Is it possible to have 1x 4890 @ PCIE Slot 2 to run at 16x?

[godslayer]

Hi Guys,

I understand from the manual that for single VGA card, PCIE SLot 1 will run it at 16x.

Problem is that my 4890 backplate has 2 screws which hit my northbridge (fan mounted version). My only alternative is the 2nd and 4th PCIE slot as I need to use the PCI slot for my Xtrememusic.

So my qns is, is there any way that I can run the 2nd PCIE slot @ 16x? I am only using 1 gfx card and no other expansion is used on any of the remaining 3 PCIE slots?

Or is my only recourse is to either change back to the default northbridge heatsink (which sucks at removing heat) or to change my 4890 cooler?

Thanks for any replies in advance.

[KILLER_K]

Note: Corrected in the last post.

[godslayer]

Didi

You should still get 16x speed in the second slot. You can use gpu-z to check the lane speed.

I did and that's what made me read the manual to find out why. Couldn't get a clear answer and hence I posted here.

What happened to me doesn't make sense since there are no other expansion cards inserted. I will really hate to format my computer to rule out software issue since I just formatted a week ago.

Thanks for your kind reply though. If more people can confirm your replies, I will go and format straight away.

[KILLER_K]

A format will do nothing for your pci-express lane speed. That is controlled by the bios and not the os. But good luck with the format though.

[itcrashed]

You can put your card in the second slot and it will run in 16x as long as you dont have anything in the first slot.

[KILLER_K]

Nope i stand corrected. I just moved it from the 1rst slot, then to the 2nd. And i got 8x on the second slot. But when i moved it to the 3rd pci-e slot it went back to the full 16x. So i guess it i would be 1=16, 2=8x, 3=16x and the 4=8x for single card setup. so use the 3rd slot if you can and you should be fine..

[godslayer]

Nope i stand corrected. I just moved it from the 1rst slot, then to the 2nd. And i got 8x on the second slot. But when i moved it to the 3rd pci-e slot it went back to the full 16x. So i guess it i would be 1=16, 2=8x, 3=16x and the 4=8x for single card setup. so use the 3rd slot if you can and you should be fine..

Thanks for the test. Asus should not have hardwired it. The pcie slots are 16x but support to 8x only. That is wrong.

Anyway, I can't use the 3rd slot too as I need the pci slot for my soundcard. Guess the only way now is to either buy a new soundcard that is pcie based or a new gpu without too thick of a backplate.

[KILLER_K]

Well to be honest. 16x vs 8x isn't that big of a difference when gaming. You will see maybe 4fps - 6fps difference between the two. Only time you will take a hit would be on synthetic benchmarks. But that would be 8x & 8x crossfire/sli vs 16x & 16x crossfire/sli situations.

[godslayer]

Yeah I do understand the speed translation from 16x to 8x isn't that big of a difference when I am not trying to break any world record.

For my own usage, I think 4.3Ghz with all cooling options running (C1E, EIST etc) is pretty much suitable for me, save for some gaming options. In a way, I get both speed and power savings which are huge for me

It's really just a minor cosmetic and mental issue when I know that I can run it much higher but can't.

[Scubasage]

Well to be honest. 16x vs 8x isn't that big of a difference when gaming. You will see maybe 4fps - 6fps difference between the two. Only time you will take a hit would be on synthetic benchmarks. But that would be 8x & 8x crossfire/sli vs 16x & 16x crossfire/sli situations.

Hell, it's even less than that. So far, nobody can really define the performance boost of using a 16x slot. It's so low it can be mistaken for standard deviation you find in RL anyways.