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View Full Version : 4-way GPU need... 10-slot?!



Jestersage
August 17th, 2009, 05:07 AM
I was looking at the offering from mountain mods and Lian-li, and notice that all 4-way crossfire (and hopefully SLI in the future) have 10-slots. Not 8, but 10.

Can someone tell me why 10 is needed? I thought the GPU are only double width, not 2.5!

mcduck
August 17th, 2009, 09:35 AM
I was looking at the offering from mountain mods and Lian-li, and notice that all 4-way crossfire (and hopefully SLI in the future) have 10-slots. Not 8, but 10.

Can someone tell me why 10 is needed? I thought the GPU are only double width, not 2.5!

So that there's still room for some extra cards you might have? (I'm now assuming you are talking about PCI-E slots..)

If you are going to build a high-end system with 4 graphics card it only makes sense to make sure you are not limiting the other functionality of the system by leaving too little room for expansion.

Jestersage
August 17th, 2009, 06:55 PM
So that there's still room for some extra cards you might have? (I'm now assuming you are talking about PCI-E slots..)

If you are going to build a high-end system with 4 graphics card it only makes sense to make sure you are not limiting the other functionality of the system by leaving too little room for expansion.

Ahh... But unless you are buying Foxconn mobo, even the highest end 4way capable mobos only have 7 slots in total.

mcduck
August 17th, 2009, 08:26 PM
So you are talking about cases, not motherboards? Talking about SLI was a bit confusing since it hasn't got anything to do with cases..

Full-tower cases are usually built to fit EATX and full-size server motherboards. They aren't specifically designed for gaming rigs.

Jestersage
August 17th, 2009, 09:30 PM
So you are talking about cases, not motherboards? Talking about SLI was a bit confusing since it hasn't got anything to do with cases..

Full-tower cases are usually built to fit EATX and full-size server motherboards. They aren't specifically designed for gaming rigs.

Yes. I am talking about the cases. The issue is that even the most expensive ASUS 4-way GPU capable motherboard only have 7-slot in total, and if that's the case, you will only need 8 slot-bracket...

mcduck
August 17th, 2009, 10:00 PM
Yes. I am talking about the cases. The issue is that even the most expensive ASUS 4-way GPU capable motherboard only have 7-slot in total, and if that's the case, you will only need 8 slot-bracket...

But what makes you think the case was built for 4 graphics cards and not just to be large enough to fit any high-end system?

edit: My point is that I've seen quite many systems that use many expansion slots without even having a single graphics card, there are quite many other things people might need to add to their systems, like sound cards, extra network interfaces, fiber network, RAID cards etc... Even my desktop machine is quite low on expansion slots while it only has one graphics card, and even has that one instead of integrated graphics simply because I couldn't find a suitable motherboard with integrated graphics.. :D

LowSky
August 17th, 2009, 10:21 PM
Just because the case has more than the normal 7 slots does not mean a motherboard will need them

think of perifirals that need space but dont need a PCI slot, like fan switches, eSATA ports, usb ports, Expansion parts to tuner cards, and so on.

This board does it without needing extra large case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=13-130-223-S01&ISList=13-130-223-S01%2c13-130-223-S02%2c13-130-223-S04%2c13-130-223-S03%2c13-130-223-S05&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16813130223&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=MSI%20790FX-GD70%20ATX%20AMD%20Motherboard%20-%20Retail

mcduck
August 17th, 2009, 10:26 PM
Just because the case has more than the normal 7 slots does not mean a motherboard will need them

think of perifirals that need space but dont need a PCI slot, like fan switches, eSATA ports, usb ports, Expansion parts to tuner cards, and so on.

This board does it without needing extra large case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=13-130-223-S01&ISList=13-130-223-S01%2c13-130-223-S02%2c13-130-223-S04%2c13-130-223-S03%2c13-130-223-S05&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16813130223&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=MSI%20790FX-GD70%20ATX%20AMD%20Motherboard%20-%20Retail

that's true as well, quite many motherboard include more connectors than what can be fitted directly in the motherboard itself.

Jestersage
August 18th, 2009, 12:53 AM
Just because the case has more than the normal 7 slots does not mean a motherboard will need them

think of perifirals that need space but dont need a PCI slot, like fan switches, eSATA ports, usb ports, Expansion parts to tuner cards, and so on.

This board does it without needing extra large case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=13-130-223-S01&ISList=13-130-223-S01%2c13-130-223-S02%2c13-130-223-S04%2c13-130-223-S03%2c13-130-223-S05&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16813130223&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=MSI%20790FX-GD70%20ATX%20AMD%20Motherboard%20-%20Retail

THAT is the one I am thinking of buying. Apparently AMD is offering combo deals with the new black edition. (though granted, intell will push something out, and maybe 4-way SLI will come...)

As for why I think that case is build for crossfire? Honestly I do not know. the case manufactueurer (Lian-Li and Mountainmods) promote it for 4-way crossfire.