Dual SLI motherboard suggestions?

[LePaul]

I'm kind of piecing together what I'd like for my next game system.  Its AMD64, for sure.  Just not sure what motherboards are up to the task.  I read an article in Tomshardware a while back.  He tends to like Gigabyte hardware, something I've had the complete opposite luck with.

To date, all my systems have been MSI boards and not a complaint about them.  (Well, the onboard sound sucked...but one small hit!)

Whose running Dual SLI?  Any articles, ideas, suggestions you can share?  I'm looking to go nVidia with video.  Sorry, just havent had anything favorable to say about ATI over the years.

[Schutt]

I have gigabyte ka8nf-9 motherboard. Runs fine but i dont like it, no dual bios on the board. The board drivers to read out the cpu and fan speed didnt work...i dont know any drivers that do that officially, none are listed on the gigabyte website.

I would go for an ultra board, having 2 or 3 pcie slots to slot in cards might be usefull in 2 years or so.

The SLI setups with dual graphics board use a lot of power, which puts stress on your system. And AH currently does not support SLI so its not faster with SLI setup. At least as of i know, maybe skuzzy can tell wheather AH will support SLI in the near future.

When going with a SLI setup it only makes sense with a decent 6800GT or Ultra, where you talk of 2 times 500 dollars of graphic hardware. Buying one card now and a second later is a neat upgrade option, but in two years the graphic cards available will be much faster anyhow, so a new card then will give more performance than a by then outdated second one for the current card.

Havin a SLI setup is nice if your a tech freak and gives best performance, but only if you pour in tons of money. My personal favorite is still ASUS, guess i would get the SLI board and use it with one card.

PS if your in overclocking maybe worth to look at DFI lanparty together with the new OCZ VX ram, as in http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2369

[whels]

nForce4 SLI Roundup
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2358

DFI nForce4
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2337

Gigabyte K8NXP-SLI
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2285

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20050103/socket_939-07.html

from what ive read and used (Asus A8N Deluxe), my choice right now for  a 939 SLI MB would be the DFI SLI/ since its release
it has been on top of all reviews. i like my Asus but it doesnt
rank high when compaired.

my suggestion, DFI SLI, with fastest amd64 or FX CPU u can afford, and get 1 6800 GT or 6800 Ultra   (PCI-E sli ready, both)
and get 2nd card later when better CPUs are out. there isnt a
CPU out that can push SLI right now.   get 500 or higher PSU
and get CAS 2  quality ram.  Crucial Ballistix or Mushkin is great.

Whels

Originally posted by LePaul
I'm kind of piecing together what I'd like for my next game system.  Its AMD64, for sure.  Just not sure what motherboards are up to the task.  I read an article in Tomshardware a while back.  He tends to like Gigabyte hardware, something I've had the complete opposite luck with.

To date, all my systems have been MSI boards and not a complaint about them.  (Well, the onboard sound sucked...but one small hit!)

Whose running Dual SLI?  Any articles, ideas, suggestions you can share?  I'm looking to go nVidia with video.  Sorry, just havent had anything favorable to say about ATI over the years.

[FOGOLD]

Similar. I think SLI will prove to be a turkey, but that second slot might be handy for something else in the future. By the time you "upgrade" to that second card, even your sli will be outclassed by the latest single cards. Then instead of one obsolete card you will have two (and a 600W PSU to go with them. And case fans all over the place)

Personally I plan to wait till about Christmas. By then the bugs will be ironed out, FX55 will be cheaper and the next gen video will be available (as single slot).

I like MSI stuff.   Whels' Asus is supposed to be one of the best currently available.

Tell us how you get on:aok

[Balsy]

Single card dual core gpus utilize the same ram, which makes the slower than two separate cards...

Im running Asus Sli-deluxe, FX53, Cas 2 Corsair twinxxl pro (2x512) and a bfg 6800 GT.

Im 70 fps on the deck and 100-119 in the air with sliders 90% to the left.  Im waiting to jam another vid card in for my next update in a year or so.

[Ghosth]

in my opinion SLI sucked back when they did it the first time.  Why in the world would they bring it back again?

