Why does the DFI Ultra D have two PCI-e 16x slots?

[Ewat]

If the motherboard isn't meant to run SLI, why did DFI include a second PCI-e 16x slot? (I know that the board can be modded to run SLI, but the newer revisions can't be modded). Also, can the extra 16x slot be used as a 1x slot?

 

[Peter]

2nd question: Yes. You can plug "narrow" cards into "wide" slots, e.g. a 4x card (or even a 1x) into a 16x slot. Link width is automatically negotiated by the chips on each end.

1st question: So you can run two graphics cards w/o SLI-ing them?

 

[Ewat]

What, other than SLI, would you use two video cards for?

 

[Rodamus]

You can try this site: DFI Forum

Angry_Games and RGone are employees of DFI and they do support for DFI via this forum.

Rod

 

[gate1975mlm]

Originally posted by: Peter
2nd question: Yes. You can plug "narrow" cards into "wide" slots, e.g. a 4x card (or even a 1x) into a 16x slot. Link width is automatically negotiated by the chips on each end.

1st question: So you can run two graphics cards w/o SLI-ing them?

Are you saying that you can put a PCI Express 1X Sound Card into one of the 16X slots where the video card would go?

 

[Demo24]

you can put lower into higher yes

and the extra 16x is there for a 4 monitor setup. obviously a video card wont fit in a PCI-e 1x slot 😉

 

[TheInvincibleMustard]

Also, it's a cheaper from a manufacturing cost to have more boards built very similar ... there's even supposed to be an Ultra-DR that includes the SI RAID controller, and there's an SLI-D that doesn't have it (available only outside of North America, AFAIK).