Ladies/Gentlemen,
 
Preface: I did search for an answer to this question here in the forums and via Google, but no luck.
 
Situation: I'm considering purchasing a third 970, and due to the PCIe slot spacing on the Asus Sabertooth X79 boards, I'm thinking my third card will likely be a 970 SC (my current two are 970 FTW 2.0 models, so they obviously have an "open-style" cooler. 
 
My logical thinking is that with a no-slot (zero-slot) gap between PCIe slots 2 and 3, that it might be ideal to use the following configuration:
 
Slot 1: 970 FTW 2.0
Slot 2: 970 SC
Slot 3: 970 FTW 2.0 (There is at least one expansion slot gap between the bottom of this card, and the power supply [Corsair 650D case])
 
Question: Does this sound ideal to anyone? (Please keep in mind that the lane configuration of this board, in regards to PCIe lanes, for three PCIe cards, would be: 16x/8x/8x)
 
PSS: The GPU horsepower is NOT being considered for gaming performance (though its always welcomed). My main objective is to add to my FoldingAtHome PPD.
 
Thanks for any help you all can provide.
 
V/r,
 
- Mike

Thanks Carp. I was figuring that was the best idea.
 
(For the record, I ended up with FTW 2.0's because of all the eVGA bucks I had, and for the guaranteed clocks - knowing that I had plenty of space between two cards on this board.)