[stupid question probably] PCI-E x16 location

[Midiamp]

I came from m-ATX and ITX build for the longest time, so pardon this probably stupid question.

Is the PCI-E x16 location interchangeable for 1 GPU on high end motherboards?

I wanted to purchase MSI X470 Gaming Pro Carbon to replace my MSI B450M Mortar, there's a promo running right now, probably to clear the inventory for new X570. I wanted to put my GPU on the lower PCI-E bracket and the biggest reason I wanted to do that is because I clean my PC on weekly basis (super dusty environment) . Currently with the Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 massive heatsink, it's quite a hassle to disconnect the PCI-E locking mechanism. The other reason being I don't like wasted space.

I read this description on the product page:

It said 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (PCIE_1, PCIE_3). Which I assume using only 1 GPU means the first and third PCI-E is interchangeable... Or is it?

Then I downloaded the manual for the motherboard and read this:

The manual said to put single GPU on the first PCIE only... So... I don't know.

Any input is much appreciated.

 

[Caring1]

Use the middle slot which still gives you X8 performance and plenty of room.
The lowest slot will bottleneck your card and is most likely not wired for X16 anyway.
Edit: it appears to be electrically X8 @ PCI-e2

 

[kastriot]

It seems only PCI_E1 is 16x 3.0 so use 2nd slot which is 8x but you will not see difference in performance.

 

[eidairaman1]

Max bandwidth available is the top slot, otherwise use the second slot which is 8X bandwidth.

Do you have filters?

 

[Midiamp]

Use the middle slot which still gives you X8 performance and plenty of room.
The lowest slot will bottleneck your card and is most likely not wired for X16 anyway.

Whoops, I meant using the middle one.

It seems only PCI_E1 is 16x 3.0 so use 2nd slot which is 8x but you will not see difference in performance.

I think I will check it with GPU-Z whether it supports 3.0 or not.

 

[plazmakill]

Whoops, I meant using the middle one.

I think I will check it with GPU-Z whether it supports 3.0 or not.

You should be fine using the PCI_E3 port.
From the dropdown specs on your profile one can see that you're using a Ryzen 2700x so there shouldn't be an issue on account of that. (PCIe port limitations will be encountered when using APUs - manufacturer's manuals help with this)

No actual / important difference will be seen on pretty much all current consumer grade video cards when it comes to x16 or x8 because PCIe version 3 is being used. Your system specs say you have an RTX 2080, so it's most definitely PCIe V3. There is a youtube video by gamersnexus that pretty much sums this part up.

Hope this helps.

 

[Midiamp]

Max bandwidth available is the top slot, otherwise use the second slot which is 8X bandwidth.

Do you have filters?

Filtered to kingdom come, it's just that my environment is really dusty. I live in a high humidity and my house situated in a cul-de-sac, so dust have no way to go but inside our houses. My aircon filters needs to be cleaned on weekly basis as well. Leaving it for more than a week already leaves a medium dust thickness, leaving it for 3 weeks (once I forgot) already caked the filter.