Question for Rob Williams

[clearwater]

I just purchased a new ASUS Rampage II Extreme.

The PCIe 16x slot #1 for video card, when installing the card will overhang the PCIe x1 slot #2.

I was reading you review of the motherboard

http://techgage.com/article/asus_rampage_ii_extreme_-_the_definitive_overclocking_board/

This motherboard doesn't have USB 3.0 but I am wanting to equip it with a card

StarTech.com 2 port PCI Express SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Card - 1 Internal/1 External (PEXUSB3S11)

The interal port on the card will be for the front panel on the case. I only entend to use one video care in Slot #1 and if I understand you review correct of the other 2 PCIe 16x could be used for the USB 3.0 card. Am I correct?

I admit, the number of people that plan on building a 3-way GPU setup is low, but really, this is a touted feature of the board. The fact is, if you use three dual-slot GPUs, you are left with absolutely no expansion via these slots. Problems still arise if a 2-way GPU solution is used, as the PCI legacy slot would still be covered. But, given the high-end nature of this board and platform, it is somewhat reasonable to agree with the decision to leave a PCI-E 16x slot available if that configuration is used (PCI-E 1x, 4x and 8x cards will work fine in 16x slots).

In other words, using a PCIe slot 2 or 3 that a video card could go into can be used for the USB 3.0 card.

Thank you for your reply in advance.

 

[Tharic-Nar]

PCIe x16 slots will accept any x16, x8, x4, x2 or x1 card, so yes, the USB3 card will work.

Just something to bear in mind, some of the older USB3 addon cards use PCIe 1.1, instead of 2.0, and thus will not achieve the full USB3 speed. Further, if the card is PCIe x1 and you try to use two USB3 devices, they will not operate at full speed, since a single USB3 port can max out a single PCIe 2.0 lane. If you are not after the full bandwidth, then this won't matter. Though if you plan to use it for storage, eSATA may be a better option if you do not have a native USB3 port on the motherboard.

 

[clearwater]

Thanks Tharic-Nar, that is what I was looking for. I will have eSATA but with the new 3.0 I want to make sure I can use it.

 

[Doomsday]

Man! When i read the title i thought someone was calling Rob out for a Tech showdown or something!! Hehe!