MOBO for Tri Sli

[Mbrodeur30]

new guy here

I need a socket AM2/AM+ mobo for an AMD Phenom processor. do they make them will 2 or 4 pci express slots? i really like ASUS, do they make one?

thanks

 

[worshipme]

Not for tri-SLI, no. 790FX supports CrossfireX which allows for up to four HD 3000 cards in Crossfire. The 570i/590i supports SLI but not 3-way SLI and I'm not even sure whether they support the Phenoms.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131224R

 

[Mbrodeur30]

Not for tri-SLI, no. The 790X/790FX supports CrossfireX which allows for up to four HD 3000 cards in Crossfire. The 590i supports SLI but not 3-way SLI.

so in other words i cant have an AMD processor and tri sli? i would have to have an intel processor?

 

[worshipme]

Yes, but CrossfireX is far superieur to SLI. It scales a lot better and allows you to pair non-identical cards, such as a HD 3850 and a HD 3870. You can see a comparison of CrossfireX vs SLI here: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce9800-gx2.html

 

[Mbrodeur30]

Yes, but CrossfireX is far superieur to SLI. It scales a lot better and allows you to pair non-identical cards, such as a HD 3850 and a HD 3870. You can see a comparison of CrossfireX vs SLI here: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce9800-gx2.html

cool thanks

but how do the intel core 2 quad processors compare to the amd phenoms? because i have heard that the phenoms are better and i have always had a soft sopt for AMDs

also does just using 2 video cards in sli compared to 2 cards in crossfire have a big difference because after reading some of that site you posted it was basically saying that 4 cards in sli sucks but 2 is good

 

[esa193]

the intel line up of cpus is better imo
better bench marks just price is the only thing amd has better
but id recommend an
intel core 2 quad - 300 bucks
a nice cpu cooler to over clock to 3ghz
and a nvidia 780i or 790i depending weather you would like ddr2 or 3 ram

 

[worshipme]

but how do the intel core 2 quad processors compare to the amd phenoms? because i have heard that the phenoms are better and i have always had a soft sopt for AMDs

The Phenoms (9500, 9600) are actually around 10% slower than Intel's Q6600, even though the archtecture is theoretically superieur but they are priced according to this. The The new B3 stepping Phenoms will be available soon, they will have higher clock speeds and be better performing: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/phenom-x4-9850.html
The Phenom 9850 X4 will be priced at the same level as the Q6600. But if you have always had a soft spot for AMD, that's good because AMD are in need of their fans right now.

also does just using 2 video cards in sli compared to 2 cards in crossfire have a big difference because after reading some of that site you posted it was basically saying that 4 cards in sli sucks but 2 is good

Compare two HD 3870s and two 8800GTs. In a single card setup, the 8800GT is the better performing card, but when the multi-GPU setups, Crossfire generally scales better than SLI, so two HD 3870s will give the same performance as two 8800GTs.

 

[esa193]

dude i wouldn't even bother with multi cards
take that money you save and just upgrade to a new card when the next better one comes out

 

[Mbrodeur30]

The Phenoms (9500, 9600) are actually around 10% slower than Intel's Q6600, even though the archtecture is theoretically superieur but they are priced according to this. The The new B3 stepping Phenoms will be available soon, they will have higher clock speeds and be better performing: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/phenom-x4-9850.html
The Phenom 9850 X4 will be priced at the same level as the Q6600. But if you have always had a soft spot for AMD, that's good because AMD are in need of their fans right now.

Compare two HD 3870s and two 8800GTs. In a single card setup, the 8800GT is the better performing card, but when the multi-GPU setups, Crossfire generally scales better than SLI, so two HD 3870s will give the same performance as two 8800GTs.

o ok, thanks alot i really appreciate all the help. i might have to start looking into switching from, Nvidia/amd to Radeon/intel.

i had heard though that the intel core 2 quad only has 2 pipelines and the phenom has 4, did you guy hear this?

 

[Mbrodeur30]

dude i wouldn't even bother with multi cards
take that money you save and just upgrade to a new card when the next better one comes out

yea i might just do that becuae they come out offen enough, but i really want to run in sli or crossfire just to see how nice it really is