I am reading the specs of an MSI mb http://us.msi.com/product/mb/H97MG43.html#hero-specification.
- 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (PCI_E1, supports x16 speed)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (PCI_E4, supports x4 speed)
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 slots**
** Two PCIe x1 slots can not be used simultaneously. When installing an expansion card in one of pcie 2.0 x1 slots, another slot will be unavailable.
Notice that it says only one PCIe 2.0 x1
slot is available at any one time.
Does it mean ... ?
- You should stick only one pcie x1 card on the mobo, and therefore you have to choose one of the two slots, to stick that card in.
or
- You can have both slots occupied with a card each. Both cards will be operational, but their drivers must cooperate with the OS/BIOS to contend/negotiate to time-share the
pcie x1
traffic.
If the answer is (1), why then provide two similar slots if only one is usable?