is slot 5 being disabled if using a M.2 PCIE SSD. The reason I am asking is I would like to run 4 gpu cards, BUT NOT SLI. 1 card in slot 2 would actually run the monitor, while 3 other cards will be used for general processing. My software allows any combination of GPUS so I do not need SLI or identical GPUS. Furthermore, the cards do not need 16 or even 8 lanes for max performance. Thank you!

parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08 Mar 2016 at 1:04pm
	Well, there is both good and potentially bad news for you given what you wrote about you usage of the PCIe slots, and the board and CPU you are considering. The good news is the PCIE2 slot's PCIe 2.0 lanes are provided by the X99 chipset, not derived from the CPU's PCIe 3.0 lanes. The clue here is that the PCIE2 slot's resources are PCIe 2.0, while the CPU provides only PCIe 3.0 lanes. The potentially bad news is, while the PCIE2 slot is PCIe x16 physically, it is PCIe 2.0 x4 electrically. From the X99 Extreme4's Specification page: 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2 @ x4 mode) http://asrock.com/mb/Intel/X99%20Extreme4/?cat=Specifications If PCIe 2.0 x4 is enough for your video card and graphics needs, then you are fine. BTW, what is the software that you are using called?


audiologies Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 Mar 2016 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote audiologies Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 08 Mar 2016 at 4:09pm
	Thank you for the clear answer. The gpu that would go in that slot is an Nvidia Quadro K2000. My assumption, or hope, is that it would work without restriction in a slot with only x4. I don't play games or do anything beside CAD work and watch youtube on this computer. What still isn't clear to me is whether the question of a gpu(that is PCIE2.0 x16) in an x4 electrical slot is: would it actually function, or would it potentially be restricted? The software that will take advantage of the other gpus is Blender. It is pretty cool how efficiently it takes advantage of any gpus (Nvidia only really) available in the system. Basically what I need is maximum single core performance for CAD (overclocked 5820K) and maximum GPU power for rendering of those CAD models. And of course goal number three is minimum budget! Hence avoiding the other Intel 2011 CPUs. Thanks again. Edited by audiologies - 08 Mar 2016 at 4:11pm

audiologies Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 Mar 2016 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote audiologies Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Apr 2016 at 12:34am
	Here is an update in case anyone else is interested: It works great. I have 3 gtx770 cards in the pcie 3.0 slots for gpu computing and a quadro2000 in the pcie 2.0 slotfor video output and all works better than anticipated. The key here being they are not SLI. I do not require SLI. The CPU is a 5820k, with the 59xx cpus I assume SLI would be fine.