Hi guys,
Until recently, this is how I was using my expansion slots (in order of physical location on the MoBo)
x4 - blocked by cooler, unused
x16 - Asus GTX titan
x1 - unused
x1 - unused
x16 - unused
x1 - unused
x16 - soundcard Asus Xonar Essence STX (fits into an x1 slot)
I got a second GTX titan for cheap and installed it in this way
x4 - blocked by cooler
x16 - Asus GTX titan
x1 - unused
x1 - soundcard Asus Xonar Essence STX
x16 - Asus GTX titan
x1 - unused
x16 - unused
My questions are as follows:
(1) In the first setup, would my GPU have had full x16 bandwidth? I am asking because the soundcard is occupying the third x16 slot. Would this have moved to the x8/x4/x4 config as suggested by the asus mobo spec here
http://www.asus.com/ROG_ROG/MAXIMUS_V_FORMULA/#specifications (2) Moving to the second setup, GPU-Z confirms that my two titans have x8 x8 bandwidth. I moved the soundcard up to the x1 slot for aesthetic purposes. Now, it seems that while using the same video player, same content, same headphones etc., I am just not getting enough volume from the sound card. I mean that a volume of 30 used to suffice but now 100 is required. I am wondering if this is because the x1 slot has lower power than the x16 slot and if that is why I'm experiencing this change in volume. (All driver settings are the same and the card also uses molex power)
(I am a novice builder who started PC building only in Feb of 2013. So, kindly refrain from getting annoyed if any of my questions have obvious answers.)