Best board for Crossfire 4850s??

[OnDborder]

wow those are all expensive. what's the advantage of x48 over x38 anyway and p45 over p35? may just have to do the quadgt

Ya, I threw the Foxconn in there to tempt you.
From the review, it looks like this Abit should do good for you.

 

[freeagent]

i think i read somewhere boards like the rampage (x48) eliminate fsb walls with 45nm cpu's.. im not sure if its true, i read it before i got my rampage, and i dont have a 45nm cpu to test

yet

 

[Evilsizer]

yes intel stated that fsb walls would not be there on 4 series boards. as they are on the 3 series, meaning cpu fsb walls.

 

[g0dM@n]

Before I go with the Abit IX38 QuadGT that I have in my closet, here are some other boards in the low $200s that I was eyeing:
ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
DFI LANPARTY DK X48-T2RS LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

I mean, if I was to buy a different board I feel like I might as well go with X48 instead of X38...

I think I said this b4, but I just hate changing motherboards (takes half a day with my setup between wire management, watercooling, re-installation of software) so I always like to make the right choice in the beginning...

P.S. Also, I will need 2 waterblocks for the 2x 4850s that are coming to me, and also may need a bigger RAD/PUMP. Right now I've got a Bix2 rad and a D5 pump.

 

[g0dM@n]

Before I go with the Abit IX38 QuadGT that I have in my closet, here are some other boards in the low $200s that I was eyeing:
ASUS P5E Deluxe LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
DFI LANPARTY DK X48-T2RS LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

I mean, if I was to buy a different board I feel like I might as well go with X48 instead of X38...

I think I said this b4, but I just hate changing motherboards (takes half a day with my setup between wire management, watercooling, re-installation of software) so I always like to make the right choice in the beginning...

P.S. Also, I will need 2 waterblocks for the 2x 4850s that are coming to me, and also may need a bigger RAD/PUMP. Right now I've got a Bix2 rad and a D5 pump.

Anyone? If no one can tell me what board to go for at least help me out about my rad. Will my Black Ice Xtreme II (2x120) hold up with an E8400 and 2x4850s?? I have a strong feeling it wont. Again, using a D5 pump...

 

[tester3000]

Get a p45/x38/x48 motherboard. P35 only has 4x on the 2nd pcie lane.

 

[chrome-187]

bro, i just built a comp for my friend and i got him the abit x38 and 2x4850's with a q6600 and 4gb of ram, he loves it...i gotta say that thing smokes, overclocks nicely as well, very stable board...you are not going to get a better x38 board then the one you have...if you can get a full refund on your board then i'd prolly go with the asus p5e, jus cuz its updated a lil more often bios wise...but if you can't get a refund i'd stick with what you have...the asus p5e isnt going to perform any better...the abit also looks very sexy in a clear windowed case...

if you do plan on selling your abit x38 hit me up on pm and let me know what you want for it...i did not find anything wrong with that board during my experience with it...

 

[g0dM@n]

Get a p45/x38/x48 motherboard. P35 only has 4x on the 2nd pcie lane.

Ya we discussed this earlier in the thread. I know P35 is lacking w/crossfire which is why I'm replacing my DFI T2R P35. I thought P45 was 16x/8x...
I was only considering X48 over X38 if anything really...

bro, i just built a comp for my friend and i got him the abit x38 and 2x4850's with a q6600 and 4gb of ram, he loves it...i gotta say that thing smokes, overclocks nicely as well, very stable board...you are not going to get a better x38 board then the one you have...if you can get a full refund on your board then i'd prolly go with the asus p5e, jus cuz its updated a lil more often bios wise...but if you can't get a refund i'd stick with what you have...the asus p5e isnt going to perform any better...the abit also looks very sexy in a clear windowed case...

if you do plan on selling your abit x38 hit me up on pm and let me know what you want for it...i did not find anything wrong with that board during my experience with it...

