I have the above motherboard and it is supposed to support 2 x pci express 2.0 lanes @16x. Both GPU-Z and CPU-Z report that it is only using 8x lanes for both graphics cards. I have tried a few different combinations with the cards in different slots but it only runs in 8x. The whole point of this MB for me was the ability to run @ 16x sli. Any thoughts? There don't appear to be any bios references to it. First I tried 1 & 2, then 1 & 3, finally 1 & 4 but all results were the same. I have left them in 1 & 3 because this allows a gap between the two GPUs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
As far as I'm aware a socket 1156 CPU can only use one card in 16x or two cards in 8x. it was one of the disadvantages of socket 1156 over 1366. In real world performance though, the difference between x16 and x8 is negligible in the vast majority of games. The more powerful your cards, the more difference you'll notice, but it will be very slight.
you got the wrong info my friend... 1156 boards dont support 2x PCIe x16 unless an nVidia NF200 bridgechip is used, and the maximus doesn't have that.
The maximus III extreme does have an nf200 and its plastered all over the web site, box etc that it supports 1 @16x 2 @16x 16x 3 @16x 16x 8x 4 @8x 8x 8x 8x 8x So it does support sli 2@16x mine is just not working.
From Asus website 'Expansion Slot 5 x PCIe 2.0 x16 Supports single at x16, dual at x16, Triple at x 16 x16 x8, quad x8, or 5 x8, 1 x PCI 2.2 ' The manual doesn't specify which ones need to be used though.
Ok got an answer from ASUS I needed to use slots 2 & 4 (which is odd) but there you go all working @ x16 x16 now. So im happy its what I bought this particular MB for.
whoops, i stand corrected, i'm running a Maximus III Gene myself, and made assumptions. Glad you got it fixed
