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ASUS Rampage V10 Edition - PCI Configuration Question

Crash55
Level 8
Before I buy this board I want to ensure I get the components / configuration.

I want to run two GTX 1080's and an NVMe drive. i7-6850k so a 40 lane CPU

According to page 1-8 of the manual I should place the GPU's in slots PCIEX16/X8_1 and PCIEX16/X8_3 so both run at x16.

The question how do I handle the NVMe drive. I would prefer the Intel 750 drive since it is available in 1.2TB size.
This drive is available as a PCIe or U.2 drive. Which format should I get so that the GPU's still run at x16 or is that not even possible?
Looking at the threads it appears that if i place it in slot PCIEX8_4 it causes issues and if I use the U.2 slot it also turns on the M.2 slot which drops slot 1 to x8.
Is this true? Is it a design issue or something that will be fixed with a BIOS update?

It appears though that if I buy a Samsung 950 and place it in the M.2 slot it won't effect the GPU's at all.

What will the spacing be for the SLI connector on the GPU's? I want to buy a high speed bridge but need to know the spacing.
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10 REPLIES 10

Onimax
Level 8
I am due to receiev my RV10 at the end of the week, but to my knowledge you should be ok with either configuration.

Basically it all comes down to the CPU you plan on using.
A 28 lane CPU will basically disable the u.2 slot and every other pcie slot than the ones with the gpus plugged into.
With a 40 lane CPU you will have PCIEX8_4/m.2/u.2 available. However all these three connectors share their bandwidth so you can only utlize one at a time.
So I would preferably go with the u.2 version of the 750 (cleaner approach imao) or an m.2 drive such as the 950 or sm961.
(see Chapter 1-8 in the manual: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA2011/RAMPAGE_V_EDITION_10/E11375_RAMPAGE_V_EDITION_10_UM_WEB....) PCIE_

For spacings see chapter 1-7 - there are basically 3 slots _between_ both cards.

Onimax wrote:
I am due to receiev my RV10 at the end of the week, but to my knowledge you should be ok with either configuration.

Basically it all comes down to the CPU you plan on using.
A 28 lane CPU will basically disable the u.2 slot and every other pcie slot than the ones with the gpus plugged into.
With a 40 lane CPU you will have PCIEX8_4/m.2/u.2 available. However all these three connectors share their bandwidth so you can only utlize one at a time.
So I would preferably go with the u.2 version of the 750 (cleaner approach imao) or an m.2 drive such as the 950 or sm961.
(see Chapter 1-8 in the manual: http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA2011/RAMPAGE_V_EDITION_10/E11375_RAMPAGE_V_EDITION_10_UM_WEB....) PCIE_

For spacings see chapter 1-7 - there are basically 3 slots _between_ both cards.


I am planing on buying the 6850K so a 40 lane CPU. I was leaning towards the U.2 version but some of the threads here say that it reduces the first slot to x8

Praz
Level 13
Hello

PCIe/M.2/U.2 lane configuration is dependent on the CPU used which you seem to have not included. PCIe spacing conforms to industry standards which is 20.3mm (0.800") center to center slot spacing.

Chino wrote:
You should have no problem with a 40 lane CPU.


I know I should have no problem but in another thread someone said that using the U.2 slot also turned on the M2. and put the board into quad SLI mode so the PCIe slots went to x8. It almost seems like you only have 39 lanes available in reality

I would like to confirm before dumping a lot of money into the setup.

Crash55 wrote:
I know I should have no problem but in another thread someone said that using the U.2 slot also turned on the M2. and put the board into quad SLI mode so the PCIe slots went to x8. It almost seems like you only have 39 lanes available in reality

I would like to confirm before dumping a lot of money into the setup.


You got bad information. I'm running the exact setup you are asking about (2x GTX 1080 and Intel 750 U.2 SSD) and both my cards are running at x16 and my U.2 is running at x4.

mikeblunt2020 wrote:
You got bad information. I'm running the exact setup you are asking about (2x GTX 1080 and Intel 750 U.2 SSD) and both my cards are running at x16 and my U.2 is running at x4.


Great. That makes me a lot happier. I tried asking this question several different ways but never came across anyone running SLI and a U.2 to confirm.

mikeblunt2020 wrote:
You got bad information. I'm running the exact setup you are asking about (2x GTX 1080 and Intel 750 U.2 SSD) and both my cards are running at x16 and my U.2 is running at x4.


You are running the Rampage V Edition 10 correct? I am asking because I just received this email from ASUS Tech Support:



Thank you for contacting ASUS Technical Support.

We are writing back to you regarding the issue with the board.

I checked and found that it is a motherboard design limitation, So two GPU, it will drop to x8 with U.2. You can use hyperkit or M.2 with 950 Pro to acheive 16x for 2 GPU.

For any further queries, please feel free to reply to this E-Mail. We will be glad to assist you.

Thank you for choosing ASUS.

Regards,
Arnold. K