# Looking for a Crossfire motherboard



## TonyStark (Nov 26, 2007)

I'm thinking about setting up a crossfire system but don't know which motherboard I should buy.


Requirements:
# Both PCI-express slots must be 16x.
# Compatible with Intel processor core2 duo/quad.
# Decent overclocking abilities but nothing crazy like 2000MHz FSB.
# Not too expensive. Around $200-250 AUD.


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## Mussels (Nov 26, 2007)

the one in my specs is closest you'll get. dual 16x slots are pretty non existent on crossfire boards.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

All x38 chipset boards without exception are 16 x 16 so there is your answer.....downside is that none of them are cheap!  So actually the one in my specs is the one....it's not closest....it is!


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13351


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## Mussels (Nov 26, 2007)

my bad on the X38, i thought they were 8x/8x


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

Mussels said:


> my bad on the X38, i thought they were 8x/8x



Well they are pretty new so thats understandable....I only know cause I got one at the weekend!


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## TonyStark (Nov 26, 2007)

What do you think of the Gigabyte P35-DQ6?


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## btarunr (Nov 26, 2007)

DFI LanParty ICFX3200 T2R



TonyStark said:


> What do you think of the Gigabyte P35-DQ6?



Absolutely no Intel P35 based board can give you two PCIe X16 slots running x16 + x16.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

btarunr said:


> DFI LanParty ICFX3200 T2R
> 
> 
> 
> Absolutely no Intel P35 based board can give you two PCIe X16 slots running x16 + x16.



I think you will find that the RD600 chipset only supports 8 x 8 in crossfire..........

http://techgage.com/article/dfi_lanparty_icfx3200-t2rg/


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## btarunr (Nov 26, 2007)

TonyStark said:


> What do you think of the Gigabyte P35-DQ6?



Absolutely NO Intel P35 based board can give you two slots running lanes each.

My recommendation:

DFI ICFX3200-T2R/G, priced at USD 130, 3x PCIe X16. (First two slots give X16 + X16 with the third one disabled OR First two give X8 + X8 with the third one running X2 for "physics")








Beats me man! Whatever happened to ATI Physics and NVIDIA Quantum Physics.



Tatty_One said:


> I think you will find that the RD600 chipset only supports 8 x 8 in crossfire..........



Hate to disagree, Tatty boy! The first two slots DO give X16 width with the third slot disabled. There's a jumper above the trird slot that makes the switch. When the third slot is enabled, the first two slots go X8 mode, third one gives X2. DFI just missed out this point in their manual and the site as well. Look at the board name.... I (Intel) CF (CrossFire) X (Lanes) 3200 (Well...32 lanes in all) T2 (rev. 2) R/G (Second RAID controller).

So with no other PCIe device in place, the board feeds 16 lanes each to the first two slots, with the third one disabled with the jumper.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

TonyStark said:


> What do you think of the Gigabyte P35-DQ6?



Absolutely awesome, have not got to grips with it yet though but the build quality far surpasses any board I have ever owned, the overclocking options are like, unbeleivable, it supports just about everything out there, has more features than I will ever use, the cooling is more elaborate than on a friggin F18 etc etc.

There is not yet the "perfect" BIOS, some are particularily good for CPU overclocking, some better for memory performance but not quite as good for the CPU, there is one that is a balance between the 2 but it is early days yet.  It support all 45nm forthcoming CPU's (as does the P35), it also supports forthcoming 1600FSB CPU's, it supports forthcoming 6 core Intel CPU's, has 12 phase power supposidly!! blah blah blah and it is one of the cheaper x38's but top of the range for Gigabyte.

I doubt that once I have got to grips with it my opinion wont have changed, I have got the CPU to 4.3Gig already (in the first hour) but I have not sorted memory speed or Sata yet but I have only had it in the PC for a day.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

Sorry I was talking about MY board....the x38 DQ6 which IS 16 x 16, the P35 is only 16 x 4 but according to the link I posted, the DFI board with 2 or 3 slots enabled can ONLY do 8 x 8....look at the diagram.


