Crossfire with my mobo?

[JJCG]

I will eventually want to crossfire 2 4870s but I am a little confused if it is possible, my mobo is a GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4, the thing I am confused about is that it states that it has 3*PCI-Ex16 slots but only one of them is x16 and the other two are x8 does that mean I can only fit one 4870 graphics card?

Heres the card I want:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?HIS-48701

And here are the specs of my mobo:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/WebPage/mb_081027_x58/data/tech_081027_x58_models.htm

thanks.

 

[JogaBonito1502]

You can XFire up to 3 cards. Your Xfire will run in x8 + x8 lanes, not x16 + x16 lanes. The only difference is that it will be a little slower than the dual x16s.

The HD4870 runs in x16 mode. If the lanes are x8 it only means you won't be using it's full potential. It'll still be pretty fast though.

 

[JJCG]

ohhhhh, i get it is it possible to xfire with one card in a x16 lane and the other in an x8 lane?

 

[JogaBonito1502]

Well what will happen is that if you do XFire, both cards will run at x8 x8. You can't do x16 x8. Lanes must match.

 

[Teny]

and if you look at it closely, the cards probably actually run at (x12).
Graphics card dont use up all their bandwidth, which is why the difference of x8/x8 and x16/16 are very slim. (about 5 FPS)

 

[JJCG]

Thanks, you lot are great.