trying to figure out a AMD mATX board, one 16x or two 8x?

[Niku-Sama]

ok i am moving and i have a laptop and thats all fine and dandy but i want a computer with some umpf to it when i do move. i am not gonna have alot of room so i am going mATX. going to use the current ram, processor, PSU and HD in the green of my sig. changing the video card to ATI 48xx something and when 45nm X2 cpu's come out i am gonna jump on one of those too (5200+ is getting tired)

the thing is i am stuck, i had hoped the days of 16x slots running in 8x in crossfire or sli were over but aparently not so for some reason.
but now we have pci express 2.0 so i was wondering would i max out an 8x lane with a 4870 with a 900Mhz core clock and a little faster DDR5?

i am trying to account for the newer card thats comming out (4890 or 4970 what ever they decide to call it)

the truth is i would like to run crossfire in a matx case, yes i do know how hot it would get but its ok. but i dont know weither to get whats available now (the DFI) and just run with it, or get something to use for a while untill theres a decent mATX AM3 board with crossfire and with DDR3 and DDR3 doesent cost nearly as much, i kinda not seeing that happening for atleast a year and a half.
theres one board out now but only 2 ddr3 slots and frankly the cost and speed for DDR3 isnt justified right now. i can double my ram for about $35 more if i need more. yes i am going to over clock.

i am having a hard time weighing the pros and cons here, the only requirement is SB750 and mATX and no ASUS


these are what i am lookin at:

DFI LP JR 790GX-M2RS $150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136056
pros:
crossfire able
128megs DDR3 side port
mofset coolers included

cons:
crossfire run in 2 8x mode
$50 more
is possible to die at random

BIOSTAR TA790GX XE 790GX HDMI mATX $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138140
pros:
$50 less
VGA connector on board
16x slot is always 16x
has mounts for mosfet coolers
cons:
no crossfire (only hybrid)
128megs DDR2 side port

i have used both makers both past products have been good, only thing is there arent hardly any reviews of the TA790GX XE and the reports of the LANPARTY JR 790GX-M2RS leave me kinda a bit worried about that board, it aparently dies out of no where giving a dreaded code 88.
not just newegg reviews and its not limited to a batch, theres been some current ones to do that

 

[Old Thrashbarg]

it aparently dies out of no where giving a dreaded code 88

DFI boards seem to have become rather dodgy in the last few years, mostly just being overly picky about hardware, but randomly dying sucks. I personally wouldn't pay significantly more for a possibly unstable board, just to get an extra slot, especially since there are some single-slot, dual-GPU cards out there now. The speed of the Sideport memory would be pretty much a non-issue if you're using a dedicated card anyway.

FWIW, I've always had good luck with Biostar... they weren't really top-performing boards, but I hear they've improved in that department.

 

[Niku-Sama]

yea i am on my seccond biostar and its ok except its lacking in ram timings.

as for the sideport it will come in handy because i am not going to be buying the video card right away and i am going to sell off my 9600gt for some bucks to help pay for this stuff, also if a card dies or i sell the one in the computer and dont have any thing untill i buy a new one or get an RMA back it would be nice to have so i could atleast game some.

i have an 8500gt backup card but its too tall to fit in the case i am going to get so its out too.

 

[Niku-Sama]

any more input on this?

 

[Wiggy Fuzz]

i doubt there's much of a notiable hit on performance between x16 + x16 or x8 + x8.

intels p45 board uses x9 + x8, and unless you are in a position where you're using twin hd 4850's, you'll be fine performance wise. and as it so happens, my rig's performing fine with two HD 4850's.

if you ask me, x16 x16 is really only going to matter with super high res gaming, where everything will count, and if you're into that, you'll need a beefy processor with very beefy cooling, and such and such...

you'll be fine performance wise with a hd 4870 x8 x8. just don't be expecting to use any other pci slot when they're both in use.

 

[Niku-Sama]

yea i was planning dual 4870's in the near future (or what ever comes out after the 4870)

 

[ou_phidelt]

Why not just go with a single 16x board and a dual GPU card, such as the 4870X2? Same difference in performance but with a much simpler set-up for the situation.

What resolution are you running?

 

[Niku-Sama]

well i have been running 1366x768 for a few years now and i am tired of it so probally max res what ever i get can take.

i'll probally head down to Goodwill or something and get one of their $5 monitors, one near by where i am moving has a flat rate on all CRT's and they usually have some pretty nice big newer ones and i can test it before i leave the store.

so ok the DFI is out, to many horror stories about code 88's
but i found another one

so its between the
Biostar TA790GX XE
or
AS Rock A790GMH/128M

AS Rock seems to be doing pretty good, alot of features and a good bulid quality (probally equal to Biostar) for a decent price, alot of their other mobos get alot of good reviews seem to be less problematic than most. cant find any reviews on this one and its not available yet but i shot something over to new egg to see if theyre going to carry it soon and if not i'll probally buy the biostar