PM sent, thanks for your help.

PCI-E5 is only 8x and will hurt the performance of the GPU.

Appreciate the help Chris, but as Morblore says is it a trade off between Temperature and Performance..?

Morblore is correct, you will see a difference when running a synthetic benchmarking software. But, I do not believe anyone will "see" the difference while playing a PC game.

Hi Chris,

I understand that this 'adjustment' is for the the Area 51s but Im going to assume that the PCI spacing between E1 and E3 would be the same if not a bit smaller in the Auroras. So does that mean that the Auroras suffer from the same CFX 'thermal issue' but with no solution due to the lack of the third PCI Express slot?

Hi Chris,   I understand that this 'adjustment' is for the the Area 51s but Im going to assume that the PCI spacing between E1 and E3 would be the same if not a bit smaller in the Auroras. So does that mean that the Auroras suffer from the same CFX 'thermal issue' but with no solution due to the lack of the third PCI Express slot?

All spacing on all SLI/Crossfire motherboards no matter the brand or type is always exactly the same. It has to be for the SLI/Crossfire bridge, case slotting and component manufacturing.

The spacing on the Aurora is no smaller or no bigger then any other system on the planet. That is part of the form factor.

So then would there be a heat issue in Auroras as well then?

Any heat issue would be a result of a defective card or inadequate case ventilation.

I run two 480's which are about as hot as you can get and in the top PCI slots. They do hit as much as 93c sometimes but that is also inside the cards safe operating temperature.

All spacing on all SLI/Crossfire motherboards no matter the brand or type is always exactly the same. It has to be for the SLI/Crossfire bridge, case slotting and component manufacturing.

This is only somewhat accurate. I have seen ATX boards with a decent amount of space between two dual slots cards without skipping a slot. The do make sizes in crossfire bridges also. The Aurora is micro ATX and those boards no matter what company always have little spacing with two dual slot cards. The wind tunnel helps the issue though. You should not really have heat issues, it will run hotter than a full tower but well within the limits.

So then would there be a heat issue in Auroras as well then?

Perhaps an Aurora and Area-51 owner could measure the difference and post the numbers? It is difficult to tell from the pictures.

There is no reason to do so. Both systems are using a ATX motherboard. The ATX form factor has standards. To use a custom PCI layout would mean the rear would not match and in doing so it would not meet the requirements for the ATX form factor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX