Putting the videocard in different PCI-E lanes

[INGlewood78]

I wasn't 100% sure about this so I thought I'd ask...

My mobo has 3 16x PCI-E lanes. Can I connect my videocard to any one of these? In other words, do I have to use the lane right next to the CPU or can I use the last lane and it would work just as well.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lonyo]

Depends on the motherboard.
Putting it in a slot which isn't the top one may result in it running at a speed other than x16.

Normally the speed each slot runs at will be listed somewhere, e.g. on the Newegg product page.
If it's the one in your sig, I am not sure exactly what that is on Newegg, since there's an LE with 4 slots... but for example on this page (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-049-_-Product) it says PCI Express 2.0 x16 4 (@ x16/x8/x4/x8), so you need slot 1 for full speed operation.
But this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-046-_-Product) says 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8), so slots 1 or 2 will be full speed and #3 would be half speed.

 

[INGlewood78]

Thanks for the reply. I just need to test out a videocard.

I'm in the process of buying a used 5970. Unfortunately, there is not enough clearance in my case for this gigantic card in the first PCI-E lane, but I can fit it in the last PCI-E lane.

I just need to test out the card to make sure it works. Once I get a full tower case, I can run the videocard in the first lane.