evga 780i motherboard problem or what?

ok so i got my new setup (see sig) from a buddy of mine. he got this one from work because they needed to upgrade to the newer socket for better performance. needless to say i got it on the cheap cheap and it was a hella good deal. he also threw in a 8800gts (just like the one i just bought like 2 weeks before this transaction), and an e8400.

Here is where lies the problem. i installed both cards 1st slot, and one in the 2nd slot below the first...wont boot saying its in the wrong card slot. then i put it in the lowest slot (slot 3 for reference) and it boots up and even does SLI without the bridge fine. now my big concern is, do i need a special SLI bridge from EVGA to connect considering the huge gap?

any input please would be appreciated. i have SCOURED the evga 780i mobo guide and it doesnt list ANYWHERE >_< about SLI configurations/set ups.

You can get a long sli bridge... it probably came with the mobo but is probably long gone... scour ebay and im sure you will find one... i used to have one when i used a 680i, sadly its long gone too

i guess my main question is, Is this a problem with the board? or is this how it is supposed to be? i dont know too much about this 780i board. and i have not even came close to reading up on triple sli boards at all, so im kinda noobish to how this board sets up.

I think that's how it's supposed to be. I have the 780i and it came with the long sli bridge alongside the tri sli bridge.

ok thats the answer i was looking for. thank you Behappy.