so the x38 is among us, thoughts?

[rabakill]

I've got my list of parts to buy all set up now, I'm just on the fence over a p35-ds3p or an x38. Now I realize the x38 is only seeing marginal performance increases over the p35 but from what I can tell these judgements are coming from single card tests at factory speeds. Now correct me if I'm wrong but is the x38 supposed to be good for it's new utilisation or crossfire because what I've heard the p35 seriously bottlenecks the 2 cards because of the way it actually implements crossfire. So my question is; does the way the x38's built create any significant advantages in crossfire and overclocking potential or should I just get the ds3r and forget about crossfire for a few years?

 

[Heidfirst]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardwa...5e3_deluxe_wifi_ap_n/1

 

[Zap]

Are you set on getting DDR3 RAM? If you're not, then don't get an x38 board as IIRC they'll all be DDR3.

Are you set on using two 2900XT/Pro in Crossfire? If you're not, then don't bother with Crossfire. With lower end or older generation video cards, it is always better to get a single, faster card. Only thing is if you are already at the highest end card, then sure, go for it.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: Zap
Are you set on getting DDR3 RAM? If you're not, then don't get an x38 board as IIRC they'll all be DDR3.

there will be several DDR2 models from several different mobo manufacturers abit, Asus, Gigabyte etc.

 

[rabakill]

I am already at the 2900xt, I just don't know if it's reached the point where crossfire is actually practical yet. From what I've seen crossfire is more of a novelty than anything else, and now I'm almost considering SLI. Here's the situation, I have been dirt broke for a long time, now I finally have some money and some time so I want a new computer now, I'm done waiting, life's too short to wait to get what you want. What I want now is a single high end video card and a motherboard that is crossfire/sli capable so that in the future I will be able to upgrade accordingly, I don't want the video card over $500ish(which is why the 2900xt is great) and I don't want the motherboard over $300ish(why a p35 or x38 is good). I really am at my wits end here.

ya know what, I think I'm just gonna get a 8800gtx and a 680i sli, unless there is any good reason not to then I'm ordering in an hour.

 

[lopri]

I mean, had these memory vendors been coming out with 2GB DDR3 sticks I would've been more interested in X38 even though DDR3 prices are still through the roof. As it stands, I see no reason to purchase 1GB sticks any more unless under set budget. With all the considerations (capacity, performance, thermals, stability, and whatnot), 2x2GB configuration is to go, IMO. Of course if one already has 2x1GB set then adding another set would be a natural choice, though.

 

[nrb]

Originally posted by: rabakill
What I want now is a single high end video card and a motherboard that is crossfire/sli capable so that in the future I will be able to upgrade accordingly

There is no such thing as a motherboard that is "Crossfire/SLI capable". Some boards can do SLI. Some boards (such as X38) can do Crossfire. There is no board or chipset yet released that can do both.

If you want SLI and can wait for a month or too, Nvidia's next chipset is due out in November(ish) and is likely to be a big improvement over 680i.

 

[nrb]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
there will be several DDR2 models from several different mobo manufacturers abit, Asus, Gigabyte etc.

However, it's looking as there will be sizeable performance gap between the DDR2 boards and the DDR3 boards.

 

[NicColt]

no one seems to be saying this but I will...

forget the X38 and go for the X48 that will be here by xmas. The x48 is where the real juice is.

 

[rabakill]

Originally posted by: nrb

Originally posted by: rabakill
What I want now is a single high end video card and a motherboard that is crossfire/sli capable so that in the future I will be able to upgrade accordingly

There is no such thing as a motherboard that is "Crossfire/SLI capable". Some boards can do SLI. Some boards (such as X38) can do Crossfire. There is no board or chipset yet released that can do both.

If you want SLI and can wait for a month or too, Nvidia's next chipset is due out in November(ish) and is likely to be a big improvement over 680i.

I meant either not both.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: nrb

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
there will be several DDR2 models from several different mobo manufacturers abit, Asus, Gigabyte etc.

However, it's looking as there will be sizeable performance gap between the DDR2 boards and the DDR3 boards.

X38/DD2 users are BETA testers. Any improvement in system speed will be small. You're paying a price premium for an immature chipset with the hope of 1 to 2% improvement with future BIOS updates.

P35 and 45nm quads will still be the number one choice among overclockers with DDR2 RAMs.

 

[Heidfirst]

Originally posted by: nrb

There is no such thing as a motherboard that is "Crossfire/SLI capable". Some boards can do SLI. Some boards (such as X38) can do Crossfire. There is no board or chipset yet released that can do both.

Oh yes there is, in fact plenty of them if given the necessary gfx driver support.
The Crossfire/SLI magic is virtually all in the gfx driver with a little bit of BIOS work too - a PCI-E slot is a PCI-E slot is a PCI-E slot , there isn't an SLI PCI-E slot or a Crossfire PCI-E slot.
& just to prove my assertion I'll give you as an example http://www.overclock3d.net/rev...socket_775_motherboard

Originally posted by: nrb
However, it's looking as there will be sizeable performance gap between the DDR2 boards and the DDR3 boards.

That's what Gary Key has said with Penryns - the Bit-tech test is of a DDR3 model & with the current CPU I don't see much of a difference to the results of the tests of DDR2 models.

 

[Gary Key]

All you need to do within the BIOS for CrossFire or SLI is enable Peer to Peer writes provided the chipset has the proper amount of PCIe lanes available, there are a couple of other minor BIOS tweaks but that is the major one. The drivers will then determine if the board will run CF or SLI.

The ATI CF drivers are basically open and will enable CF operation if Peer to Peer Writes are enabled and the card support is in the code. That is why you see CF on the NVIDIA 680i SLI boards in the HP Blackbird as an example. ASUS did a simple BIOS code flip on their Striker Extreme board for HP, the retail 7.9 drivers work just fine as will future drivers from ATI, err, AMD.

NVIDIA performs specific chipset ID checks (these checks are hidden in a maze of black box type coding) in their drivers which is why SLI is only, officially, available on their boards. We had SLI working on the 975X almost two years ago, had it working earlier this summer with the 158 drivers (8800 Ultras) on the X38 also. However, NV is not going to make it easy for the manufacturers or Intel to license SLI support for the X38 or future dual+ x16 capable chipsets. At this time, do not expect SLI support on the X38 boards.

I personally think it is all BS, let the market determine the best chipsets or GPUs to utilize in a dual, tri, or quad GPU configuration. If it means an Intel chipset with a NVIDIA GPU or a NVIDIA chipset with an AMD GPU, so be it, but let's quit pretending this technology is limited to a particular vendor's component design.

 

[Rykeir]

Is there anyone here who really believes it will take more than a few weeks for someone to modify the current SLI drivers to work with the X-38. This will soon just turn into another game. They will release drivers...three weeks later they are hacked...new drivers get released that kill old hack...new hack that turns it back on, etc, etc.

I'm with Gary, this is just dumb. But, for everyone out there running Nvidia, go ahead and get a X-38 board...SLI will be along shortly

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Heidfirst
there will be several DDR2 models from several different mobo manufacturers abit, Asus, Gigabyte etc.

I stand corrected.

Originally posted by: Gary Key
The ATI CF drivers are basically open and will enable CF operation if Peer to Peer Writes are enabled and the card support is in the code. That is why you see CF on the NVIDIA 680i SLI boards in the HP Blackbird as an example. ASUS did a simple BIOS code flip on their Striker Extreme board for HP, the retail 7.9 drivers work just fine as will future drivers from ATI, err, AMD.

Is that BIOS available for the public? Are there other Nvidia boards available that has this in BIOS?