$200 crossfire motherboard

[fastestlouigie]

What motherboard should I get, given that I want to spend around $200 maximum for a Crossfire m/b with good quality components at the top of the list of wants? Should I get a 'board which is x8/x8?
I've posted this question previously but got no replies!
My other main components are an intel i5 2500k (just bought!), fractal design refine r3 midi case, msi r6950 twin frozr III driving a dell u2711 monitor, 1 samsung spinpoint 1tb hard drive. A Corsair 650tx mkII provides the power.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[T1LuX]

sorry to hear no one's replied to your previous posts, I'm a little busy right now but hopefully I should be able to give you some suggestions once I'm free later today

anyone else?

 

[clutchc]

What motherboard should I get, given that I want to spend around $200 maximum for a Crossfire m/b with good quality components at the top of the list of wants? Should I get a 'board which is x8/x8?
I've posted this question previously but got no replies!
My other main components are an intel i5 2500k (just bought!), fractal design refine r3 midi case, msi r6950 twin frozr III driving a dell u2711 monitor, 1 samsung spinpoint 1tb hard drive. A Corsair 650tx mkII provides the power.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

The board I have supporting my i5-2500K and a single GTX 570 for now is a x8, x8 Xfire/SLI Gigabyte board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506
I used to have 2 x HD 6850s on the board, but switched to Nvidia. Check it out. Under $200 with shipping and has the features most folks want.

 

[fastestlouigie]

The board I have supporting my i5-2500K and a single GTX 570 for now is a x8, x8 Xfire/SLI Gigabyte board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506
I used to have 2 x HD 6850s on the board, but switched to Nvidia. Check it out. Under $200 with shipping and has the features most folks want.

Thanks Clutchc, I was thinking that another Gigabyte board was going to be the way to go...I've been using a GA-965P-DS3 for the past 5 years and it's served me very well. After looking around at many options including Asus, Asrock, and MSI, I realised that I had over £100 sitting in my Pxxpxxl account, so a lengthy look on eb*y found me a Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD5-B3 for £130 ($203), a good deal I think, given the serious heatsinks, power and sound card built in. I'm not bothered by in-built video or even a 3 year warranty, as I reckon Gigabyte builds their stuff properly and if it's going to fail, it will be within the first few weeks. As I've just bought the i5 2500k, I won't be Ivy-leaguing (I update my systems once in a blue moon!), so I don't need Gen3.
'Just the ram and maybe a cooler to go-Crucial will cover the memory but I still haven't had a reply as to whether my Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 rev.1 will be able to be used. I know the 2.0 version can but their website doesn't seem to list information on my old version 1.

 

[clutchc]

I had an Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 rev.1 on my LGS 775 Asus P5N-E SLI board several years back. As I remember, it came with static mounting hdwr. designed for that socket. The LGA 1155 sockets have a different hole pattern for mounting than the LGA 775. So I doubt it will fit as is.

I believe the UD5 board you are looking at is a step up from my UD3. It should be great for your i5-2500K. I checked ebuyer.com since you are in the UK, but they too are out of that board (as is Newegg here). So ebay might be a good alternative. Is that a new or used price?

Btw, I see ebuyer.com has my Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P Z68 board for £144.28/$225. Lot higher than here in the US (£112/$175) for some reason.

 

[fastestlouigie]

I've already bought the ud5 from dabs.com's eb*y store. Ebuyer is another good uk-based computer/electronics online store and I've used both before;they're probably the biggest here outside blighty. Incedently, we always get hit for around 30% or more higher prices for electronic stuff over the U.S.A., that's just the way it is. I guess that the UD5 is much cheaper now as most people are going with Ivy-compatible boards?
Thanks for the information on the cooler clutchc. Looking on the bright side, this means I'll be able to keep the old cooler on the cpu/board and sell it complete, maybe getting a bit more money for it!

 

[clutchc]

Now you're thinking like I do!

 

[fastestlouigie]

Just to close this off, I've installed the Gigabyte GA-Z68-UD5-B3 with a i-5 2500k, Noctua NH-U12P SE2 cooler and 2 sticks of ram. I installed the cooler first then the board but the Noctua is such a beast, It took me ages to get the cpu power lead in because there wan't much space in my Fractal Design Define R3 case. Two sticks of Corsair Vengeance 4gb ram fit in the second and fourth slots-the Noctua's fan very nearly hits the closest stick but not quite!
This is the first system I've rebuilt with a new motherboard in 20 years when everything's worked first time.
Thanks for everyone's help/advice during my purchasing/build.