I mean just how fast can they make these video cards? How much memory can they stack on each one?
There is still talk about how much memory is actually being used on the new 256mb cards. Is the whole SLI thing the market trying to stay alive knowing that the video cards are reaching an upper limit?


What I do know, is that hardware is market driven. If we refuse to buy SLI in 6 months or a year it will be gone. They'll come up with a better solution.

Yes they would LOVE to have us gamers buying two expensive video cards instead of just one. Doubles their profit.

But is it really good for US?

Think about it before you buy people.

[Siaf__csf]

[LePaul]

Nice sermon, Ghosth, more data next time  

[Balsy]

Ghost.. my reason for buying a SLI board... is it doesnt matter what the heck happens... 1x PCI express, or SLI, either way I am fine.  And a simple upgrade path is a faster 939 processsor and an additional card for SLI...or a kickarse 1x PCI card with dual cores...

Flexiblity is the key.. and buying SLI now, doesnt "lock"  you into anything.

Balsy

[ALF]

The reason I didnt go for an SLI mobo was because the MOBO was $100 more and the PCI-E video cards are at least $100 more compared to the AGP (near the top end)....and for that money....I can wait and upgrade the mobo to fit whatever I want in the future.  The price just didnt warrent future flexability for me.  Especially since Im likely to want a to upgrade to a new chipset by the time a single 6800gt is burned out anyway(I have an 18-24 month upgrade cycle for my primary gaming machine)

My 'old' computer still runs AH great, and its faster than many peoples primary computer anyway.

primary:
AMD64 (939) 3800+
Geforce 6800gt oc 256meg AGP

old
AMD 2500+ barton
radeo 9800pro 128meg

[LePaul]

Good points, Alf

Ive got an AMD Athlon 2000 right now (1.66 ghz) and its doing a fine job, but its definately time to upgrade.  The AMD FX chips look outstanding...but at $750+ ??  Eeesh.  3800 looks very tempting.

[Kev367th]

Good roundup here, although admitedly only NForce 4.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/nvidia_nforce4_sli_roundup/

Yup the FX chips are expensive (still cheaper than top end P4 EE), but are the pinnacle as far as a gaming chip goes. I got a 3500, wish I'd paid the extra couple $100 for a 3800 at the time. But in all honesty don't think I'd see the difference.

Here is AMD's roadmap for 2005/6

http://www.a1-electronics.net/AMD_Section/CPUs/AMD_Roadmap.shtml

Of interest is the 1st half 2005 Dual Core S939's with SSE3!!!!
These are expected to start at the same speeds as the current FX-55 and at a similar price, so I would imagine a drop in price for the FX series overall.

Cream of the bunch seems to be a Dual Core FX with SSE3 support.

Good idea if going SLI to get say a single 6800GT now, and a second later on when they are cheaer for a nice boost. Yup there may well be faster single cards at that time but I'll bet the 2nd single 6800GT will then be a fraction of the cost of the new single card.

[ALF]

Originally posted by LePaul
Good points, Alf

Ive got an AMD Athlon 2000 right now (1.66 ghz) and its doing a fine job, but its definately time to upgrade.  The AMD FX chips look outstanding...but at $750+ ??  Eeesh.  3800 looks very tempting.

I all but stole mine.  Its one of the compaq X-gamer PC, which are typically a reasonable deal....but as they are being phased out (because of the AGP slot).  I found an open box one and after a few trips beating down the store....I picked mine up for

$1,100.00

then I sold the 5700FX on ebay for $100+

So I got the base system for $1000....and just added a video card.

AMD3800+ (939)
1 gig ram
200gig HD
Geforce 6800 GT
SB Audagy 2
470w power supply

And it comes in an awsome aluminum case by Cooler Master

all that with a dual layer dvd burner and  a second cd burner


Im set with a fast a crap computer for under $1400.00 total!!!  I could have built one from scratch, but it wouldnt have saved any real money

[LePaul]

Sorta off topic, but did you go Serial ATA on your hard drives?

I have one machine that uses 2 Serial ATAs (cant mirror under XP Pro)...its my DVD dupe machine, and man those drives fly!

[Schutt]

I have serial ata on mine and i like it because of the thin cord.
No problems.