Question Can A520 boards support multiple GPUs?

[Yellowblueberry]

I could use some help, there are some conflicting information so I wanted to check:

Can A520 boards (with multiple x16 slots, of course) support multiple GPUs?

For example something like this:

ASRock A520M Phantom Gaming 4
https://pg.asrock.com/mb/AMD/A520M Phantom Gaming 4/index.us.asp

or this

ASRock A520M Pro4
https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/A520M Pro4/index.us.asp

They have 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, granted the second one can only run at x2, but it should still run, right?


And a related question - what would be better - a second GPU running on PCIe 3.0 x16 (x2) or on PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4)?

Also, in a budget build (so no B550 or better), what would be the better option - A520 chipset or B450 chipset based board?


Thanks!

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

They have 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots, granted the second one can only run at x2, but it should still run, right?
You're going to need at least 4 lanes. If the second slot will grant you 2 lanes, then you're looking at low bandwidth expansion cards like a sound card, not a discrete GPU.

How about you state why you're in need of a multi GPU setup? As of late Crossfire and SLI are dead, with little to no support from either camps if you want to run a multi GPU setup. Not to mention that they draw a lot more power.

You should consider buy the single most powerful GPU your wallet and system will allow.

Also, in a budget build (so no B550 or better), what would be the better option - A520 chipset or B450 chipset based board?
We're going to need context = more info. Budget is a relative term. How much have you allocated for your build? What is the purpose of the build? Where are you located?

 

[Yellowblueberry]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Thanks

How about you state why you're in need of a multi GPU setup?

Why not? For fun, to mess around with some hardware laying around currently unused. To try and get lossless scaling working on a separate GPU. To have some fun.

I already have everything else, except the motherboard with multiple PCIe x16 slots, and a cheap one would provide a cheap way to tinker with some stuff. Buying a more expensive board would be less sensible for such a use case. Or I guess technically I could buy a cheaper B550 board if it would be significantly better option than A520 and B450.

 

[Yellowblueberry]

Also to add: I have everything else, I only need the motherboard, and I will be getting a reasonable priced one anyway, so I was thinking why not get one with extra PCIe x16 slot to tinker a bit. If the second GPU is not usable it can always be taken out and PC can be used with one GPU, the other way around would be more difficult.