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## allen337 (Nov 26, 2007)

At this point the X38 and the 975x chipset is about your best bet. Personally I wouldnt buy 2 $400 video cards to get 11000 3dmark with 1 and 13500 with 2 @ stock.  ALLEN


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## TonyStark (Nov 26, 2007)

btarunr said:


> Absolutely no Intel P35 based board can give you two PCIe X16 slots running x16 + x16.




Thanks. Gigabyte website must be wrong then.


_"Ultimate graphics performance with dual PCI-E x16 interface"_
source: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2532




allen337 said:


> At this point the X38 and the 975x chipset is about your best bet. Personally I wouldnt buy 2 $400 video cards to get 11000 3dmark with 1 and 13500 with 2 @ stock.  ALLEN



CPU plays a big part in 3DMark06 score. I'm more interested in game performance, and the recent HD3870 Crossfire vs. 8800GT SLI review shows crossfire scaling better than SLI.


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## Mussels (Nov 26, 2007)

is dual 16x really a must? dual 8x should be good enough for modern cards.





TonyStark said:


> Thanks. Gigabyte website must be wrong then.



yes it is. its physically a 16x slot, but electrically they are less.


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## btarunr (Nov 26, 2007)

TonyStark said:


> Thanks. Gigabyte website must be wrong then.
> 
> 
> _"Ultimate graphics performance with dual PCI-E x16 interface"_
> ...



It is, mate. Those board makers sitting in Taiwan are just human factory-robots, they just work on what the 'cream-crop' designers sitting in Sunnyvale, USA do. When these Taiwanese guys take up marketing, you get to see disproportionate facts neatly envelped in chinglish. Come on! Don't outsource just everything! 

Tatty was right. Tatty's always right. The DFI board is a 2x X8 lane thing. Leaves you with only one board that gets into your criteria of (2x X16 slots + OC + cheap)

Drums please....

Foxconn X38A...all you want + support for both DDR2 and DDR3.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

Mussels said:


> is dual 16x really a must? dual 8x should be good enough for modern cards.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



No IMO it is not a must, if anyone truly wants a 16 x 16 then the x38 is the only way to go, the DFi board with the RD600 chipset does not support 16 x 16, I have just read ATi's product spec for RD600 and read 4 reviews of the board, it is 8 x 8.

Problem is marketing in my opinion, if you read reviews of the x38 chipset it quotes that with a 2900 or 3870 you could see as much as a 15% performance increase using 16 x 16 as opposed the the P35's 16 x 4 but TBH I think for everyday use in most games we will probably see only a 5 - 10% difference in speed.  I did not get the x38 for the 16 x 16 by the way, I got it for it's cpu futureproofing


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:

"Tatty was right. Tatty's always right"

Is actually not very often right! especially on Mondays


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## btarunr (Nov 26, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> Quote:
> 
> "Tatty was right. Tatty's always right"
> 
> Is actually not very often right! especially on Mondays



All this time I was thinking the RD600 is a "Intel processor version" of the ATI chipset that drove the ASUS A2R32 MVP. 32 lanes. AMD acquired the chipset division of ATI too, but after renaming all the exisiting chipset products from ATI, it left behind the ATI RD600 from the rename spree. Else imagine a collision of worlds with an Intel processor running on an AMD chipset.


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## Pinchy (Nov 26, 2007)

Unless its for future cards, you really dont need dual 16x .

My guess is that the 2900XT wouldnt even make full use of an 8x slot.


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## btarunr (Nov 26, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> Unless its for future cards, you really dont need dual 16x .
> 
> My guess is that the 2900XT wouldnt even make full use of an 8x slot.



Wrong, mate. 

