mobo for R700/e8600?

[Tempered81]

Hey everyone.

I'm thinking about building a 4870X2 CF-X rig and pairing it with an E8600. I will be running the E8600 at a minimum of 4ghz, possibly 4.6-5.0 if I can get it cooled right. I want to run dual R700's and am curious which will be the fastest possible motherboard to set all of this on. I will be using 2gb of DDRII 8500 ram.

I'm thinking:

P35, P45, X38, X48.

Should there be another choice in here for the chipset? I need crossfire, and preferably the one that has 16x/16x PCI-E 2.0 lanes. To be honest, Im a gpu/cpu enthusiast, but don't know much about motherboards. Can someone make me a brand/model motherboard recommendation irregardless of cost. Looking for the best possible performance.

Thanks.



Moved to motherboard forum.

Video Mod BFG10K.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Here and pick up the extra's off eBay like i did with my P5K3 board

 

[Tempered81]

sweet action, thank you. What does x48 & p45 offer that this does not? I see that this board does have 2x pcie 2.0 16x/16x - which was my main concern.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

That's the reason why I chose that board, besides x48... P45 only crossfires in 8x8 mode. X48 from what I remember doesn't offer much more in terms of quality and features, but does offer 16x16 crossfire...

 

[Tempered81]

this is also one of the best deals on an x38 to be found right now on the web
Think i found my new rig:

Asus X38
E8600
4870X2 CFX

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Don't forget its an open box and you ONLY get the board, NO accessories like I/O shield etc. but i found mine on eBay for like 15$ Good Luck

 

[Sylvanas]

motherboard recommendation irregardless of cost. Looking for the best possible performance.

Well then it has to be X48. Over the X38, the X48 runs cooler, can OC better and generally requires less power than the X38 (it is a different stepping MCP) not to mention a better Bios with the introduction of TrD adjustment via the Bios. I was going to say the Foxconn Black Ops but say you intend to use DDR2, no matter. For you I would say have a look at the Asus Rampage Formula or DFI X48 T2R Anandtech have reviewed both these boards so go check it out.

 

[Tempered81]

thanks sylvanas!

 

[sifar786]

Jaredpace, can you post the final configuration you have chosen along with the price (to go along with the E8600) so that i can also buy the same.

Cheers

Eijaz