Recommend a new SLI mobo for my new rig!

[loybond]

Hi guys, I'm looking for a new mobo. Previously was running an e6300 on a p5b deluxe wifi, was able to hit 3.4x GHz but was CPU limited.

Now, I'd like to hit the max CPU speed possible for FSX, and I'd like it to be SLI so I can use 2 x 8800 gtx cards. Can you guys recommend something? I was thinking maybe an eVGA 680i or a Striker. Recommendations for CPUs are welcome too!

 

[shirker]

Now, I'd like to hit the max CPU speed possible for FSX, and I'd like it to be SLI so I can use 2 x 8800 gtx cards. Can you guys recommend something? I was thinking maybe an eVGA 680i or a Striker. Recommendations for CPUs are welcome too!

either of those motherboards are great if you want to run SLI. If you absolutely want high clock speed, the E6850 will do 4GHz+ on air cooling alone, while a much cheaper E6750 peaks in the high 3GHz range on air.

 

[Maverick0984]

If you want to fully utilize the SLI of 2 GTX's you should look into a Quad, specifically the Q6600, can get it in the G0 flavor for right around the same price as the E6850, give or take a few bucks.

It won't clock as high, but you have 4 cores! Upcoming games like Crysis will be able to handle N Cores, so the 4 > 2 = better.

 

[loybond]

Is it true that 680i motherboards don't overclock as well as others? Is it possible to hit 500fsb+, assuming we're not being held back by CPU or RAM? And if you guys had to choose, which 680i motherboard would it be? Is this "black pearl" evga board a reality? I have a liquid cooling system already, I could actually use the water blocks if they help performance.

I know there's a bit of a debate between Q6600 and the top end E6xxx CPUs, but aren't games more affected by the raw speed of the CPU? Running FSX well is an aim for me and this system, and I've read it needs as fast a CPU as it can get. Crysis looks wicked cool, it brings the debate right back up again. Will 4 cores make a significant difference over 2 faster cores?

 

[shirker]

I know there's a bit of a debate between Q6600 and the top end E6xxx CPUs, but aren't games more affected by the raw speed of the CPU? Running FSX well is an aim for me and this system, and I've read it needs as fast a CPU as it can get. Crysis looks wicked cool, it brings the debate right back up again. Will 4 cores make a significant difference over 2 faster cores?

with FSX, I *think* it would benefit more from a faster clock speed (a better CPU would give even more performance gains though). For future games like crysis, quad-core utilization should be much more efficient and optimized, so I'd bet that an overclocked quad core would be much more beneficial than really fast clock speeds

 

[loybond]

Shirker, you've been a great help so far. Can you tell me how much I'd be able to get a Q6600 up to on a 680i motherboard?

 

[GTengineer]

Is it true that 680i motherboards don't overclock as well as others? Is it possible to hit 500fsb+, assuming we're not being held back by CPU or RAM?

that is correct

I know you want to do SLI but the 680i is not the best board to be overclocking a quad core. The best chip for that is the P35 but if you have to do SLI then you really have no choice.

 

[shirker]

Shirker, you've been a great help so far. Can you tell me how much I'd be able to get a Q6600 up to on a 680i motherboard?

as GTEngineer said, 680i boards won't overclock a Q6600 as well as a P35 board, which doesn't have SLI support. on a good 680i board, you can definitely expect a Q6600 to overclock to at least 3.2GHz with room to spare, although I don't know how high your fsb can be running, since some 680i boards have a real problem with >350MHz fsb with quad cores

 

[sofarfrome]

I think you can get 3.6GHz on a 680i and I vote for the DFI version.

 

[shirker]

I think you can get 3.6GHz on a 680i and I vote for the DFI version.

Using a G0 Q6600, 3.6GHz is definitely attainable on the best air cooling with a P35 chipset board, with a little bit of luck involved. On a 680i board though, you'd have to be a bit optimistic to expect 3.6GHz; I have yet to see anyone hit 3.6GHz with ease

 

[loybond]

There are apparently P35 boards that can take two video cards, like the Asus Blitz, but I wonder what the performance will be over 2 x8 pathways as opposed to 2 x16 pathways. Any idea guys?