Asus p6x58d premium crossfire pci-express 2.0 slots 1 and 3 question

MikeD1883 · Jun 23, 2010

I know the board has specs of 16x/16x/1x or 16x/8x/8x on three pci-express 2.0 slots.

I have the sapphire vapor-x 5870 1GB card, and plan to get a second for Crossfire but there would literally be zero space between the two cards if I used slots 1 and 2 at 16x/16x.

I cannot put the cards in adjacent slots because of the type of fan on the sapphire vapor-x card (it does not suck in air from the side and just push it out the back, the fan is in the middle and blows air in both directions.) If two of my cards were in slots 1 and 2, the top card would surely melt within a matter of minutes.

Here is a picture of the card to explain what I mean:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102872

If I put the second video card in slot 3, will I be able to run them cards at 16x and 8x? What sort of performance hit can I expect from this configuration, or rather, how much better would performance be (in theory) if I could put them in 16x/16x?

Is the performance gain enough to where I should ebay my current card, and just buy two 5870's that use the standard type of cooling (pull in air from one side and exhaust it out the back of the case) so that they can be installed into adjacent slots?

Does anyone currently have a slot 1/3 crossfire/SLI setup that could weigh in?

Picture of the board in question:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614

Thank you very much for any replies, this forum has always been such a great help to me.

nzaneb · Jun 23, 2010

You wouldn't take much hit at all. I've heard numbers of around 2% at the worst on a 5870 at x8. So double that for Worst case scenario so 4%. At 50 FPS you're looking at 2 FPS loss, at 70 FPS you're not even at 3 FPS loss. IMHO, it's definitely worth it if it keeps the cards much cooler. However, those cards are still designed with CFX in mind, and with the CFX setup on slots 1 and 2, the air flow starvation is nothing that a well directed case fan wouldn't be able to take care of

Edit: You're links are working, just FYI

MikeD1883 · Jun 23, 2010

nzaneb said:
You wouldn't take much hit at all. I've heard numbers of around 2% at the worst on a 5870 at x8. So double that for Worst case scenario so 4%. At 50 FPS you're looking at 2 FPS loss, at 70 FPS you're not even at 3 FPS loss. IMHO, it's definitely worth it if it keeps the cards much cooler. However, those cards are still designed with CFX in mind, and with the CFX setup on slots 1 and 2, the air flow starvation is nothing that a well directed case fan wouldn't be able to take care of

Edit: You're links are working, just FYI

Updated the links. Thank you for the reply.

Looking at my board right now, there is literally ZERO space that would be between the cards if I had them in adjacent pci express slots 1 and 2 for the 16x/16x configuration.

These cards do not use the standard "suck in from the right, exhaust to the left" cooling that most 5870 cards have, so I really am concerned the adjacent slots 1 and 2 setup would not work (heat wise).

So my question then is if the 16x/8x setup will only hurt me a few percentage points, then I will be fine getting another of this same type of card for crossfire. If the performance hit is too large, I would just ebay my current card and get two 5870s using the standard cooling setup and run them in slots 1 and 2 at 16x/16x.

I do need to confirm (without buying another vid card first) that this board can run slots 1 and 3 in crossfire at 16x/8x, and not 16x/1x or something like that.

Again, thank you for the response.

nzaneb · Jun 23, 2010

MikeD1883 said:
Looking at my board right now, there is literally ZERO space that would be between the cards if I had them in adjacent pci express slots 1 and 2 for the 16x/16x configuration.

I can't image there would be any less room than normal as it's still a dual slot cooler. Even the stockers fit tight.

MikeD1883 said:
These cards do not use the standard "suck in from the right, exhaust to the left" cooling that most 5870 cards have, so I really am concerned the adjacent slots 1 and 2 setup would not work (heat wise).

The reference design actually draws from the bottom of the card as well. The ports on the back side of the card are just for aesthetic purposes, they do nothing, they're just fake. Many card manufacturers use the same cooling design the Vapor-X incorporates. They wouldn't limit themselves to a design that forces single card only... that would be bad for business

MikeD1883 said:
So my question then is if the 16x/8x setup will only hurt me a few percentage points, then I will be fine getting another of this same type of card for crossfire. If the performance hit is too large, I would just ebay my current card and get two 5870s using the standard cooling setup and run them in slots 1 and 2 at 16x/16x.

