890FX Nvidia Chipset Equivalent?

[rockrunner2011]

I, like most pc enthusiasts, am extremely interested in the 5850 and 470. I prefer AMD builds and multi-gpu set-ups. I do tend to lean more towards Nvidia in terms of gpu's. I do, however, love the AMD 890FX chipset because of all of the new features it yields. I don't like that it only supports crossfire; I completely understand it, but I don't like it. So, my question is, has anybody heard of an upcoming Nvidia AM3 SLI chipset that will support 6 gb/s sata and usb 3.0? This will help me decide if I want to go with 5850 or 470 setup.

Thanks Much.

 

[saint19]

Until now, nothing. But even, if nVidia comes out with the new chipset, the AMD chipset is the best chipset for ur rig.

 

[Lmeow]

^+1, right now, there are no current chipsets, the highest AM3 chipset that they offer is the nForce 980a SLI which supports three-way SLI IIRC. You could just buy an MSI NF980-G65 board based on the nForce 980a SLI chipset and add in a SATA III or USB 3.0 controller card I suppose.

 

[saint19]

I'm not a good friend of that controller card. Always is better the SATA III and USB 3.0 that comes from the manufacturer by default. But is a good option.

Now, if u still preferring the SLI over Crossfire, is better go with an Intel rig that support both multiples GPUs and have more mobos with better options.

Bear in mind that the 470 in performance is between the 5850 and 5870, in SLI the performance is better on the 470. The 5850 is a little more expensive, but use less power and works with less heat that the 470.

 

[jitpublisher]

Agree with Saint19, if you prefer SLI, your best bet is an Intel Platform with an X58 chipset. Spendy I know, but if you want a top performing SLI setup, that is about the only good option you have these days. IMHO, nVidia never made a good chipset anyway. Never.

 

[rockrunner2011]

Great points, thank you. Yes, spendy is the main reason why I do not usually go with intel's X58, but it truly is brilliant. I'm thinking I'm going to have to go with a 5850 now, and upgrade my motherboard to an AMD chipset platform (right now I do have the nvidia 980 chipset, but it doesn't have the goodies I'm looking for)

 

[saint19]

The great point with ATI is that u can Crossfire a 5850 with a 5770 and gain a good performance percentage.

 

[rockrunner2011]

Best answer selected by rockrunner2011.

 

[rockrunner2011]

Really? now that I didn't know. What a great idea. I always thought the cards had to be nearly identical. When did that feature come out?

 

[saint19]

Few years ago, the Crossfire and SLI only can was with identical GPUs, but not today. U can use a Crossfire or SLI with different GPUs of the same chipset.

U can do it with any mobo available today.

 

[rockrunner2011]

Interesting, but the clock speed (core and mem) of the faster card would be lowered to match that of the slower, correct?

 

[saint19]

Acording to this u only can Crossfire different GPUs with similar specs.