English 2.6 expansion slots (pci express slots) – ASRock Z77 OC Formula User Manual
Page 20
20
ASRock Z77 OC Formula Motherboard
English
2.6 Expansion Slots (PCI Express Slots)
There are 5 PCI Express slots on this motherboard.
PCIE slots:
PCIE1 (PCIE 2.0 x1 slot) is used for a PCI Express x1 lane width card,
such as a Gigabit LAN card, SATA2 card, etc.
PCIE2 (PCIE 3.0 x16 slot) is used for PCI Express x16 lane width
graphics cards, or to install PCI Express graphics cards to support
CrossFireX
TM
or SLI
TM
function.
PCIE3 (PCIE 2.0 x1 slot) is used for a PCI Express x1 lane width card,
such as a Gigabit LAN card or SATA2 card, etc.
PCIE4 (PCIE 3.0 x16 slot) is used for PCI Express x8 lane width graph-
ics cards, or to install PCI Express graphics cards to support CrossFi-
reX
TM
or SLI
TM
function.
PCIE5 (PCIE 2.0 x16 slot) is used for PCI Express x4 lane width graph-
ics cards.
PCIE Slot Configurations
PCIE1 PCIE2 PCIE3 PCIE4 PCIE5
Single Graphics Card
N/A
x16 N/A N/A N/A
Two Graphics Cards in
N/A x8 N/A x8 N/A
CrossFireX
TM
or SLI
TM
Mode
Three Graphics Cards in N/A x8 N/A x8 x4
3-Way CrossFireX
TM
Mode
1. In single VGA card mode, it is recommended to install a PCI Express
x16 graphics card in the PCIE2 slot.
2. In CrossFireX
TM
mode or SLI
TM
mode, please install the PCI Express
x16 graphics cards in PCIE2 and PCIE4 slots. Both these two slots
will work at x8 bandwidth.
3. In 3-Way CrossFireX
TM
mode, please install the PCI Express x16
graphics cards in PCIE2, PCIE4 and PCIE5 slots. PCIE2 and PCIE4
will work at x8 bandwidth, while PCIE5 works at x4 bandwidth.
4. Please connect a chassis fan to the motherboard’s chassis fan
connector (CHA_FAN1, CHA_FAN2, CHA_FAN3 or CHA_FAN4)
when using multiple graphics cards for better thermal environment.
5. Only
PCIE2 and PCIE4 slots
support Gen 3 speed. To run the PCI
Express in Gen 3 speed, please install an Ivy Bridge CPU. If you
install a Sandy Bridge CPU, the PCI Express will run only at PCI
Express Gen 2 speed.
6. You can use PCIe ON/OFF Switch to enable and disable the
corresponding PCI Express x16 slots. Please refer to page 45 for
details.