Take your time reading this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/27/pci_express_scaling_analysis/


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

btarunr said:


> Wrong, mate.
> 
> Take your time reading this:
> http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/27/pci_express_scaling_analysis/



Yeah there is a similar review on the 3870 in crossfire, one rig on a P35 @ 16 x 4, the other on a x38 @ 16 x 16 and as I said earlier, just on the 3870 there was around a 15% performance difference across the board but in some games upto 20%


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## btarunr (Nov 26, 2007)

On second thought, I feel sad for AMD, for all the effort they would've put into making the HD 2900 XT, it didn't really pay off. When I first read its specs, I thought it's RIP 8800. But I choose to think that most ATI products underperform to their potential for some very trivial reasons like the PC game industry being polarised, and a vast majority of games have been developed under the shadow of developer-relations programmes.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

btarunr said:


> On second thought, I feel sad for AMD, for all the effort they would've put into making the HD 2900 XT, it didn't really pay off. When I first read its specs, I thought it's RIP 8800. But I choose to think that most ATI products underperform to their potential for some very trivial reasons like the PC game industry being polarised, and a vast majority of games have been developed under the shadow of developer-relations programmes.



To be fair to the 2900XT, it's a good card price > performance BEFORE the 3870 and 8800GT came along.  It manages to match and beat in many benches the 8800GTS 640MB for a lower price so it cant be all bad.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

And does this pic look much prettier than the Foxconn x38?.............................


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## Judas (Nov 26, 2007)

Well my GA-P35-DQ6  should be here any day now, picked up the Intel last Sunday 
I had noticed the crossfire issue.  
If one slot is running at 4 is it really worth paying for an extra card?


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## DrunkenMafia (Nov 26, 2007)

The DFI ICFX board is getting old.  The ATI3200 chipset is much MUCH slower than the newer P35 and even P965 chipsets...  So I wouldn't go for it.  Your only choice atm is an X38 mb.  Gigabyte is your best bet like tatty says and they do have em here in aussie.

I have found a couple around the $350 mark.  

http://www.itestate.com.au/products_detail.asp?code=PD00005073

Here is the GA-X38-DS5 for $290

http://www.computertarget.com.au/oscom/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_42&products_id=1276

I cant see much difference between them both..

There is also the ASUS p5e...  they are around the same price..  I think Umart has them in stock atm..


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

DrunkenMafia said:


> The DFI ICFX board is getting old.  The ATI3200 chipset is much MUCH slower than the newer P35 and even P965 chipsets...  So I wouldn't go for it.  Your only choice atm is an X38 mb.  Gigabyte is your best bet like tatty says and they do have em here in aussie.
> 
> I have found a couple around the $350 mark.
> 
> ...



Yep, I looked at the DS5 also before getting the DQ6, the only real differences as far as I was concerned was better phase power and better conductors with a few more overclocking options (the DS5 has more limited memory divider options).  In the UK the price difference between the 2 was about £25 so no real big issue in me going for the DQ6.....if the difference had been greater would prob taken the DS5.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 26, 2007)

Judas said:


> Well my GA-P35-DQ6  should be here any day now, picked up the Intel last Sunday
> I had noticed the crossfire issue.
> If one slot is running at 4 is it really worth paying for an extra card?



You will still get a good boost from Xfire just not quite as quick but that should not really put you off.  One of the great strengths of the x38 boards I have failed to mention here, especially to the OP is that with the x38 @ 16 x 16, you can also have 2 different cards running in XFire, for example, a 3870 in the one slot and a 3850 in the other, that in many respects makes up for the cost difference in the boards as one 3870 + one 3850 at 16 x 16 is not going to be far short of 2 3870's at 16 x 4.

You still getting a E6750?  That is going to be an awesome combination, easily 4 Gig+!!  Do you want a 3870?  I have one boxed, sealed and un-opened that I am just about to put on fleabay on "buy it now" at cost price as I have an Asus 8800GT on the way, I was starting to break out in a rash having bought an ATi card so it's gotta go!


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## btarunr (Nov 27, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> And does this pic look much prettier than the Foxconn x38?.............................



Prettier, _but beauty comes at a price_


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## btarunr (Nov 27, 2007)

Judas said:


> Well my GA-P35-DQ6  should be here any day now, picked up the Intel last Sunday
> I had noticed the crossfire issue.
> If one slot is running at 4 is it really worth paying for an extra card?



No, it's certainly not worth buying an extra card, esp. if it has to be a high-end card. PCIe x4 is a measly 2133 MB/s and most of today's cards would underperform. You'd be scripting a disaster if you made the Crossfire setup do load-balancing as that would slow-down even the primary card that runs at x16. The whole setup could then be beaten by a simgle card.

