A question about x58 mobos when running SLI/crossfire and more

[cmdrdredd]

I've been looking at all the various x58 motherboards out there and I see a lot of options. EVGA, Asus, Asrock etc.

So my question is this. If I run 2 dual slot video cards, such as 2 5870s to give an example, what board or boards are the best options if I also have a PCI card to use. Here's what I mean. The Asus P6T Deluxe is an awesome board, but if you run SLI or crossfire on it you cannot use either of the PCI slots because the SLI cable is in the way. The EVGA Classified looks sweet, but at $400 it's like...just doesn't seem worth it and of course this system will only run Air cooling so there's no need. I know EVGA has lower tier boards but I'm not sure if those are as good as other options.

Basically I need an x58 mobo that can do SLI or crossfire and still have at least one usable PCI slot.

I have considered P55 boards to save money on this particular setup which is not mine. However, I am concerned about the 8x/8x PCIe vs the 16x/16x on the x58. Further, I cannot find any benchmarks of the nforce 200 chip on the P55 board such as the EVGA FTW SLI 200. The question is, does the nForce 200 chip introduce latency that makes the 16x/16x moot compared to a low latency 8x/8x implementation and how this compared to the x58's 16x/16x performance.

This build must drive a 30" monitor with max performance. I don't know what to recommend because after looking at all the boards I thought I had found one with the Asus but it blocks those PCI slots that are necessary for a card that we are reusing and not replacing at this time.

Maybe some of you have suggestions. Thanks in advance.

 

[Interitus]

Don't know if this helps much, but here's an article showing the difference on x8 vs. x16.

Cliffs notes: Doesn't matter much now, might down the road.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/7.html

 

[cmdrdredd]

Don't know if this helps much, but here's an article showing the difference on x8 vs. x16.

Cliffs notes: Doesn't matter much now, might down the road.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/7.html

Thanks for that, I also saw that dual GPU cards are pretty bad when run 8x/8x. For example, running two GTX 295 cards gives slower performance at times than a single card in the 16x slot by itself.

 

[MegaWorks]

cmdrdredd I thought you wanted to go with a P45 motherboard, what changed your mind?

 

[Zap]

The MSI Eclipse SLI and Platinum SLI boards both have a single PCI slot available when using two PCIe x16 dual-slot graphics cards. On the Eclipse SLI, the slot is between the graphics cards while on the Platinum SLI the slot is at the bottom.

 

[cmdrdredd]

cmdrdredd I thought you wanted to go with a P45 motherboard, what changed your mind?

Eh? Well, i got this working after a power supply swap and unplugging the reset button from my case. So it was either the PSU or the reset button shorting the mobo pins randomly (the reset button never worked btw) or both.

That isn't even related, this information is for a build I am doing for a family friend who needs a new PC. His PC is still running an Athlon on a VIA chipset so it's a hefty upgrade. He's interested in getting into PC gaming on a new 30" monitor he bought. His budget allows for the EVGA Classified board, but I don't think I can recommend it in good conscience because of the price so I was looking to other options. I do see the Asus Rampage II Extreme has a better layout than the P6T Deluxe, but it's $350 for that board too.

 

[YBS1]

I was looking for the same thing when I was in the market and ended up with the Foxconn Bloodrage (GTI model has the same layout as well). You'll have an open pci slot and an open pci-e 1x slot. The board comes with a realtek/creative x-fi daughter card which uses a proprietary connection to the board so you won't have to waste a slot for sound if you don't want to.

There were a couple of other boards I looked at too that might be ok for what you want.
ASRock X58 Supercomputer
BIOSTAR TpowerX58
DFI LP UT X58-T3eH8

 

[MegaWorks]

I was looking for the same thing when I was in the market and ended up with the Foxconn Bloodrage (GTI model has the same layout as well). You'll have an open pci slot and an open pci-e 1x slot. The board comes with a realtek/creative x-fi daughter card which uses a proprietary connection to the board so you won't have to waste a slot for sound if you don't want to.

There were a couple of other boards I looked at too that might be ok for what you want.
ASRock X58 Supercomputer
BIOSTAR TpowerX58
DFI LP UT X58-T3eH8

Yeah if I was buying an X58 board today I would consider the Foxconn Bloodrage GTI, it's basically the vanilla Bloodrage minus the fan and the extra SAS ports! The DFI LP UT X58-T3eH8 is my second choice!

 

[thomasstuart]

Thanks for this great information.
I am also pro Single card. Every new card was always as fast or faster and better then the previous generation "SLI combined" cards. I also don't have to worry what kind of motherboard I will need. Any chipset will fulfill my needs.
However SLI or crossfire is handy if you have bought one card and a year later buy the same card for dump price. there is one problem, and that is that the card is not made anymore or nobody has them anymore in the stores. "no sir we only got the new generation or a remake of the old type you have buld on 55nm instead of 80nm. And they are not compatible with your old card."Another fact is that if you buy two brand new cards for sli/crossfire. It takes a year before you see benefit of the increased speed needed for the 'then' new games coming out. But guess what, by then you can also buy the new and improved video card with hexwaxed multi polymoly 3D and DX11 options and takes half the power and less heat your sli setup does.

 

[Venoom]

I am upping this topic as I have the same issue for a new rig I am trying to build.
Which high-end X58 motherboard would let me use a PCI card along with two 5870 in Crossfire?
I know I could get the 5970 but I want only one 5870 now (the vapor-x) and plan on adding another one in 6 to 12 months.

Would Riser cards help? http://www.criticalcables.com/items.asp?Cc=Riser&Bc=
anyone ever experienced this?

To be more specific, I am planning to use a Claro+ PCI card.
Do I have to sacrifice the Crossfire option to be able to use it?

 

[lopri]

I see bunch of X58 boards with a usuable PCI slot under SLI/CF configuration? Some below the second PEG and some between the PEGs. You can use flexible bridges for the latter.

 

[lopri]

@the Egg, btw.

 

[Chooch731]

I run 2x 4890's on the Asus P6T deluxe with a physX PPU in the spare PCI-E slot above the #1 16x's slot and a wireless PCI card below it - between the graphics cards. Granted it's not a big PCI card but the crossfire cable wouldn't get in the way unless the card had jumpers or headers in that spot. There is room but she does build up a fair bit of heat