sli x16 alternatives to Asus A8N32?

[kwo]

Well, I've gone through two of these boards and both of them run way too hot resulting in random rebooting and what not.

I'm at the point now of testing a new motherboard.

The only two SLI X16 boards I could find are:

Abit AN8 32x SLI
MSI K8N Diamond plus SLI

The MSI board seems MIA leaving the Abit board which is also a passive cooler..leading me to think I may have heat issues with that one as well. (already futzed with case, added case fans, etc....)

All other components seem find in other test rigs.

So, am I pretty much stuck with going for an Abit board?

Dualing 7800GT's - would these even realize an SLI x16 setup, or would normal SLI (x8) be sufficient? (Just wondering if I really need to stick with the SLI x16...)

Thoughts would be appreciated, my friends...

Ran

 

[Heidfirst]

The AN8 32X is an excellent board although you could really go dual X8 SLI & not notice the difference in performance.
Of course both also offer additional features.

I remember reading a comparative review (although sadly I can't remember where now) of the A8N32 & the AN832 & being struck by how much more power (something like 50W) the Asus drew despite being the same chipset etc. etc. as the Abit.
Not surprisingly that also translated into higher running temps.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I have the Asus A8N32-SLI and it runs cool for me, even overclocked. One thing, I recommend with any motherboard is to remove any stock chipset/mosfet heatsinks(passive or active), removing the stock thermal paste, cleaning the surface and install just enough AS5 prior to reinstalling the heatsink(s).

I've seen no paste to way too much thermal paste leading to heat/cooling issues.

 

[kwo]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
I have the Asus A8N32-SLI and it runs cool for me, even overclocked. One thing, I recommend with any motherboard is to remove any stock chipset/mosfet heatsinks(passive or active), removing the stock thermal paste, cleaning the surface and install just enough AS5 prior to reinstalling the heatsink(s).

I've seen no paste to way too much thermal paste leading to heat/cooling issues.

Thanks for the suggestions, caveman. I'v actually done that on both - pulled off the stock heatsinks (except for the heatpipe) and put on some AC (ceramique) for both the Mosfet's and the CPU.

No dice.