ASRock X79 Extreme7 User Manual - Page 21

2.6 Expansion Slots (PCI and PCI Express Slots) There is 1 PCI slot and 5 PCI Express slots on this motherboard. PCI slot: PCI slot is used to install expansion cards that have the 32-bit PCI interface. PCIE slots:PCIE1 / PCIE2 / PCIE3 / PCIE4 / PCIE5 (PCIE 3.0 x16 slots) are used for PCI Express graphics cards. PCIE Slot Configurations Dual Graphics Cards in CrossFireXTM or SLITM Mode Triple Graphics Cards in 3-Way CrossFireXTM or 3-Way SLITM Mode Five Graphics Cards PCIE1 x16 PCIE2 x0 PCIE3 x16 x16 x0 x16 x8 x8 x8 PCIE4 x0 x0 x8 PCIE5 N/A x8 x8 1. In single VGA card mode, it is recommended to install a PCI Express x16 graphics card on PCIE1 slot. 2. In CrossFireXTM mode or SLITM mode, please install PCI Express x16 graphics cards on PCIE1 and PCIE3 slots. Therefore, both these two slots will work at x16 bandwidth. 3. In 3-Way CrossFireXTM or 3-Way SLITM mode, please install PCI Express x16 graphics cards on PCIE1, PCIE3 and PCIE5 slots. Therefore, both PCIE1 and PCIE3 will work at x16 bandwidth, while PCIE5 works at x8 bandwidth. 4. If you install ve PCI Express x16 graphics cards on PCIE1, PCIE2, PCIE3, PCIE4 and PCIE5 slots, these ve slots will work at x8 bandwidth. 5. Please connect a chassis fan to motherboard chassis fan connector (CHA_FAN1, CHA_FAN2 or CHA_FAN3) when using multiple graphics cards for better thermal environment. 6. Currently Intel® Socket 2011 Sandy Bridge-E Processor doesn't support PCIE 3.0, but this motherboard is already PCIE 3.0 hardware ready. It depends on Intel's CPU to enable PCIE 3.0. Please check Intel's website for information on future CPU updates and releases. 21