X99 WS-E/10G: Alternative slots for video cards?
Printed From: ASRock.com
Category: Technical Support
Forum Name: Intel Motherboards
Forum Description: Question about ASRock Intel Motherboards
URL: https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2723
Printed Date: 19 Jul 2025 at 8:30am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.04 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: X99 WS-E/10G: Alternative slots for video cards?
Posted By: K2MIT
Subject: X99 WS-E/10G: Alternative slots for video cards?
Date Posted: 25 May 2016 at 3:15am
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I tried a search but "SLI" is 3 letters and the search function bombs. Here is my question on an X99 WS-E/10G: 1. The manual says to put card 1 in slot 7 (closest to the chip set) or highest if the card is mounted vertically. The manual then says to put the second card in slot 3. That is 4 slots away. Since all of the slots are X16, why can't I put it in slot 5, where most motherboards put it (there would be one slot in between)? It is nearly impossible to find a really nice 2-card SLI bridge that spans 4 slots. I could use a 4-slot SLI bridge but wanted to know if anyone has used slots 7 and 5 successfully? Thank you. ------------- --Jeffrey Steinberg |
Replies:
Posted By: parsec
Date Posted: 25 May 2016 at 8:37am
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I can't answer your question specifically, but can supply some observations and information that you possibly might not be aware of. It sounds like the SLI bridges supplied with your board are not "really nice", although are designed to work with video cards used in the slots recommended by the manual. Is your reason for not wanting to use the PCIE7 and PCIE3 slots with two cards based on the appearance or quality of the SLI bridge? For optimum cooling of two video cards, having them spaced apart as they are when used in the recommended slots, is certainly better than mounting them closer together. This board uses two Plex bridge chips that allow up to four video cards to be used, running at x16. I can't find any reference to the model of processor used and the PCIe slot lane assignments. That is, different compatible processors have different numbers of PCIe 3.0 lanes, from 28 to 40. Does that make a difference regarding which slots to use? Doesn't seem to be, but nothing is said about that either way in the manual. The three even numbered PCIe slots (2, 4, 6) are x8 slots, the odd numbered all x16. The Plex chips might be the reason the manual specifies using the PCIE7 and PCIE3 slots with two video cards. The Plex chips might also be responsible for the unorthodox lane assignments for video cards. That is, populating cards from the bottom up, as you said. Also, the skipping of adjacent even numbered x8 lanes. Do you own this board now, or are considering it for a future build? Hopefully someone can answer your question, but this board may have a smaller user base than some others. You could contact technical support with your question, here: http://event.asrock.com/tsd.asp" rel="nofollow - http://event.asrock.com/tsd.asp ------------- http://valid.x86.fr/48rujh" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: K2MIT
Date Posted: 25 May 2016 at 9:03am
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Thank you. Yes, it is now about aesthetics but soon it will be about practicality. I am water cooling 2 GTX 980's which are about as fast as a single 1080. In the future I might get 2 1080's and that is the rub. Starting with the 1080's, Nvidia is promoting SLI with two cards only. Yes, I know you can get an unlock key to fix that but I have a feeling the nice-looking bridges will come in 2 adjacent slots only. The new bridges have a higher bandwidth so it will make a real difference. Yes, I do have the board now. I installed my CPU and memory and then I got to page 30 of the manual and I saw the 4-slot difference. Having a 2-slot difference (7 and 5) with water cooling (or even air cooling as I now have 2 GPUs right next to each other on a different motherboard without any problems for 1.5 years) shouldn't make a difference. Yes, there is little written about this board so I guess a query to tech support is necessary. You referenced even number slots being /x8 but I thought all 7 were /x16 because of the Plex chips. Thank you for your time. ------------- --Jeffrey Steinberg |