P9X79 Deluxe: Graphics card in x16_2 with soundcard in x1_1?

[jaquith]

What are the specific cards?

 

[teriyaki2109]

These are three PCIe2.0x1 cards for IEEE1394b.
Each card has two ports. Like this:
http://www.ptgrey.com/products/firepro/adapters/FWB-PCIE/FWB-PCIE-02_white_background_640px.jpg

(I would like to use 6 IEEE1394b ports, with my graphics card

Thank you for your attention!

 

[jaquith]

Conversions, PCIe2.0x1 = 500MB/s max ; PCIe v2.x: 500 MB/s (5 GT/s) per lane ; Supports 100, 200, 400 and 800Mb/s transfer rates; 1Mb/s = 0.125 MB/s ; 800 * 0.125 MB/s = 100MB/s * 2 = 200MB/s

Non-GPU PCIe slots:
- one in the PCIex16_3 slot
- one in the PCIex1_2 slot

BIOS:
PCI Express x1_1 Slot Configuration -> Auto
PCI Express x1_2 Slot Configuration -> Auto

Q - In the post code are you seeing 'D4'?

My assumption is this is either a driver limitation of the 'Point Grey' contact them - http://www.ptgrey.com/support/contact/contact.asp or an IRQ which might need to be tweaked (if) the 3rd device is in any way showing-up in the IRQ (see image above). Further, I assume that you are running Windows 7 and not i.e. XP or an earlier or different OS.

IF this is a limitation of the 'Point Grey' with 2x FireWire ports, then another solution is to get a (2) 3x Port Cards (examples) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007531%20600022028%20600022190&IsNodeId=1&Description=ieee%201394%20card&name=3x%201394%20Ports&Order=BESTMATCH

/Bottom-line, the need has never arose where I've need or even seen anyone running 6 FireWire ports simultaneously with 3 of the same add-on cards./

 

[teriyaki2109]

Yes, exactly, I wish to use two IEEE1394b (2*100MB/s) per slot.
In the BIOS, configurations are on Auto, or 3rdGen.

I believe there is no limitation with the Point Grey cards, because I could use the three of them in a previous configuration (MOBO ASUS P7...). At that time, I didn't have an additional graphics card. I used the on-board one. But afterwards, I needed a GPU.
I could never setup 1 graphic card+ 3 PCie2.0 cards, because of MOBO limitation(!).

So I bought that new MOBO, because I thought I could use the PCIex16 slots with the configuration (x16, x8, x8), plus the PCIex16_4 and the PCIex1_2

Yes, I'm running Win7 32bit 😛

I'll try to figure out how to manage the IRQ.

But it seems like I can only use the non-GPU PCIe slots(?)
I mean, using the PCIe16_1 for a single GPU shouldn't kill the other PCie16_ slots(!) :/

And I'm sorry, what are you referring to by 'D4' ?

Again, thank you very much for your help!

 

[jaquith]

D4 - refer to your manual pages 2-22~2-25.

You can 'try' as oddball as it is; no guarantees.
* GPU in the PCIex16_2 slot

- one in the PCIex1_1 slot
- one in the PCIex16_4 slot
- one in the PCIex1_2 slot

 

[teriyaki2109]

Hey Jaquith,
Thanks very much for your answers. It's very helpful.

I will def contact all the card maker supports (thanks for the suggestion!).
And I will check the D4 code. Hopefully I will see clearer.

Then I will try the "plan B". However as the previous poster, I wonder about the performance when using a single GPU in the PCIex16_2 slot ('instead' of using the recommended one). Especially because I wanna use a GeForce GTX680 later on. This is still a hardware secret for me :/

If I'm stuck, yeah def I will check 3x port cards. But it's annoying, because I though I could use the x16,x8,x8 configuration with that MOBO...

Well, thank you again!

 

[teriyaki2109]

Hey Jaquith,
Thanks very much for your answers. It's very helpful.

I will def contact all the card maker supports (thanks for the suggestion!).
And I will check the D4 code. Hopefully I will see clearer.

