Asus Maximus IV Extreme Motherboard Review

The Ninjalane Multi-GPU index is a portable set of data we can use to determine the multi-gpu potential of any motherboard.  A higher index number indicates a favorable condition for multiple graphics cards while a lower number indicates a hindrance in one of our leading indicators.  Since the Index is not dependent on system architecture it can be applied to any motherboard regardless of processor or chipset generations.

Index: 3.75
Optimized: 3x
Max Support: 3x

NVidia SLI
AMD Crossfire

As indicated by the PCI Express layout chart there are a total of four 16x PCI Express slots on this motherboard and only two of them are controlled by the onboard NF200 chip.  The NF200 bridge chip allows for the available PCI Express lanes to be split into the current configuration and offer greater multi GPU options.  Slot two acts as the primary video card slot and runs at a full 16x when only a single card is installed.  When any of the secondary slots are activated the primary slot bandwidth is divided with 8x lanes each.

While there are four PCI Express video card slots on this motherboard it will only support 3-way card operation.  Bandwidth from slot five is re-allocated to the NF200 chip for three card operation.

For best video performance you will want to populate slots two and five with video cards.  The available slot layout indicates that the Maximus IV Extreme is optimized for triple card configurations with a preference on two cards only