is 4-way sli bridge possible on a 3-way sli?

[claydough]

crossposting from the evga boards:

Originally my manual for my ROG Rampage III Extreme states that correct configuration for 3 way sli ( on the REIII @ least ) was supposed to be:

x16
skip
X8
x8

In which case a 3 way sli bridge will not span that distance.
The new directions given by ASUS on their support forums is..
To use the following configuration instead:

skip
x16( supposedly )
x8
x8

Which is then supposedly fine and does not result in slower speeds.
Not that I do not trust getting x16 from the second slot... however For purely aesthetic reasons:
( My motherboard's EK cooling Block looks better exposed with the first configuration. In fact it's porn win with the first configuration )
I would just use the single band sli bridges to span the cards but I have more stable luck with my 3-way sli ( used for dual sli at the moment )
What I would prefer is to span that distance with a 4-way sli bridge if it's possible to use one for 3-way instead.
I am paranoid because the pcb is not quite the same as a 3-way bridges pcb ( while there is solder for every connection on a 3-way bridge the 4-way bridge alternates from one to two connection solder )
Hope that make sense? If not check out the pics:




vs.





I am hoping someone has used the 4-way sli bridge for a 3-way sli that spans the second slot successfully.


come to think of it...
Does anyone know if all 4-way sli bridges are designed this way? Perhaps there is one with a pcb configured for every connection?

would really prefer not to daisey chain ribbons. but if I have to what would be the right way to configure the ribbons to span the second slot?

[dxm765]

Um....idk EXACTLY what your lookin for...but idk if this will solve ur question http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Accessories/ROG_Xpander/

[claydough]

no I am buying a third card and want to tri sli with a 4 sli bridge. So I can skip/span the distance of the second slot.

The xPander would be nice but ASUS refuses to sell it to me. ( confounding )
I will not upgrade till Ivy Bridge E so there is plenty of time to have fun with the xPander but I don't want to be "that guy" who keeps asking endlessly for availability. Lots of folks posted like myself that they wanted one. As far as I know there has never been a single evidence that they were ever available in the US. ( must be nice to be rich enuff not to give service to someone waving money in yer face )
with nv surround and 3d I am willing to bet a fourth card makes a difference in a majority of my usage ( metro 2033, b3, etc in 6050x1080 and 3D vision )

[sourtimes]

From past experience when I still used SLI, I could use a tri-SLI bridge and it worked, this was using the first two connections though and the third left empty.

I would try using a tri-sli bridge with your current two cards leaving the middle connection empty and see if it works. No guarantee, but if that works you can likely use the quad-sli bridge in the same manner.

[claydough]

sourtimes wrote:
From past experience when I still used SLI, I could use a tri-SLI bridge and it worked, this was using the first two connections though and the third left empty.

I would try using a tri-sli bridge with your current two cards leaving the middle connection empty and see if it works. No guarantee, but if that works you can likely use the quad-sli bridge in the same manner.

No testing with a tri sli will tell me nothing ( the solder points are still different )
This would all be trivial if the quad bridges were affordabla. But they are not.

[8_Pack]

Why not just use ribbon conectors then you can place the cards how you wish.

[claydough]

8 Pack wrote:
Why not just use ribbon conectors then you can place the cards how you wish.

AIEEEE!!

cuz ribbons are ghetto!

My machine is pron otherwise! 😮

tri sli will NOT span the second slot!

( as directed/written in the original manual... setup will NOT work with the tri bridge shipped with the ROG III extreme! )

This issue has already been covered on this forum!

the solution ( as I stated in my first post! ) is to ignore the manual!
and use the tri dli on the second third and fourth slots )

But for aesthetic reasons ( cause my EK motherboard Block looks pimp when you can see it in all it's UV acid green flowing glory! ) only possible if spanning the second slot!

( does no one else build their machine as works of art anymore? )

The easiast and best looking solution would be to simply use a quad bridge!
But fer some inexplicable reason The pcb has to be designed differently.

DOES ANYONE EXPLICITLY KNOW IF I CAN USE A QUAD BRIDGE FOR 3-way SLI TO SPAN SLOT 2???????"

[Nsidious9]

here's a concept. Why don't you TRY it for yourself and answer your own damn question, and then you can tell US if it works or not.

[claydough]

cuz thats how people get information they do not know about from a community forum.
ignoring one post ahead of yers:

No testing with a tri sli will tell me nothing ( the solder points are still different )
This would all be trivial if the quad bridges were affordabla. But they are not.

If the price was trivial then no I would not consult the community.

[xeromist]

Looking at the 4-way bridge I would say no, not if you keep it right side up. Slot 2 on that 4 way bridge looks like it bridges to two different cards so if you don't have a card in that slot you will have a link missing from the chain. In order for this to not be the case they would have to run traces from the top connector, between the two connectors for slot 2, and down to the connector on the bottom left. That makes no sense so most likely slot 1 is connected to slot 2.

I thought you could invert bridges so I'm not sure why that has a top & bottom written on it. If you inverted it you would only have 1 connector vacant in slot 2 and that should work but I'm not sure about inverting a connector labeled with a top. Sorry I'm not more help, Clay.