A8N32-SLI big problem

[FiveseveN]

After advice from a few people here, I decided I wanted to get the A8N32. This really sounded like the MB for me, actually I really want this still. After doing a ton of reading of reviews on this, I however have a huge problem.

I want to run the following on this board and I PRAY someone has a good solution which will allow me to use it.

Opteron 170 or 180
2-4 gigs of ram
2 GeForce 7800GTX 512 cards
Video Capture Card (Matrox RTX 100 Extreme Pro)
Soundblaster Audigy
Serial Wacom tablet
2 firewire devices (I have a firewire card I could use)

My first and the biggest problem is using the 2 graphics cards with a sound card and a
video capture card while still being able to cool the graphics cards. The second problem which I think there is a solution too is the serial wacom tablet and the firewire ports.

If someone can give me some great ideas on how I can cool these cards with the other cards in there I would be very happy. I welcome all ideas no matter how crazy it may seem, I even thought of putting fans directly over each card to force air in between them and the neighboring card.

Thanks in advance,

FiveseveN

 

[Wentelteefje]

Phew... Don't really think that's do-able mate... 🙁 You could take off the upper "plate" of your graphics card's heatsink, and make sure that there is a fan that blows onto them, so the cool air will be released directly on the fins of the heatsink... That way you could maybe "stuff" your pc with all the cards you need...

EDIT: Ow sh*t, just saw you are going to try that with dual GTX 512MB's... That's impossible IMO... Regular GTX's or GT's could maybe still work out, but those monsters anymore...

EDIT²: Wait for the next-gen cards and buy two mid- to high-end ones of those (with a single slot cooler of course)... Or just take 1 Ubermonster graphics card... You seem to have the cash for it...

 

[Capt Caveman]

The Asus A8N32 has brackets for an external serial port and firewire, so that won't be an issue. In regards to using two pci cards, is the video capture card full-height? I'm using two pci cards(x-fi and tv tuner) but my tv tuner card is only half-height and doesn't interfere w/ the hsf on my video card.

I believe if you watercool your video cards, you'll be able to fit water blocks/tubing w/ two pci cards.

 

[FiveseveN]

Well Asus needs a good kick in the balls for designing a board that wont accomidate 2 of their top gun cards without screwing us out of 2 slots. I hope someone has some idea's.

I appreciate the comments so far. I dont want to get into water cooling and I dont plan to overclock. I may get into it, but no immediate plans.

What about the new MSI x16 SLI, is it any good and would I be able to fit in all in there?

Any other suggestions? Maybe I should just put the damn pc in the freezer....LOL.

FiveseveN

 

[Wentelteefje]

Your last suggestion isn't that bad... 😉 I would stick with two regular GTX's if you were going to use the Asus board... I know, it's a pity that it cannot take two of the finest cards around, but unfortunately this is the way it's going to be...

The MSI K8N Diamond Plus doesn't really seem like a good solution too... When installing two such monsters, there isn't much room for other components... Besides, you'd already need a case with very good airflow just to let 'em run safely without other cards... How about your PSU? Is it up to the task?

I'm sorry, but I would wait for the next-gen cards... There might be a solution (a single high-end G71 will probably perform about as good most of the time)...

EDIT: The Abit AN8 32x features about the same layout, so this one is of no help either...

 

[FiveseveN]

I am planning on getting the Thermaltake Armor case which should provide plenty of airflow. Especially since it can take a ton of fans.

So this new G71, is it going to be out soon cause I would really like to start building this thing in the next couple weeks. If I did start building it now with the Asus board I guess by the time I get to the graphics if it was out I could get it.

I will research the Abit board some more, but in your opinion do you think its superior to the Ausus?

I dont have power supply yet, I want to get everything ironed out with MB,CPU,GPU,RAM ect.... before I spend a dime.

I am surprised that other than water, there isnt a cooling solution that would permit me to do this. They need to make this board in a server size case as an option........lol.

So your saying that 2 7800GT's will fit in there with the other cards I want to put in there? Without much problems.

I did some research and I may just get a couple GT's and use them for 6mo or a year until the new stuff comes out. I am also afraid that the new cards would still be too big. Until someone comes out with a MB that will not have these issues.

FiveseveN

 

[Wentelteefje]

The next-gen cards should be out end January... When they are out, I was more thinking of buying a single high-end card instead of another SLI setup... I know, SLI is pretty fast, but obviously it doesn't pose much of a solution in your case (having that much expansion cards)...

When using the regular GTX's or GT's, things would probably work out... Some modifying may be necessary...

I didn't think of the Abit as superior to the Asus, but I was just looking for another possible SLI 16x mobo for you...

EDIT: Seems like G71 will only be released in March now... 🙁

 

[Tanclearas]

I'm not sure how a half-height card would allow two GTX 512's to work in the A8N32 with 2 PCI cards. In SLI, the double-width cooling completely blocks two of the three PCI slots. You would definitely have to look at replacing the stock coolers with slimmer cooling solutions.

The included serial bracket is another problem. I don't know if the case you're considering has an "extra" slot at the bottom of the case, but it's not likely. Take a look at the pic of the motherboard.

A8N32-SLI Deluxe

The serial connector is the pale blue connector in the upper-right corner of that picture. Once again, the double-wide cooling of the GTX 512 blocks the two bottom slots. The only open PCI slot is the third slot, and the next two are the second GTX 512. That means the bracket would have to extend from the sixth slot (assuming you're not using the PCIe x4 slot for anything) all the way to the far corner.

You will also need to hook up the firewire ports (the two red connectors in the bottom right corner of the pic). Hopefully the case has two firewire ports on the front, otherwise those ports will need to hook up to a bracket on a back slot somewhere too.

Oh yeah. Two of the three USB connectors are along that edge of the motherboard as well. Not sure how many of those you're going to need hooked up. Hopefully they can all connect to the front of your case. The third connector is over near the PCIe x4 slot.

Perhaps you should consider an external capture card.

 

[Wentelteefje]

Maybe try this...? It actually seems to work... 😛