Read this: on how some high-end cards perform at PCIe x4 bandwidth

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/27/pci_express_scaling_analysis/


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## Judas (Nov 27, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> You will still get a good boost from Xfire just not quite as quick but that should not really put you off.  One of the great strengths of the x38 boards I have failed to mention here, especially to the OP is that with the x38 @ 16 x 16, you can also have 2 different cards running in XFire, for example, a 3870 in the one slot and a 3850 in the other, that in many respects makes up for the cost difference in the boards as one 3870 + one 3850 at 16 x 16 is not going to be far short of 2 3870's at 16 x 4.
> 
> You still getting a E6750?  That is going to be an awesome combination, easily 4 Gig+!!  Do you want a 3870?  I have one boxed, sealed and un-opened that I am just about to put on fleabay on "buy it now" at cost price as I have an Asus 8800GT on the way, I was starting to break out in a rash having bought an ATi card so it's gotta go!



Yup i got the E6750 sitting here waiting for the GA-P35-DQ6. Still have not decided fully on which root to take ATi or nvidia


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## Judas (Nov 27, 2007)

btarunr said:


> No, it's certainly not worth buying an extra card, esp. if it has to be a high-end card. PCIe x4 is a measly 2133 MB/s and most of today's cards would underperform. You'd be scripting a disaster if you made the Crossfire setup do load-balancing as that would slow-down even the primary card that runs at x16. The whole setup could then be beaten by a simgle card.
> 
> Read this: on how some high-end cards perform at PCIe x4 bandwidth
> 
> http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/27/pci_express_scaling_analysis/



Nice read , i thought as much PCIe x4  is rather inadequate for today's cards, but no worries ill just be using one card.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 27, 2007)

btarunr said:


> Prettier, _but beauty comes at a price_



Lol, at the site in the UK I bought the board from the DQ6 was £5 more only than the Foxconn......thats £5 well spent IMO


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## Tatty_One (Nov 27, 2007)

Judas said:


> Nice read , i thought as much PCIe x4  is rather inadequate for today's cards, but no worries ill just be using one card.



TBH I am not a great supporter of dual card setups personally.  I am aware of the benefits but there are compatibility issues also and rarely do you (if ever) get a full 2 cards worth of performance outta the 2, to me thats not cost effective gaming when a good single card can handle everything most games throw at it in "normal" resolutions.  Yes I am aware of the performance increases but when you factor in the cost of the 2nd card, maybe the cost of a very expensive x38 mobo if you want 16 x 16 or a good quality 680i mobo, possible the cost of a decent PSU upgrade etc etc, it just does not pull me enuff in that direction.


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## Disparia (Nov 27, 2007)

Anyone with ABIT IX38 QuadGT hands-on experience?

It's right now my pick for next board, if nothing more than I like the layout and currently own an Abit. Two double-slot cards will only cover a PCI slot, leaving the x1, x16(x4), and another PCI slot open. The 6 angled SATA ports are nice and the DDR2 support is great as I already have 4GB of it.


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## Pinchy (Nov 27, 2007)

btarunr said:


> Wrong, mate.
> 
> Take your time reading this:
> http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/27/pci_express_scaling_analysis/



Lol...Okay I was wrong when saying a 2900XT wasnt using the full 8x slot...but the 8x slot isn't obsolete. The X1950XTX, for example, shows that there isnt much of a difference in the 8x - 16x slots, gaming wise. Now, compared to most ATi cards... the only things faster than the X1950XTX are the 2900 series and 3800 series...3850 being pretty close to the X1950XTX performance wise. Now, with current GPU prices, and saying he only has $250 on the motherboard, one would assume that he isnt going to spend $700-1000 on graphics...




