SLI PCI Express Slots

[JRxPHANTOM]

I'm planning on building my first PC within a week or two and completely clueless on how many PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots I will need on my motherboard. I plan on getting a single GTX 980 now which is a dual slot and uses up more space. If I were to use SLI in the future, how many slots would I need to be able to run SLI? Would I need two slots on my motherboard or three since a dual slot card takes up an addition space?

 

[bignastyid]

SLI requires atleast 2 16x slots running at 8x speeds. Also the motherboards specs will say if its SLI compatible.

 

[JRxPHANTOM]

SLI requires atleast 2 16x slots running at 8x speeds. Also the motherboards specs will say if its SLI compatible.

Thanks I will most likely pick a motherboard that says it is SLI compatible. However, does a dual slot card take up 2 x16 slots since they are next to each other? In that case I would need a motherboard that has at least three x16 slots?

 

[bignastyid]

SLI requires atleast 2 16x slots running at 8x speeds. Also the motherboards specs will say if its SLI compatible.

Thanks I will most likely pick a motherboard that says it is SLI compatible. However, does a dual slot card take up 2 x16 slots since they are next to each other? In that case I would need a motherboard that has at least three x16 slots?

Depends on the board, But If its SLI the 2 slots that will be used for SLI will have atleast 1 slot(or the equivalent distance) between them to allow for dual slot coolers. Many nowadays have 2 between them to give the top card some breathing room.

 

[jitpublisher]

Most all modern gaming GPU's take up the space of 2 slots, (unles they are low profile, or low power cards) and the motherboards that support SLI/Crossfire are configured for them. Just go to Newegg and look at the boards, you will see. You only need a to worry about buying a board that supports 2 cards in SLI, you will be fine as far as to whether they will plug in and work, they will.

 

[JRxPHANTOM]

Most all modern gaming GPU's take up the space of 2 slots, (unles they are low profile, or low power cards) and the motherboards that support SLI/Crossfire are configured for them. Just go to Newegg and look at the boards, you will see. You only need a to worry about buying a board that supports 2 cards in SLI, you will be fine as far as to whether they will plug in and work, they will.

So as long as they are SLI compatible and have 2 x16 slots I should be okay?