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Can i use 1st and 3rd slots for 2 way sli?

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  • Sabertooth
  • Graphics Cards
  • SLI
  • Motherboards
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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September 18, 2014 12:46:25 PM

i have an asus sabertooth z77, i curretly have 1 680, i am going to be buying two 970s for 2 way sli, is it ok if i use the 1st and 3rd slots for better airflow, in other words..less heat because i know if u put them together the temperature will rise. thanks. just not sure if it will work like its supposed to

More about : 1st 3rd slots sli

a b V Motherboard
September 18, 2014 12:49:51 PM

as long as the bridge reaches each card, yes you can. Is a good idea to space them apart if can for better airflow too, good thinking
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a b U Graphics card
a b V Motherboard
September 18, 2014 12:51:55 PM

Refer to your motherboard manual, but I believe the 3rd slot is PCI Exppress 2.0 @x4, while the 2nd slot is PCI 3.0 at x8. Actual real world performance may not make that big of a difference, as you'll probably be slightly bottle-necked by the CPU and other components first.

I'd just try both configurations, let them heat up and do a benchmark, see which works out to be faster after they heat up.

From NewEgg:

PCI Express 3.0 x16
2 (x16/0 or x8/x8)

PCI Express 2.0 x16
1 @x4
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a b U Graphics card
a b V Motherboard
September 18, 2014 12:59:22 PM

reowner said:
i have an asus sabertooth z77, i curretly have 1 680, i am going to be buying two 970s for 2 way sli, is it ok if i use the 1st and 3rd slots for better airflow, in other words..less heat because i know if u put them together the temperature will rise. thanks. just not sure if it will work like its supposed to


I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill. The board and slots are designed to for the cards to be close together, the SLI cable is designed for the cards to be in 2 slots close together, and thousands of people run SLI everyday with the cards right next to each without problems. I think that as long as you have decent case ventilation, you are just fine to install them as the manufactures intended them to be installed.
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a b V Motherboard
September 18, 2014 1:11:13 PM

Yeah if you have front intake fans blowing across your gpu's to aid in cooling, you would be fine with temps
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a b U Graphics card
a b V Motherboard
September 18, 2014 1:11:47 PM

jitpublisher said:
reowner said:
i have an asus sabertooth z77, i curretly have 1 680, i am going to be buying two 970s for 2 way sli, is it ok if i use the 1st and 3rd slots for better airflow, in other words..less heat because i know if u put them together the temperature will rise. thanks. just not sure if it will work like its supposed to


I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill. The board and slots are designed to for the cards to be close together, the SLI cable is designed for the cards to be in 2 slots close together, and thousands of people run SLI everyday with the cards right next to each without problems. I think that as long as you have decent case ventilation, you are just fine to install them as the manufactures intended them to be installed.


True, and you can probably just purchase a 970 model with enclosed shrouds, which exhaust most of the heat out the back anyway. I nice side case fan (the biggest the case will support) always helps.
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