7970 in PCI-E slot

teppic

teppic

teppic

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On my new M-ATX motherboard I can't fit my 7970 into the first PCI-E slot (the one nearest the CPU) because the cooler presses against it. Will I still get the same performance if I use the second slot, and leave the first one empty? The manual seems to indicate that it won't, but it's not clear.

Board is a Maximus VI Gene.
 
It says both PCI slots are x16, So they'll be the same performance.

Edit, I just looked at the Asus site. Post below might be a bit more helpful :)
 
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Looking at the manual the 2nd slot is limited to 8x electrically, you wil get a small drop in performance whether you notice in real world play, I am not sure.

Edit: look on page 1-26 shows PCI-E recommendations, board might not start with the card in the 2nd slot!
 
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RJC said:
Looking at the manual the 2nd slot is limited to 8x electrically, you wil get a small drop in performance whether you notice in real world play, I am not sure.

Edit: look on page 1-26 shows PCI-E recommendations, board might not start with the card in the 2nd slot!
Click to expand...

Oh, that'd be annoying! I haven't tried the card yet, I'm using the IGP for now.

Maybe it's time to switch to an H80i.
 
It's a Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro. The 7970 is the massive Asus one with backplate. I could just about get the card in, but I wouldn't be able to get it out again without removing the cooler, which is pretty much impossible without removing the board.

Since I've got Haswell now I may sell the cooler and get an H80i, though I think it'd be noisier than what I've got currently.
 
Any recommendations of fans? I see Corsair sells quiet ones, though they're not cheap.

The Be Quiet is amazingly quiet, but it won't cool Haswell properly OC'd. At idle/browsing etc the fans barely turn so it's completely silent (and my PSU cuts the fan at lower power).
 
Thanks for the suggestion. They are a bit pricey. Maybe it'd be better to get an H60 with one of those instead of an H80i with two.
 
When you put it like that it does sound silly ;) It's just I'm pretty much over budget already so I can't spend much more. I don't think I'd get more than £35 after postage for my current cooler.
 
Something Else said:
guy spends hundreds of pounds on individual components, 4770k is well over £200, the motherboard is ~£150 7970 is over £300 but wont fork out £30 on decent fans...

id go with pwm fans personally and let the motherboard control them.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050014-WW) £25.99
2 x Zaward Golf III Fan 120mm PWM LED ZG3-120B - black/red £10.98 (£21.96)
Total : £51.86 (includes shipping : £3.26).



my suggestions.
Click to expand...

I got Maximus Vi Gene and JUST able to fit a gtx670 in first slot a prolimatech megahalems. The Corsair sp120 PWM high performace is worth it and very slient most of the time and only speed up alittle in heavy gaming to keep temp at 60max.

Quote from asus maximus vi overclocking guide
There is of course a side-effect. Having power circuitry on-die adds heat. Haswell processors run hot when voltage levels are increased. A very good air cooler is required for voltage levels above 1.15V.

1.20V-1.23V requires use of closed loop water coolers.

At 1.24V-1.275V dual or triple radiator water cooling solutions are advised.
Click to expand...

4.8Ghz at 1.2v already hitting 90c+ in stress test. You really want to stay at 1.15v in this weather with air cooling.
 
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The problem is not haswell producing more heat because in reality it uses less power and produces less heat, it just cant get rid of it quickly becuase of intels poor idea of using crap thermal paste under the ihs. if it was soldered on like sandybridge was then there would not be any heat issues.
 
Just as an update, the card does work fine in the 2nd slot and GPU-Z says it's at x8.

I got this benchmark, not sure how it compares.

twgU6wX.png
 
teppic said:
Just as an update, the card does work fine in the 2nd slot and GPU-Z says it's at x8.

I got this benchmark, not sure how it compares.

twgU6wX.png
Click to expand...

You really need to use the settings in the Unigine Valley thread and post your result along with the clockspeeds used there.
 
can't you rotate the cooler so it pulls/pushes air from the bottom to the top of case? will that give you more gpu room?
 
Kaapstad said:
You really need to use the settings in the Unigine Valley thread and post your result along with the clockspeeds used there.
Click to expand...

Ah, I didn't know there was one.

Just re-running it now to post there.

Edit: It looks like it's put in a good performance. My 7970 is voltage locked, or it'd go a lot higher I think. Being only able to overclock on stock voltage is a pain.

wazza300 said:
can't you rotate the cooler so it pulls/pushes air from the bottom to the top of case? will that give you more gpu room?
Click to expand...

I don't think it'd make a difference as the fan would be in the way. I'm not too bothered with it running at 8x as it's PCI-E 3 so I'm sure I'm not losing too much.
 
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teppic said:
Ah, I didn't know there was one.

Just re-running it now to post there.

Edit: It looks like it's put in a good performance. My 7970 is voltage locked, or it'd go a lot higher I think. Being only able to overclock on stock voltage is a pain.



I don't think it'd make a difference as the fan would be in the way. I'm not too bothered with it running at 8x as it's PCI-E 3 so I'm sure I'm not losing too much.
Click to expand...

There is also a Heaven 4 thread if you want to give that a go.:D:)

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18487976
 
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