This is exactly what I wanna hear... thx for the info... anyone else? I don't mind sticking it out with the Abit IX38... just wanted to see if there were other opinions.

And... I still need to know about my watercooling setup to ensure it could hold up.

 

[Daleon]

You may want to consider going this route instead of 2 4850's, wait for the 4870x2.

I am looking for the best price/performance board now to complement one. I am thinking the basic Asus P5Q might be a winner. Sure I'd rather have the 16phase power but I am not an EXTREME OC'er, and just using AIR so it shouldn't be a problem. I want to keep my DDR2 also.

So it comes down to a $135 P5Q & $500'ish hopefully 4870x2 vs a $290 Rampage & $360 4850 Crossfire. Price is practically the same.. so I am still really undecided. You get alot more bells and whistles with a Rampage, possibly higher OC, but I have to figure the 4870x2 is still going to beat the 4850 Crossfire setup.

 

[g0dM@n]

You may want to consider going this route instead of 2 4850's, wait for the 4870x2.

I am looking for the best price/performance board now to complement one. I am thinking the basic Asus P5Q might be a winner. Sure I'd rather have the 16phase power but I am not an EXTREME OC'er, and just using AIR so it shouldn't be a problem. I want to keep my DDR2 also.

So it comes down to a $135 P5Q & $500'ish hopefully 4870x2 vs a $290 Rampage & $360 4850 Crossfire. Price is practically the same.. so I am still really undecided. You get alot more bells and whistles with a Rampage, possibly higher OC, but I have to figure the 4870x2 is still going to beat the 4850 Crossfire setup.

No time to wait!! I could wait 10 yrs and get a monster card, but waiting is def not my game... I already scored 2x4850s from the forums here for a decent deal and have an Abit IX38 QuadGT in my closet. It's just a matter of deciding if I use the QuadGT or buy an X48 board or something... and... still need to figure out how I'm going to watercool these 4850s and what rad/pump/blocks I'll need to do that.

 

[g0dM@n]

I need 2x waterblocks for my 4850s... any takers on the D-Tek GFX 2??
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/dtekfuziongfx.html

Or just go with cheaper Swiftech MCW60s. I have a full EK waterblock on my 8800gtx b4 I sold it... works like a champ, but I think I'm not interested in FULL waterblocks anymore. I'd rather use a GPU block and heatsinks for other chips as I have awesome air flow in the case and may as well save my $$...

And... no one knows if I can pump through 2x Bix2 rads, 2x GPU blocks, and a CPU block with a single D5 pump? I don't wanna kill my pump if that's too much to force upon it.

 

[Gautam]

You've already got a X38 board? Use that, silly.

What are we discussing again?

 

[g0dM@n]

What are we discussing again?

I've a brand new Abit IX38 QuadGT... use that, or go with something else?

Once again:

• Just got brand new Sapphire 2x4850 crossfire (still need 2xGPU blocks, thinking of MCW60 or D-Tek GFX2)
• DFI X38 T2R (possibly could buy a used), Abit IX38 QuadGT or something else?
• Just got brand new OCZ 1000W PSU
• OCZ 1066 2GB DDR2, or my Tracer 1000 DDR2 2gb (cold-boot with my DFI T2R P35 board that I can't use b/c of P35 and crossfire bandwidth, but maybe it'll be fine with a diff board)

Questions:

• What GPU blocks to use... trying to keep expenses low b/c no full-time job right now
• What mobo to use... not too much $$
• I think my PSU is powerful enough, quad 20A rails
• Will my D5 pump power this: D-Tek Fuzion CPU block, 2xGPU blocks, and a Bix2 rad, but... also have ANOTHER Bix2 rad on the way that I'm asking opinions about - if my D5 pump can pump through 2 gpu blocks, 2 bix2 rads, and the d-tek cpu block
• Or should I just aircool the 4850s with Zalman VF900 coppers that I already have... then I won't need to worry about GPU blocks or if my pump can handle 2x Bix2 rads

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Gautam]

I read the thread, I was just giving you crap lol.

