i will go try putting 1 card in the first x16 slot directly on the board and the other 2 in 1x slots on powered risers. thanks for all of your replies guys.

@minerman1234: how does one disable the software crossfire? i've always been an nvidia card user for gaming and i was unaware that r9 290s ran off of software crossfire. i don't see any options to disable it in CCC though.


i will edit the bottom of this post w/ results