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Future proof mobo I can put xfire in later r9 290x

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treepop

treepop

Member
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Joined
Mar 4, 2003
I am contemplating upgrading the rig in my sig. I would like to know if there is a mobo out there that does xfire/sli in x16/x16 and not a gimped x8/x8 mode. This way I am sure there will be no bottleneck on my board in the future, no matter the gpu's I toss in my rig.

Right now I am thinking:
i5-4690k
r9 290x (second one later...maybe...if on the cheap :) )
 
Curious. Would this recognize both of my eSata drives hooked up using my blacX duet? Ie does it suppoer eSata port multiply?
 
storage specs from the asrock site......




Storage - 6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors by Intel® Z97, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel® Rapid Storage Technology 13 and Intel® Smart Response Technology), NCQ, AHCI, Hot Plug and ASRock HDD Saver Technology
- 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors by ASMedia ASM1061, support NCQ, AHCI, Hot Plug and ASRock HDD Saver Technology (SATA3_A4 connector is shared with the eSATA port)
- 2 x SATA Express 10 Gb/s Connectors (SATAE_2 is shared with SATA3_1 and SATA3_2; SATAE_1 is shared with SATA3_4, SATA3_5 and M.2 Socket (M2_2))*
- 1 x eSATA Connector by ASMedia ASM1061, supports NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
- 1 x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s)
- 1 x M.2_SSD (NGFF) Socket 3 (M2_2), supports M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen2 x2 (10 Gb/s)
 
It doesn't say that the z97 extreme 9 esata supports port multiplier, but it's the same asmedia asm1061 chip that gives my z87 extreme 6 esata with port multiplier features. And I know mine works because I have 3 2 tb drives in a sans digital external esata box.
 
then, perhaps the z87 extreme6 is the choice. but the extreme9 gives him pcie 16x16 in sli, thats only worth 1-2 % or so over 16x8 sli.
 
caddi daddi said:
then, perhaps the z87 extreme6 is the choice. but the extreme9 gives him pcie 16x16 in sli, thats only worth 1-2 % or so over 16x8 sli.
Click to expand...

That % is based off current gen cards right? Not the theoretical maximum...right?

So are we 100% sure the extreme9 doesn't have a port multiplier?
 
that % is based on my sli 760's.
port multi, whats that, I have two extreme 9 boards, one for spare.
 
Port multiplier is a feature of many esata ports that allows a multiple hard drive external enclosure hooked up to one esata port. My enclosure holds 4 drives and uses 1 esata port.

I would say it's very likely the extreme 9 can do it, since it uses an asmedia chip that I know can do port multiplier since I'm using that feature. But since they don't list it as a feature if it doesn't work you won't get any support.


Edit: even current gen 290x cards running 4k res show almost no gain going from x8 3.0 to x16 3.0. Less than 2%. They take a pretty solid hit going down to 4x 3.0/8x 2.0 though. So the required bandwidth for high end card right now falls somewhere between x4 and x8 3.0.
 
from the asmedia site,




Engaged in High Speed I/O solution development, Asmedia Technology is committed to enlarging product portfolio with introducing PCI Express Products. The ASM1061, x1 PCI Express to two ports of Serial ATA, enables Serial ATA PHY up to 6Gbps high speed interface, following Serial ATA Revision 3.0 specification.

General Features
- Option Rom support through 64K Byte SPI flash
- 20MHz external crystal
- Integrated 3.3V to 1.2V switch regulator
- 3.3/1.2V Power Supply
- Industry Specifications Compliance:
PCI Express Base Specification Rev. 2.0
Bus Master Programming Interface to IDE ATA Controller Rev. 1.0
PCI Express Card Electromechanical Rev . 2.0
Serial ATA AHCI Spec. Rev.1.3
Serial ATA Revision 3.0

PCI Express Features
- x1 PCI Express lane for 2.5 and 5GHz signaling
- Single virtual channel
- SSC support
- ECRC and Advanced Error Reporting capability
- 100MHz differential PCI Express reference clock in
- Maximum Payload up to 128 bytes

Serial ATA Features
- 2 ports Serial ATA PHY for 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0GHz signaling
- Support Native Command Queue
- Support Gen 1m and 2m SATA PHY
- Support Port Multiplier
 
caddi daddi said:
from the asmedia site,




Engaged in High Speed I/O solution development, Asmedia Technology is committed to enlarging product portfolio with introducing PCI Express Products. The ASM1061, x1 PCI Express to two ports of Serial ATA, enables Serial ATA PHY up to 6Gbps high speed interface, following Serial ATA Revision 3.0 specification.

General Features
- Option Rom support through 64K Byte SPI flash
- 20MHz external crystal
- Integrated 3.3V to 1.2V switch regulator
- 3.3/1.2V Power Supply
- Industry Specifications Compliance:
PCI Express Base Specification Rev. 2.0
Bus Master Programming Interface to IDE ATA Controller Rev. 1.0
PCI Express Card Electromechanical Rev . 2.0
Serial ATA AHCI Spec. Rev.1.3
Serial ATA Revision 3.0

PCI Express Features
- x1 PCI Express lane for 2.5 and 5GHz signaling
- Single virtual channel
- SSC support
- ECRC and Advanced Error Reporting capability
- 100MHz differential PCI Express reference clock in
- Maximum Payload up to 128 bytes

Serial ATA Features
- 2 ports Serial ATA PHY for 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0GHz signaling
- Support Native Command Queue
- Support Gen 1m and 2m SATA PHY
- Support Port Multiplier
Click to expand...

Woot! Thanks for the info!
 
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