 

[Neuromancer]

I would air cool before I put all that on a BIX rad.

I ran a single 120 BIX to cool a 4200X2 cpu about 18 months ago. a high end air cooler kicked the crap outta it. Could not imagine putting a modern CPU and 2 blast furnaces on it!

 

[baditude_df]

Alright, someone explain this to me so I can understand. The product specs are not clear. The P5Q3 is a P45 board, and supposedly has two x16 slots. Yet people in this thread say don't get a P45 board for Xfire with 2x4870's. Does one slot drop to x8 when more than one card is installed or something? Or does the board actually have true 2x x16 slots?

Specs Insert:

Expansion Slots 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots, support ATI CrossFireX™ technology at x8 link
(PCIe x16_1 blue, PCIe x16_2 black*)
1 x PCI Express x16 slot at max. x4 link(black)
2 x PCI Express x1 slots
2 x PCI slots
* PCI Express x16_2 slot (black at max. x8 link)

I think I'm just confused about what they mean by x8 link.

Guess who's never used xfire or SLI ????

 

[Rustafur]

g0dm@n:

Whatever you go with, make sure that it's a x38 or x48 north bridge, for the dual full 16x PCIe slots. I just read a review comparing dual 8x to dual 16x lanes (P45 vs X48) with crossfire 4850's. Surprisingly enough, even though they are PCIe 2.0 spec, and therefore double the bandwidth of PCIe 1.1, it did make a difference to get the full dual 16x over the dual 8x. I want to say it was somewhere around a 5 - 8% difference. I can't find the article right this minute, but I'll post back and edit as soon as I find it!

Also, you're sure the Zalman VF900's fit on the 4850's? I was looking to upgrade to dual 4850's and get an ABIT IX38 motherboard to go with them. And I was really hoping that the VF900's would work the the 4850's. If you could confirm this, you'd make my day!

 

[g0dM@n]

g0dm@n:

Whatever you go with, make sure that it's a x38 or x48 north bridge, for the dual full 16x PCIe slots. I just read a review comparing dual 8x to dual 16x lanes (P45 vs X48) with crossfire 4850's. Surprisingly enough, even though they are PCIe 2.0 spec, and therefore double the bandwidth of PCIe 1.1, it did make a difference to get the full dual 16x over the dual 8x. I want to say it was somewhere around a 5 - 8% difference. I can't find the article right this minute, but I'll post back and edit as soon as I find it!

Also, you're sure the Zalman VF900's fit on the 4850's? I was looking to upgrade to dual 4850's and get an ABIT IX38 motherboard to go with them. And I was really hoping that the VF900's would work the the 4850's. If you could confirm this, you'd make my day!

Yes, I know I have to do X38 X48... that's the whole point of this thread b/c I'm tossing my DFI T2R P35... well, SELLING I should say soon enough

As for the VF900s... I just bought one from the classies from someone for a good deal ONLY BECAUSE he confirmed that it will work with my 4850s.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=569000
Vengance01... he confirmed it'll work and that's the only reason I bought his. I also have another one somewhere in the closet I was saving for a special day.

 

[Rustafur]

Found it! Tweaktown (link) did the article on P45 vs X48.

baditude: As it explains in the above article, the P45 chipset lacks the PCIe lanes to support full dual PCIe 16x support for both 16x slots. The slots are a "physical 16x" form and size, but just because that are that size, doesn't mean they support that amount of PCIe lanes. So what the P45 chipset does is splits the difference, when you enable crossfire, and takes the 16 PCIe lanes that would normally be for the first physical 16x slot, and splits them between the two physical 16x slots to give you two PCIe slots using 8 PCIe lanes each.

Hope that cleats it up for ya mate!

 

[baditude_df]

Roger. Thanks alot for that Rustafur.