Need motherboard advice....Suprise me!

[boles]

I posted a thread like this about 6-months ago and couldn't really get much input so hoping that things will be different this time.

My deal is that i want/need a new build based on a e6600. Problem lies in that i have my RAID card. I have a ARC-1220 PCI-Express x8 raid card. I would love the idea of keeping my raid card and do a SLI setup. Also will want to upgrade to quad core in the next year or so.

Looking for any recommendations...
I am currently thinking about this:

EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR 680i SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813188019

-- or --

ASUS P5N32-E 680i SLI

What is the chance i could run the raid card in the physics card slot?

 

[ch33zw1z]

As far as I know, a PCI-E x16 slot will take any PCI-E card. PCI-E slots are downward compatible with lesser lane cards, ie, x16 will take x1,x4,x8, and x16...but a x1 card can't run an x4,x8, or x16. I could be wrong, but this is how I understand it.

Now, both of those mobo's have 3 different PCI-E x16 slots, SLI will only take two of them...so you should be safe using your x8 card in the spare x16 slot.

 

[Rage3kMoiz]

The above poster is correct. You can use the RAID card in any one of the PCI-Express slots, using the other two for the video cards. IMO, the ASUS motherboard is better than the eVGA one since the latter has given people a lot of problems with constant crashes etc., but the ASUS is picky about RAM so make sure your current RAM works with it. I think that OCZ Platinum kit should work though.

 

[boles]

Originally posted by: Rage3kMoiz
The above poster is correct. You can use the RAID card in any one of the PCI-Express slots, using the other two for the video cards. IMO, the ASUS motherboard is better than the eVGA one since the latter has given people a lot of problems with constant crashes etc., but the ASUS is picky about RAM so make sure your current RAM works with it. I think that OCZ Platinum kit should work though.

thanks for the info.

In the past i used many ASUS boards so i was kinda leaning that way.

My current ram doesnt really matter. It is not DDR2 so i am going to have to upgrade.

 

[Rage3kMoiz]

Originally posted by: boles
My current ram doesnt really matter. It is not DDR2 so i am going to have to upgrade.

Oh, right. But still, do make sure it's compatible with the new mobo. Cheers and have a good one!

 

[trx]

abit and gigabyte have n680sli, too:

http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en...AX+Wi-Fi&fMTYPE=LGA775

http://www.giga-byte.com.tw/Pr...uctName=GA-N680SLI-DQ6

 

[JimiP]

Also, don't rule out the Foxconn 680i. It's a very solid performer.

Foxconn 680i @ Newegg.com

 

[boles]

I did a build with a DS3v2 and liked it a lot. Didn't really think that the gigabyte board was worth the extra 75 bucks. Who the hell needs 4 network ports?