X99S SLI Plus SLI Configuration

So I'm using the MSI X99S SLI Plus board with a 5820k.

I just added the second 980 to my system and the temps are a bit uncomfortable because of how close they are to each other.

According to the manual I'm supposed to use slots 1 and 3. But since it's at x16/x8 in that spot why wouldn't I be able to use slots 1 and 5 and get the same performance but lower temps since the lower card won't suffocate the top one.

It will run gpu 1 at 16x and gpu 2 at 8x anyways.
5820k has 28 lanes, you need 32 for full 16x 16x.
Not that it matters regardless, 3.0 8x wont harm it at all.

As long as you have at least 1 pcie slot between the cards it should be fine.

Well running at x8 isn't a big deal. I know with this cpu it'll do that. But I haven't seen anywhere where it says I can skip slot 3 and use slot 5 instead. Just for airflow. The top card temps are too high to leave this close together and game or stream or record for long periods of time and that's mainly what I do. I usually play for 6-10 hour blocks and play.

You can move it to that slot if your SLI bridge is long enough.
I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Thanks. I'll try tonight and see what happens