[dnaghitorabi]

Hello everyone. I am going to be building a new AMD PC within the next few months, and I just had one question. I have already built one PC in the past, so it's not as much about the building process as it is about PCI Express 2.0 slots. I had a good ~$1,000 build put together on newegg.com, with a Phenom II X4 945, 4GB DDR3 1600, and an HD 5850. I just noticed that my motherboard has one PCI Express 2.0 slot in x16 mode and the other in x4 mode. I understand that x16 mode processes at a faster rate, so if down the rode I added another HD 5850 for a crossfire configuration, would the x4 slot significantly impact the performance to the point that it would not be worth crossfiring?

This is the motherboard: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131398

I look forward to your responses.

Edited by dnaghitorabi, 21 April 2010 - 01:22 PM.

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Unless it is certified Crossfire ready then you cannot use two cards and unless I am mistaken the board you are talking about is not (Asus M4A785TD-V EVO).

[Alzeimer]

Unless it is certified Crossfire ready then you cannot use two cards and unless I am mistaken the board you are talking about is not (Asus M4A785TD-V EVO).

[happyrock]

actually that board will run crossfire but...the blue @ x16 mode and gray one @ x4 mode)

[Alzeimer]

Thanks happyrock for correcting my mistake, I must have read the review wrong.

[happyrock]

and to answer dnaghitorabi original question...

would the x4 slot significantly impact the performance to the point that it would not be worth crossfiring?

you will get addition frame rates but...
if your a hardcore gamer you will want a mobo that supports 2 slots at x16

[dnaghitorabi]

Thanks for the quick responses guys. Let's just say my budget increased via some careful "persuasion". So this is my new motherboard with 2 x16 slots:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131392

I also got to bump the processor to the Phenom II 965 and I got the Power Supply to 750W (Crossfire Ready) instead of the 700W. Thanks though, I wasn't sure if the x4 slot would be a factor, but I see that it would be.

(ps. I can't wait to build this PC with the Antec 1200; it's gonna be nice. I also don't know why I spelled "road" wrong in my first post.)