Help needed to disable link between PCI-E slot 2 and 3 - GA-990FXA-UD5

[danieru-kun]

So, I've got a problem which have resulted in gray bars of death, and many graphical errors and glitches..

I've got two AMD HD6970s hooked up in a crossfire setup, AND I have a Sound Blaster PCI-E card hooked up in the last available slot on the motherboard..
After I purchased the sound-card I began getting system crashes and freezes in games, and everything. And I had no idea that the issue was related to my Sound Cards.

The Issue:
My Sound Card connects to my motherboard through a PCI-E port.. Resulting in instability in my Crossfire setup.
I crosschecked this with GPU-Z, and saw that since the PCI-E ports are linked together, the sound card is basically turning one of my PCI-E x16 2.0 into a PCI-E x8 2.0, which is resulting in a lot of graphical glitches and even GBOD (Gray bars of death)...

So, my question is, is there any way for me to disable the link between the two slots somehow?
If not, I'm gonna have to go towards more drastic ways of connecting my sound card to my motherboard.

[MarkJohnson]

Yes, it  is suppose to slow down your video card when you plug something into the bottom port (X8).

Put your sound card  in slot 1 (x1) as it is designed.

-=Mark=-
ps, please read your manual is you don't understand as it is clearly stated.

[danieru-kun]

Well, I would have connected it to the PCI-E x1 if it wasn't for the cooling system of the motherboard...
Now I'm gonna have to see if I can detach some of the cooling parts.


As you clearly can see...

The sound card is too long for the PCI-E x1 port.

[MarkJohnson]

Ouch, I hate when that happens.

I wish MB makers would take this into consideration when putting the PIC-e X1 in the top slot.  If they block the port there is really limits what items you can install.  There are only a few x1 items that are stubby.

At least make heats sinks low profile on one side for clearance.

I guess they at least put one on as many just leave it out altogether.

Good luck.
-=Mark=-

[danieru-kun]

Hokai, so I ended up actually cutting through some of the heatsink away.



Temperatures are fine

[MarkJohnson]

Does this mean everything is working fine then?  Crossfire and SB coexist finally?

It's hard to tell as the picture is zoomed-in so close.  I assume the smiley face means success.

[TFisher]

I had the same issue with my Titanium champion card. I had to put it in the 3rd pci-e slot.
This dropped the speed on my second card to x8. I really didn't notice any difference from x16.

Why the board was designed this way mystifies me.The pci-ex1 slot is useless.

I've tried to locate some kind of riser adapter to lift the card to clear the heatsink but no luck.
 
Next mobo I get will NOT have this problem.

danieru-kun,could you post a clearer pic of how you cut away the heatsink?

I think my warranty is over so a little creative cutting wont hurt.

[danieru-kun]

MarkJohnson:
yes
Everything works perfectly, Crossfire and SB is working like a charm.

TFisher:
Here you go
As you can see, the cutting process wasn't the hardest thing to do, as the heatsink isn't a single block.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi,

It would seem as if you used your head there and customised the heatsink beautifully! Only problem is of course that you would invalidate your warranty. This is normally three years from the date of manufacture, so it is best to consider this first.

[danieru-kun]

Thank you

And I really did think this through, but seeing as the motherboard is one of the most stable motherboards I've had, I knew it wouldn't really affect the performance of the system, and temperatures are fine since I got good airflow in my case.
And yes, I blew my warranty pretty darn hard. But if all else fails I would by another without second thoughts.

I forgot to mention that I used a dremel for the job, and one of it's cutting wheels. It went through the heatsink like a hot knife would in butter.

[Dark Mantis]

Yes it was a nice clean cut and lucky that the heatsink was designed that way.

[TFisher]

Hi,

It would seem as if you used your head there and customised the heatsink beautifully! Only problem is of course that you would invalidate your warranty. This is normally three years from the date of manufacture, so it is best to consider this first.

My mistake.I guess my warranty is still good.

I'll have to think about this.