Micro atx with 2 x pcie 16x ports?

[Conditioned]

Micro atx with 2 x pcie 16x ports? Do they exist? Know of any good ones?

 

[theAnimal]

What socket/chipset?

 

[Conditioned]

and theres that too ;-/ I have a gigabyte p55 ud2 now, so p55 ;-)

 

[VirtualLarry]

Doesn't exist. the PCI-E lanes come off of the CPU, and there's only 16 (maybe 20?) to go around. So the best you can do for P55 crossfire is 8x,8x. If you want more, you have to go X48 (obsolete socket), or X58 (semi-obsolete socket, once SB hits).

 

[Conditioned]

So is there a motherboard that exists that I can use in a p180 mini and still use the same cpu / ram?

Also how would 8x, 8x affect performance?

 

[RaiderJ]

Doesn't exist. the PCI-E lanes come off of the CPU, and there's only 16 (maybe 20?) to go around. So the best you can do for P55 crossfire is 8x,8x. If you want more, you have to go X48 (obsolete socket), or X58 (semi-obsolete socket, once SB hits).

Depends if you're talking electrical or physical connection. I know there's boards out there made to do Crossfire/SLI, having two x16 physical ports. But, you are correct in that each port only works at x8 speed.

http://www.motherboardpro.com/DFI-L...rossFire-Micro-ATX-DFI-Motherboard-p-681.html

 

[RaiderJ]

So is there a motherboard that exists that I can use in a p180 mini and still use the same cpu / ram?

Also how would 8x, 8x affect performance?

I think you notice very little difference in performance going from x16,x16 to x8,x8. I believe those Crossfire/SLI bridge cables handle the majority of the data transfer needs between cards, leaving the PCI-e bus to handle the CPU/GPU communication.

 

[Conditioned]

Wow this is way better than payed support!

Thanks for answering guys. I dont meant o be troublesome, but that mobo doesnt seemt o ship where I live (sweden).

Can you either recommend a store that carries it that ships here or recommend another microatx that supports this?

 

[Massive Overkill]

Rampage II Gene and Rampage III Gene both have dual X16 slots and support for both Crossfire and SLI. Of course you'll need a new CPU.

Ditch the Mini-P180 and get a full-size ATX board and case. You do know that mini-P180 is as 'small' as a regular mid-tower that can accomodate a full ATX motherboard right?

 

[Conditioned]

Yea,

I had a friend of mine, who is a lot better with hardware, put together a suggested package for me. I think he got that cause he knows my preference for aesthetics. It´s a really good looking case. Also I wanted to have it quiet.

Let´s see what I´m gonna do. The reason I´m considering going sli is cause I´m anally fond of high fps (100+) in online games. Seems the bfbc2 bug has bitten me. Seems like I´ll have to go with a full atx since for the sollutions you have provided my soundcard, a asus essence. wont fit with two 480.

Also I met my goal now of having at least 100 fps + in bfbc2, after having clocked my i5 from 2.67 to 3.67 and my gigabyte 480 gtx, from stock to 800/2015. Thats at 1024x760, I´d kinda like it to be the native resolution which is 1680x1050. Well, we´ll see, if i go on playing I´m probably going to upgrade sometime during the fall or spring.

Again thanks for your time guys.

 

[Blazer7]

Rampage II Gene and Rampage III Gene both have dual X16 slots and support for both Crossfire and SLI. Of course you'll need a new CPU.

And probably new memory. Both boards support triple channel. However if the OP has 4 sticks then there is a possibility that both boards will recognize all 4 sticks as part of one triple channel kit.

 

[biostud]

There's virtually no difference between 8x/8x and 16x/16x

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pcie-geforce-gtx-480-x16-x8-x4,2696.html

 

[Blazer7]

That's conditional. Try a 5970 on 8x and all of a sudden 16x makes sense again.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...-radeon-hd-5970-2gb-oc-edition-review-22.html

 

[Conditioned]

Yea, if I´m gonna do this I´m probably going to go with the p183. Any recommendations for me for a motherboard so I dont have to buy all new ram and cpu? I like the ud2 a lot, it´s an micro atx that clocks the cpu -easily- from 2.67 to 3.67 without even breaking a sweat. Gotta love performance like that.
And with this case, there´s hardly any noise (I bought some custom fans)

 

[Campy]

That is a quad core CPU you have yeah? BFBC2 gets a good boost from quad core

 

[Conditioned]

Yea it´s a quadcore. And I do get 100+ fps atm, but thats at 1024x768 with all settings at the lowest. It sometimes dips down to 90-95 fps, which is unacceptable ;-)
I´d like to be able to have 100+ with a margin at my monitors native resolutions 1680x1050, and with just a little itzy bit of eyecandy.

 

[Blazer7]

Maybe you could be more specific with your hardware and provide us with a complete list of what you have, what you are thinking of upgrading, and what your budget is.

 

[3DVagabond]

and theres that too ;-/ I have a gigabyte p55 ud2 now, so p55 ;-)

In P55 this board does 16x16. I'm not sure if it's available yet. It's definitely not an M-ATX though.


http://www.guru3d.com/article/ecs-p55h-ak-review/

 

[Blazer7]

Yes this uses the nF200 "latency" multiplier. However this is not the only board that uses the nF200.

Here are a couple more.

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodmbspec&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=170&cat3_no=&prod_no=1938
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=160-LF-E659-KR&family=Motherboard%20Family&series=Intel%20P55%20Series%20Family&sw=5

 

[Conditioned]

http://www.prisjakt.nu/produktlistor.php?do=lista&k=698536

Thats the list basically. On top of that there is a gigabyte 480 gtx and an asus essence pci-e.

So what I´m considering doing (if I go on loving bfbc2) is swapping motherboards to something that would allow me to sli and get another 480.

If I would have to change cases, that would be acceptable.

 

[CurseTheSky]

If you have the money to get ANOTHER GTX 480, I suggest simply upgrading to an X58 / i7-930 setup.

 

[Blazer7]

If you decide to go for a bigger case you should also consider going for a full atx mobo. This will give you plenty of room for 2 2slot VGAs plus your sound card. It will also be better as bigger cases offer in general better air flow and cooling is of significance especially if you end up with SLI/CF setups.

The first thing I notice is that your PSU is only 750W. The 480 is one powerhungry card and there is no way that you can get 2 of those to work with that PSU.

 

[Conditioned]

Thanks. Yea I know the psu would be too weak.

Seems like those two mobos could do the job. I really want to change as little as possible while still being able to run sli (that is if I will play bfbc2

Viewsonic picked up my gamingmonitor tonight for support, so we´ll see how that goes. I would kinda like to put in a few hours now I admit.

 

[Golgatha]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e=&srchInDesc=

 

[3DVagabond]

http://www.prisjakt.nu/produktlistor.php?do=lista&k=698536

Thats the list basically. On top of that there is a gigabyte 480 gtx and an asus essence pci-e.

So what I´m considering doing (if I go on loving bfbc2) is swapping motherboards to something that would allow me to sli and get another 480.

If I would have to change cases, that would be acceptable.

Wrong RAM. That's 3 channel RAM and you need 2 Channel. This should be the 2 channel equivalent. -> KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX