Jetway opts for three video card slots

Jetway is not a name one would normally associate with the enthusiast marketplace, but they have come up with an interesting creation that we spotted this morning: they have somehow managed to squeeze three PCI-Express x16 slots on to the same motherboard. The board is based around the NForce 4 SLI core logic, and you can only use the two green slots for SLI.

We are not quite sure what you could use the third PCI-Express x16 slot for if you are already running SLI, unless you add a video card that is shorter than the GeForce 6-series cards you are using once the SLI connector is attached over the pair.

However, we know that the NForce 4 SLI MCP only has 20 lanes, total, available inside the chipset. Thus, we believe that it is not possible to use the two green SLI slots at the same time as the other PCI-Express x16 slot.

If the chipset wasn't a limitation, maybe it would be possible to run a GeForce 6800 GT SLI in conjunction with a Radeon X800 XL? I wonder how the drivers would hold up. That would give you the option to utilise three monitors, while running SLI. Maybe this is a solution for NVIDIA's current problem that they are unable to use more than one monitor when SLI is enabled.

Thanks to Jon from HardInfo for the image - it saved my tired and wilting legs from staggering around the show floor in search of the Jetway stand.

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