Does a x4 PCIe mechanical work in a x16 slot in x4 mode?

My question is fairly simple. Can a x4 physical (mechanical component) fit in a x16 PCIe, which is at x4 mode?

pci-express

Burnzy

Posted 2011-01-18T13:42:34.383

Reputation: 237

I have never seen x16 slot run at x4. Why is it doing that? What motherboard chipset is that? – paradroid – 2011-01-18T13:55:46.867

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131665&cm_re=sabertooth-_-13-131-665-_-Product Take a look at the last black slot. – Burnzy – 2011-01-18T14:30:43.030

I would guess it is for compatibility since a x16 pci-e component will never fit in a x4 physical slot, unless you are really really persuasive and have an hammer nearby – Burnzy – 2011-01-18T14:48:49.147

@paradroid there are multiple cases where that could happen. LGA 1155/56 boards only have 16 lanes on the CPU, so any 3x16 physical board will have at least one x4 electrical slot: either 8/4/4 (all CPU) or 8/8/4(last slot using south bridge lanes). LGA 1366 has 36 lanes on the north bridge, 16/8/8 or 16/16/4 are the common splits for a 3 slot configuration. AMD's high end chipsets have 38 lanes on the northbridge so you can probably find similar there, although I'm not as familiar with them. – Dan is Fiddling by Firelight – 2011-01-18T14:55:55.100

@burnzy If the back of the 4x slot is open and nothing is obstructing the board the 16x card will fit in without tools. Otherwise you need a dremel or a hacksaw not a hammer, to either open the back of the slot, or to cut the card just past the end of the 4x contacts. – Dan is Fiddling by Firelight – 2011-01-18T14:57:30.620

Which board would you recommend for a 2x 16 graphic cards in sli and a revodrive (x4). I was hesitating between the previous sabertooth and this rampage board. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?CurImage=13-131-666-TS&SpinSet=13-131-666-RS&ISList=13-131-666-Z01%2c13-131-666-Z02%2c13-131-666-Z03%2c13-131-666-Z04%2c13-131-666-Z05&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16813131666&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=ASUS%20Rampage%20III%20Formula%20LGA%201366%20Intel%20X58%20SATA%206Gb%2fs%20USB%203.0%20ATX%20Intel%20Motherboard . Could you let me know why would I grab one of these

– Burnzy – 2011-01-18T15:06:16.103

Ideally I'd want a 16/16/4, but cannot find any on with lga 1366 socket. Most of them are 16/16 and 16/8/8 – Burnzy – 2011-01-18T15:07:45.713

@Dan: I have only seen boards that have x16 slots that run at x8 speed (and x16, obviously). It seems like the manufacturers are being deceptive by including a third x16 size slot that only runs at x4 speed. – paradroid – 2011-01-18T18:15:03.657

Im hesitating between these two boards which both supports 16/16/4 configurations. P6T http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/204729/ASUS/P6T/ and Sabertooth http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/230546/SABERTOOTH%20X58/ASUS/

– Burnzy – 2011-01-18T19:13:45.540

1@burnzy the sabertooth has slightly larger heatsinks, which will be beneficial if overclocking. Otherwise they don't matter. The sabertooth has USB3 which might be useful over the next year or two. Otherwise I'd make my decision based on the slot layouts, and what slots will be free after you install all your cards. – Dan is Fiddling by Firelight – 2011-01-18T21:20:09.533

1@paradroid they're not common (16/8/8) is more likely to be useful, but I'd rather have the option of inserting an x16 card later if I find a need to do so; 4x physical slots often preclude this, and have reduced mechanical support even when the card will physically fit. – Dan is Fiddling by Firelight – 2011-01-18T21:22:15.007

+1 right on, also works with X1 slots too. – Supercereal – 2011-01-18T14:00:04.493

1@Kyle isnt a x1 slot smaller than an x4? Im not sure I agree with your statement. – Chris – 2012-07-14T02:23:17.977

3@chris a I meant x1 card can fit in a 16x slot. Wording is a little weird there since I used the term slot instead of card. For clarification a 16x slot can take a 8x, 4x, and 1x card. – Supercereal – 2012-07-15T03:04:55.607

1@Kyle ahh my mistake, I was assuming you were speaking in context of the original question. Cheers – Chris – 2012-07-15T03:22:33.557

Does a x4 PCIe mechanical work in a x16 slot in x4 mode?

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