Tatty_One said:


> Yeah there is a similar review on the 3870 in crossfire, one rig on a P35 @ 16 x 4, the other on a x38 @ 16 x 16 and as I said earlier, just on the 3870 there was around a 15% performance difference across the board but in some games upto 20%



Yeah, but the second card is only at 4x in one of those setups. The gap would be a lot smaller testing on 8 x 8 than 16 x 4.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 27, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> Lol...Okay I was wrong when saying a 2900XT wasnt using the full 8x slot...but the 8x slot isn't obsolete. The X1950XTX, for example, shows that there isnt much of a difference in the 8x - 16x slots, gaming wise. Now, compared to most ATi cards... the only things faster than the X1950XTX are the 2900 series and 3800 series...3850 being pretty close to the X1950XTX performance wise. Now, with current GPU prices, and saying he only has $250 on the motherboard, one would assume that he isnt going to spend $700-1000 on graphics...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Fair point, but if you are an Intel owner and you want futureproofing the only way to go is P35/x38 so the choice is only 16 x 4 or 16 x 16.


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## Pinchy (Nov 27, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> Fair point, but if you are an Intel owner and you want futureproofing the only way to go is P35/x38 so the choice is only 16 x 4 or 16 x 16.



I don't see the harm in getting a 975x board . It will probably fit into the budget a lot better too. 


But yeah, as you said...its all about futureproofing.


I, personally, think its just better to go all out with the motherboard, so if you want to upgrade later, you dont have problems. Only buy one graphics card for now and get a decent X38 motherboard with it. Then, get the 2nd graphics later . Obviously, I don't know your situation, so it may not be that simple...

Well, my recommendation is the 975x chipset, IF you dont intend on getting a better CPU anytime soon. Otherwise, get the P35 chipset with only one graphics card.


OH and just for the record: I thought the P35 was 8 x 8...or were they just the pre-release rumours?


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## Tatty_One (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> I don't see the harm in getting a 975x board . It will probably fit into the budget a lot better too.
> 
> 
> But yeah, as you said...its all about futureproofing.
> ...



Pre release rumours, it is 16 x 4, the only reason I went x38 was not for the 16 x 16 or even the fact that you can XFire 2 completely different cards but for the future proofing.......I want a 45nm Yorkfield Quad in the new year   but it will take me until then to get a hang of all the options in this friggin BIOS!


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> Lol, at the site in the UK I bought the board from the DQ6 was £5 more only than the Foxconn......thats £5 well spent IMO



The Foxconn board is a super-cheap X38 board. I didn't know Gigabyte came this close.


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> Well, my recommendation is the 975x chipset, IF you dont intend on getting a better CPU anytime soon. Otherwise, get the P35 chipset with only one graphics card.
> 
> 
> OH and just for the record: I thought the P35 was 8 x 8...or were they just the pre-release rumours?



975X ? hahaha. Most 975X boards don't even support the Core micro-architecture out-of-box unless flashed with an update. Compare the prices of the 1066 MHz FSB Core processors with the 1333 MHz Core processors and you'll know that the 1333 MHz ones are cheaper, which the 975X boards don't support.

Most 975X boards don't support DDR2 800 and refuse to go beyond DDR2 667. Even if they do go on and support DDR2 800, they won't support CAS-latency 4 and will stick to 5.

There is a certain P35 board which has a 3rd party PCIe hub from IDT. This gives 8 x 8. I'll let you know more soon.

Now would you compromise on all these for the 8 x 8?


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## PaulieG (Nov 28, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> TBH I am not a great supporter of dual card setups personally.  I am aware of the benefits but there are compatibility issues also and rarely do you (if ever) get a full 2 cards worth of performance outta the 2, to me thats not cost effective gaming when a good single card can handle everything most games throw at it in "normal" resolutions.  Yes I am aware of the performance increases but when you factor in the cost of the 2nd card, maybe the cost of a very expensive x38 mobo if you want 16 x 16 or a good quality 680i mobo, possible the cost of a decent PSU upgrade etc etc, it just does not pull me enuff in that direction.



This is exactly why I'll never do crossfire or SLI. It just doesn't seem worth it to me. How important is that extra 2000 pts in 3dmark06? Can you really see any real world performance in games? Is it really worth another $300? Single high end cards of today already give crazy performance. Just seems kinda excessive...