Then I will try the "plan B". However as the previous poster, I wonder about the performance when using a single GPU in the PCIex16_2 slot ('instead' of using the recommended one). Especially because I wanna use a GeForce GTX680 later on. This is still a hardware secret for me :/

If I'm stuck, yeah def I will check 3x port cards. But it's annoying, because I though I could use the x16,x8,x8 configuration with that MOBO...

Well, thank you again!

 

[teriyaki2109]

Hey Jaquith,
Thanks very much for your answers. It's very helpful.

I will def contact all the card maker supports (thanks for the suggestion!).
And I will check the D4 code. Hopefully I will see clearer.

Then I will try the "plan B". However as the previous poster, I wonder about the performance when using a single GPU in the PCIex16_2 slot ('instead' of using the recommended one). Especially because I wanna use a GeForce GTX680 later on. This is still a hardware secret for me :/

If I'm stuck, yeah def I will check 3x port cards. But it's annoying, because I though I could use the x16,x8,x8 configuration with that MOBO...

Well, thank you again!

 

[Uoppi]

However as the previous poster, I wonder about the performance when using a single GPU in the PCIex16_2 slot ('instead' of using the recommended one).

From what I've read there really shouldn't be much difference as long as both slots are electrical X16. Don't know about demanding gaming scenarios but I'm running a low-end GPU (GeForce GT 520) which should run happily even at X8. It seems the first PCIe slot (for single GPU's) is given higher priority over the other slots (?) so perhaps that's why they recommend using the first one.

I'm taking potential IRQ issues seriously because IRQ conflicts with soundcards do sometimes happen. This may not be noticeable in normal use but when you have tons of tracks & effects in your DAW and need to use small buffer sizes it could be a different story.

So far I've ruled out the P9X79 PRO and WS because all of the PCIe slots on them are shared. However, like the P9X79 Deluxe, the regular P9X79 would be a "safer" choice for me: it leaves you the option to disable USB 3.0 #2 (two out of the four USB 3.0 ports) via Device Manager should IRQ conflicts with the X1_1 slot arise.

 

[ncline09]

I Own a p9x79 pro and cant get my geforce 460 to work in the pci-e 16x 2 slot ( slot 5) only in the recommended first slot. So either somethings disabled I cant figure out or you in fact cant do it.

 

[JordonB]

Hi everyone, a question about P9x79 Deluxe that I need to get answered before purchasing:

I will need the PCIe 2.0 x1_1 slot for my RME HDSPe AIO soundcard as it's the only slot not sharing IRQ assignments with the other PCIe slots. According to the manual, that x1 slot is shared with the Marvell controller though but I'm going to disable that . That would ensure the soundcard has a dedicated IRQ assignment.

The question is, will I be able to install my graphics card (GeForce ENGT520) in the PCIe 3.0 x16_2 slot (or even better in the x16_3 slot)? The passive heatsink will block the x1_1 slot if the graphics card is placed in the x16_1 slot.

The manual says the x16_1 slot is "recommended" for single graphics card operation. So I assume using the first slot is not mandatory? Furthermore, according to the manual, the PCIe 3.0 x16_2 can be run "single at x16".

Has anyone tried this? I know some large CPU heatsinks necessitate skipping the first x16 slot so I'm hoping someone has some info regarding the X79 boards.

Besides these two cards, no other PCIe devices will be installed.

 

[JordonB]

You must use slots 1 and 4 for dual sli. I tried various other slots with EVGA GTX780s and no sli except as in instructions. This leaves space issues and I truely wish that there sophosticated (HA HA) solution to old fashioned bios would allow more combos to work. It's not just a matter of having the second card in 16x it just wont do sli without slot 1 and 4. I jammed a SB sound card in 3 and the GTX in 4 is tight but the dual fans keep it cool. Don't expect any external USB ports with a dual slot cards in slot 4 as they are covered. A poor design choice and having to do it again I would have picked the original Titan style cooler as the fan blades are week in the dual and I had to RMA a card as a usb cable got bipped. EVGA was kind enough to no charge me but I hate the refurbs they send as they are often overclocked by youngsters who have no clue. I would say the FTW with the 4930 is fine without OCing with dual gtx780s. Only a Asus bios fix would fix the slot issue and dont count on that.