ASUS Z87-A Motherboard
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The ASUS Z87-A comes with two PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, one PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (working at x2 speed), two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots, and two standard PCI 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 x2 (yes, you read it right). 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.)
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.
Since the Intel Z87 chipset doesn’t support standard PCI slots, the motherboard uses an ASMedia ASM1083 bridge chip to connect the standard PCI slot to a PCI Express x1 lane.
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