ASUS Maximus VI HERO Motherboard
Slots
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The ASUS Maximus VI HERO comes with two PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, one PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (working at x4 speed), and three PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots.
The two PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots are controlled by the CPU, with the first slot working at x16 when only one video card is installed, and with both working at x8 when two video cards are installed.
The third PCI Express x16 slot is 2.0 and works at x4, but it comes configured at x1, and you need to change this configuration manually at the motherboard setup program. If you plan to install a dual-slot video card in this slot, you will have to buy a case with at least eight slots. (Computer cases usually have seven.) One important detail is that this slot shares PCI Express lanes with the PCI Express x1 slots, and they can’t be used at the same time.
The PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots support both SLI and CrossFireX technologies. It is important to note that, according to the motherboard’s manual, the PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot doesn’t support these technologies and can’t be used to install a third video card under SLI or CrossFireX modes. If more than one video card is installed, you must attach a SATA power connector from the power supply to the motherboard. This connector is located near the SATA ports and will be shown in Figure 4.
Figure 2: Slots
