Crossfire question

[Sentrosi2121]

I've decided to upgrade my video card and mobo. Right now I've got a 6600GT AGP with a K8N Neo2 Platinum mobo. I got one of the FX-55s that were on sale a bit ago along with 2GB of RAM. So it's a nice rig, it just needs a new coat of paint.

I'm one who likes the best bang-for-the-buck, so I sort of frown down on SLI type rigs. But with the affordability of the X1950GTs I'm thinking of giving this a shot. Note that right now I just want to get one video card.

So my question is this; can I use any SLI type of mobo or do I have to get a Crossfire mobo similar to the DFI Lanparty UT RDX200?

 

[bob4432]

if you really want to go that route you would need the crossfire edition. being a person that likes the best bang for the buck myself, i would probably steer you to a x1950xt 256MB pci-e gpu that can be had for ~$250 on newegg and then a decent, but reasonalby price m/b like the asus like i have in my rig in sig. i think it is around $72 at newegg. for ~$320 your gaming experience will be very good at resolutions up to and depending on game, over 1600x1200 (except oblivion of course)

pesonally i am not a fan of multiple gpus due to the heat, power requirements and usuall frustration from many people that use them at first. imo the x1950xt 256MB gpu is an excellent bang for the buck atm and i would honestly pick one up if i wasn't resolution limited.

remember, the ati cards run pretty hot and i know the x1950 series is more efficient than my x1800xt, but still, my gpu will get to 70C+ when gaming and heat is just pouring out of the back of the case, i wouldn't even want to think about it with 2x.

remember, thoough, that with all this going on, the 8800s are coming down nicely in price, actually much faster than i anticipated, so if you can you may want to hold out a bit. some of the 8800gts have gone for ~$380 on specials

 

[Sentrosi2121]

I agree with the whole dual card SLI thing. I've never been a proponent of it, but I figured for $400 I could get in and have a pretty decent ROI.

I'll probably go with the DFI Ultra-Infinity board. I need Firewire support and your Asus board doesn't have one and I don't like the way the Foxconn NF4UK8AA's SATA ports are situated on the board. I can see some interference if I get a longer video card.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Sentrosi2121
I agree with the whole dual card SLI thing. I've never been a proponent of it, but I figured for $400 I could get in and have a pretty decent ROI.

I'll probably go with the DFI Ultra-Infinity board. I need Firewire support and your Asus board doesn't have one and I don't like the way the Foxconn NF4UK8AA's SATA ports are situated on the board. I can see some interference if I get a longer video card.

unless things have drastically changed, a sli m/b isn't going to work with crossfire cards...

 

[Sentrosi2121]

The board I'm looking at is not the SLI board.

Board

 

[lamere]

it doesn't have the best reviews.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Sentrosi2121
The board I'm looking at is not the SLI board.

Board

That board won't do crossfire either. 1 Card only.

you want This or one of the Abit or Asus offerings that use the ATI Xpress 200 or 3200 chipset for crossfire on socket 939.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Thanks for your help guys. I appreciate it.

After reading up on some boards and looking at my system, I'm probably only going to go with a single 1950pro for right now Linkage With this mobo Linkage.

So, anyone know of someone looking for an MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum with a 6600GT card?