Hey, for anybody interested on this issue, I just got a response back from ASUS technical support. Here is a copy of the email message:
A single video card will run at 16X in either slot and the speed will only be limited if another card is put in the system and the board is set up for dual card mode.If you would like to have the board sent in to have it checked out due to the primary slot not recognizing the card then please contact our customer service dept at 510-739-3777 option # 3 and they will assist you in obtaining warranty service.
Best Regards,
LB
As! us technologies
7100 Intermodal Dr.
Louisville,Ky 40258
[CASEID=WTM200603041259144862]
[Product Information]
*Product Type : Motherboard
*Product Model : A8N-SLI
*Product S/N : 123456789000 (According to Sisoft Sandra)
Place of Purchase : Alienware
*Date of Purchase : 2006/1/4
[Motherboard Specification]
*Motherboard Revision : DH-E6
*Motherboard BIOS Revision : 1014
[VGA Card Specification]
*VGA Card Vendor : NVIDIA
*VGA Card Model : Geforce 6600LE
*VGA Card Chipset : version 5.43.02.69.00
*VGA Card Driver : NVIDIA display control panel
[CPU Specification]
*CPU Vendor : AMD
*CPU Type : socket 939
*CPU Speed : 2GHz
[Memory Specification]
*Memory Vendor : Patriot
*Memory Model : DDRAM
*Memory Capacity : 512MB
[HDD Specification]
HDD Vendor :
HDD Model :
HDD Capacity :
[Add! -on Card Specificatio]
Add-on Card Vendor :
Add-on Card Type :
Add-on Card Model :
*Operating System : WinXP
[Problem Description]
I've noticed that many people on the ASUS forums, as well as many others on other online forums are
experiencing the same problem as I am experiencing but with no resolution. My video card works
intermittently on the PCI Express 16x blue slot. By intermittently, I mean that for a few days, the card
would work in the system without a problem, but now, neither the BIOS nor my OS recognizes the
card. I thought the problem was with the video card itself so I had Alienware send me a replacement.
That card does not work on the aforementioned slot either. But both of the video cards work without
a problem on the PCI Express 1x black slot. I have the most recent BIOS version for my motherboard
and I did a software memory test so I have ruled that problem out as wel! l. I have reseated both cards
in the blue slot many times and tha t hasn't helped. I have also reset the CMOS dozens of times with
no positive results. I thought the issue might be with the 270 watt power supply but, as stated before,
both cards work in the black PCI Express slot but neither work in the blue slot. I have an old PCI
video card that works without a problem in a separate PCI slot so I feel that I have narrowed down
the issue to the blue slot itself.
According to the motherboard manual under section 1.5.4 entitled PCI Express x16 slot, "Single card
mode (default) supports: 1 x PCI Express x16 graphics card on either blue or black slot." Does this
mean that either slot runs at full bandwidth (16x)? Or does the black slot run at 1x regadless of the
setup? I do not feel satisfied running my video card at sub-par level so I appreciate any help you can
offer. Thank you.