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## DrunkenMafia (Nov 28, 2007)

Paulieg said:


> This is exactly why I'll never do crossfire or SLI. It just doesn't seem worth it to me. How important is that extra 2000 pts in 3dmark06? Can you really see any real world performance in games? Is it really worth another $300? Single high end cards of today already give crazy performance. Just seems kinda excessive...



I love 2 card setups.   .  There is just something about it.....  

Anyways, with the price of mid-high end cards these days why wouldn't you..  2 x 3850's is only around $500...  FTW


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## FatForester (Nov 28, 2007)

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/10/12/crossfire_comparison_intel_x38_versus_p35/1
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2990

For your budget, go with a P35... it'll give you great overclocking and stability, and not hurt you terribly in Crossfire performance.


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

DrunkenMafia said:


> I love 2 card setups.   .  There is just something about it.....
> 
> Anyways, with the price of mid-high end cards these days why wouldn't you..  2 x 3850's is only around $500...  FTW



2 x HD 3850  = 2 x $170. Not 500


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

Oh almost forgot, you're Aussie. You talk in AUD

Sorry mate!


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## Tatty_One (Nov 28, 2007)

DrunkenMafia said:


> I love 2 card setups.   .  There is just something about it.....
> 
> Anyways, with the price of mid-high end cards these days why wouldn't you..  2 x 3850's is only around $500...  FTW



And probably not as quick as a single forthcoming 8800GTS 512MB for considerably less than 2 3850's?????  The answer is there for all to see


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> And probably not as quick as a single forthcoming 8800GTS 512MB for considerably less than 2 3850's?????  The answer is there for all to see



Technology is like a girlfriend. You get into commit now, you'll regret later on finding something better (and cheaper)


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## Tatty_One (Nov 28, 2007)

btarunr said:


> The Foxconn board is a super-cheap X38 board. I didn't know Gigabyte came this close.



Maybe it was a different Foxconn.....do they have more than one x38 board, this one came in at around £150.  Actually just checking the site.....your Foxconn is more expensive!....check here:

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...GA-X38-DQ6+Intel+X38+Chipset+?productId=28440

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...conn+Intel+X38A+775+Mainboard?productId=28888


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> Maybe it was a different Foxconn.....do they have more than one x38 board, this one came in at around £150.  Actually just checking the site.....your Foxconn is more expensive!....check here:
> 
> http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...GA-X38-DQ6+Intel+X38+Chipset+?productId=28440
> 
> http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...conn+Intel+X38A+775+Mainboard?productId=28888



Hmmm...a very tidy shopping site.

The Foxconn board is cheaper than the Gigabyte board here in India, in the US as well. 

Here's a list of X38 based boards from Newegg.com, you'll find the Foxconn board upto $20 cheaper.


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## Pinchy (Nov 28, 2007)

btarunr said:


> 975X ? hahaha. Most 975X boards don't even support the Core micro-architecture out-of-box unless flashed with an update. Compare the prices of the 1066 MHz FSB Core processors with the 1333 MHz Core processors and you'll know that the 1333 MHz ones are cheaper, which the 975X boards don't support.



He has an e4300. It will support it out of the box. If he wants futureproofing, why get a P35...why not go all the way and get an X38? Running crossfire with 2900XT's on 16 x 4 is just pointless imo.



btarunr said:


> Most 975X boards don't support DDR2 800 and refuse to go beyond DDR2 667. Even if they do go on and support DDR2 800, they won't support CAS-latency 4 and will stick to 5.
> 
> Now would you compromise on all these for the 8 x 8?



ABIT AW9D. Supports DDR2 800. $110. 8 x 8 crossfire. He will see much of a performance increase with dual 2900XT's on this mobo than any P35 that has 16 x 4.


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## Wile E (Nov 28, 2007)

He can still get a P35, and not get stuck with 16x + 4x. The ASUS Blitz boards do 8x+8x Crossfire. They call it Crosslinx technology. They essentially put a chip on the board that allows the 16x bandwidth to be split to two slots.


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> He has an e4300. It will support it out of the box. If he wants futureproofing, why get a P35...why not go all the way and get an X38? Running crossfire with 2900XT's on 16 x 4 is just pointless imo.
> 
> 
> 
> ABIT AW9D. Supports DDR2 800. $110. 8 x 8 crossfire. He will see much of a performance increase with dual 2900XT's on this mobo than any P35 that has 16 x 4.