That is a good plan. I don't forsee you being upset with the 1 and 3 configuration. Cutting to a reference design just to get in 1 and 2 configuration, is not going to be worth it, IMHO

MikeD1883 said:
I do need to confirm (without buying another vid card first) that this board can run slots 1 and 3 in crossfire at 16x/8x, and not 16x/1x or something like that.

Yes it will. If the slot is labeled PCIE x16, it should pull 16x8. If you want an definitive yes, get on Asus's online chat... they can answer your question if that's what you need before buying.

MikeD1883 · Jun 23, 2010

ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> Welcome to ASUS! How can I help you?
Mike> hi
Mike> i have this board
Mike> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614
Mike> the p658d premium
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> yes
Mike> i want to use two video cards and crossfire them, but i want to use the top pci express slot (blue) and the bottom pci express slot (white)
Mike> so that i have improved airflow between them
Mike> the board specs say you can run crossfire/sli in 16x/16x/1x or 16x/8x/8x
Mike> but what about just doing 2 cars in slots 1 and 3?
Mike> will it be 16x/8x or 16x/1x
Mike> i would like to know this before i purchase the 2nd video card and i cannot find the information on the internet anywhere or in the manual
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> When using a single VGA or dual VGA the 3rd slot will change 3 to non usable or 1X
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> it is in the manual on page 2-21
Mike> so a card in slot 1 will run at 16x, no card in slot 2, card in slot 3 will be 1x?
Mike> it cant be 8x in slot 3?
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> Correct. the intel X58 chipset will only spec out slots and and 2 at full 16 while 3 becomes 1x or 8x. when you use one card is Slot 1 or 2, number 3 becomes 1x
Mike> i dont understand
Mike> if i had 3 cards, i COULD run 16x/8x/8x
Mike> but with 2 cards in slots 1 and 3, i cannot run 16x/0x/8x?
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> correct
Mike> it has to be 16x/0x/1x?
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> no only 16/0/1
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> if you use number 2 it will be same thing as well.
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> 0/16/1
Mike> but if i had 3 cards, its 16x/16x/1x OR 16x/8x/8x
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> correct the intel chipset is designed to work like that to best support crossfire and SLI
Mike> im just curious how 16x/8x/8x is possible with 3 cards, but 16x/0x/8x is not possible with 2 cards
Mike> oh ok
Mike> thank you very much
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> You can look at the intel X58 chipset spec at intel to get the full explanation on ow it assigns it resources.
ASUSTech-SANTIAGO01> No problem. Have a great day. Please do not forget to rate our customer service support above. If you anymore questions contacts us again or by phone at 812-282-2787
Mike> rated you as excellent
Mike> thank you have a nice day

I just had this chat with the ASUS online tech support. Apparently if I ran my cards in slots 1 and 3, I would be stuck at 16x/0x/1x, not 16x/0x/8x, even though the board is capable of 16x/16x/1x or 16x/8x/8x with three cards.

So it looks like the performance loss of 16x/8x vrs 16x/16x is moot, since I have to crossfire in slots 1 and 2. The real question now is the potential heat issue due to having zero space between the cards using the Vapor-X cooling design.

Does anyone here use two Vapor-X cards in crossfire next to each other? If so, what are the temperatures like and how does it hold up?

MikeD1883 · Jun 23, 2010

Found these two threads on the forum with similar issues, but not true resolution to the heat problem.

First thread has different model video card but its still the Vapor-X crossfire heat issue:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=642012

Second thread is vapor-x crossfire heat issue but he has a lot of space in between his cards. I would have about 2 milimeters of space:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=637394

I am thinking I have to ebay my vapor-x and get a standard reference "suck and blow" cooler design. What do you guys think?

houstonm · Aug 29, 2010

Crossfire and SLI don't do much unless you are running at extreme resolutions/more than one screen. I own the mobo and it is a little tight, but it shouldn't be that much of an issue for you if you use watercooling or get a little clever with a antec spotcool. Those things work wonders.

Asus p6x58d premium crossfire pci-express 2.0 slots 1 and 3 question

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