I'm not recommending a P35 for Crossfire either. X38 is the most sane choice for CF on an Intel platform.


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## Wile E (Nov 28, 2007)

btarunr said:


> I'm not recommending a P35 for Crossfire either. X38 is the most sane choice for CF on an Intel platform.


I agree. Altho, as per my post above yours, not all P35 boards are 16+4.


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## Pinchy (Nov 28, 2007)

Wile E said:


> He can still get a P35, and not get stuck with 16x + 4x. The ASUS Blitz boards do 8x+8x Crossfire. They call it Crosslinx technology. They essentially put a chip on the board that allows the 16x bandwidth to be split to two slots.



Never heard of em, but after a quick search they look to be priced at $365 . May as well get an X38 aye 



btarunr said:


> I'm not recommending a P35 for Crossfire either. X38 is the most sane choice for CF on an Intel platform.



Well, until about 5 mins ago I thought the X38 motherboards were $300+...Until:

http://www.digitan.com.au/product.php?productid=43331&cat=1039&page=2

ABIT IX38 QuadGT @ $258. Thats pretty close to the budget .


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

Wile E said:


> He can still get a P35, and not get stuck with 16x + 4x. The ASUS Blitz boards do 8x+8x Crossfire. They call it Crosslinx technology. They essentially put a chip on the board that allows the 16x bandwidth to be split to two slots.



Bullseye! This is the board that kept ringing in my head.

This has the IDT 89HA032 BXG PCI-Express switch that splits the x16 x4 lanes into x8 x8


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## Wile E (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> Never heard of em, but after a quick search they look to be priced at $365 . May as well get an X38 aye


Thus the post I made just above yours.


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## Pinchy (Nov 28, 2007)

Wile E said:


> Thus the post I made just above yours.



I dont get it


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## Tatty_One (Nov 28, 2007)

16 x 4 is Intels base spec, manufacturers can play with that if they like, bottom line tho is IMO there is little point in buying today a XFire board that is not going to support, or at least support well ..........up coming technology as in 45nm never mind 1600Mhz FSB (less importantly).

When you refer to "he" and his E4300 who are you referring to?  The OP is getting an E6750.


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## Wile E (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> I dont get it


lol. Look at post 55


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## Pinchy (Nov 28, 2007)

Wile E said:


> lol. Look at post 55



Yeah, were you refering to their price or the actual 8 x 8 P35? (When you quoted me on post 56)



Tatty_One said:


> When you refer to "he" and his E4300 who are you referring to?  The OP is getting an E6750.



I just got it from the original posters (TonyStark's) sig.


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## cepoi (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> ABIT AW9D. Supports DDR2 800. $110. 8 x 8 crossfire. He will see much of a performance increase with dual 2900XT's on this mobo than any P35 that has 16 x 4.



if u r planning to get q6600 G0..dont buy this board(ABIT AW9D)


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## Pinchy (Nov 28, 2007)

cepoi said:


> if u r planning to get q6600 G0..dont buy this board(ABIT AW9D)



The 975x's arent even meant to support quad cores are they?


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## btarunr (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> The 975x's arent even meant to support quad cores are they?



Well, the D975XBX2 does, FSB 1066, though.


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## cepoi (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> The 975x's arent even meant to support quad cores are they?



ABIT say AW9D-MAX support quad core with bios update...and q6600 B3 has no problem at all running on this board...the problem here with G0 stepping..


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## Wile E (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> Yeah, were you refering to their price or the actual 8 x 8 P35? (When you quoted me on post 56)


I agreed that the X38 was the way to go. I was just pointing out the there was an 8+8 P35 board.


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## Tatty_One (Nov 28, 2007)

Pinchy said:


> Yeah, were you refering to their price or the actual 8 x 8 P35? (When you quoted me on post 56)
> 
> 
> 
> I just got it from the original posters (TonyStark's) sig.



Ahhhhh right.....I got it wrong then of course I was referring to Judas


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