Best motherboard for 4790k, gtx980 SLI, and sound blaster Z ?

[Mohamed El Moheb]

I don't want a motherboard that will bottleneck the SLI GPUs so that they run at x4 x4 PCIe. However, I would prefer not to spend 500$ on an XPOWER AC MSI motherboard. But if its the only solution to not bottleneck my SLI GPUs, then I am ready to buy such an expensive motherboard.

Another issue: if I buy an expensive motherboard such as the XPOWER AC, is the onboard sound as good as the soundblaster Z or is it rubbish and I should still get the external sound card ?

So to sum it all up, I want a motherboard that is good for overclocking, that supports gtx980 SLI at either x16 x16 PCIe, and still has room for further future additions such as PCIe SSDs or other components WITHOUT affecting the speed of the GPUs.

 

[plywrlw]

What about an Asus Z97-A or a Gigabyte Z97X-SLI both those are solid boards that allow x8 x8 SLI. You won't bottleneck x8/x8 with a GTX 980.

 

[jafrankl]

While your "wants" are admirable, the CPU you have chosen doesn't support 2 PCIe at x16: http://ark.intel.com/products/80807/Intel-Core-i7-4790K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_40-GHz

It's max number of lanes are 16, meaning SLI GPUs would use x8 each, adding a sound card that uses a PCIe slot would reduce them to x4 each.

The Sound Blaster Z is a great gaming sound card, but again, your setup will not support the SLI and sound card at the lane speeds you desire.

 

[babernet_1]

I would just get a 5820K or 5930K processor and a ASUS X99-A motherboard. That way you will have enough PCI-E lanes. For the best possible performance, get the 5930K. It has 40 lanes. But the 5820K will be okay with 28 lanes for you will have enough for X8 X8 for the graphics cards (all that they really need) and another X4 X4 for the sound and pcie SSD.

 

[Mohamed El Moheb]

Should I get the XPOWER AC mobo that privides additional PCIe lanes or is it not worth it ?

 

[plywrlw]

Well, as you already know, it's the only one with a PLX chip to allow x16/x16

Have you already bought your CPU? If not, you might be better off on the X99 platform instead as someone has already mentioned.

Here's a question for more knowledgeable posters.....If the OP gets the Z97-A and goes for x8/x8 SLI and then gets a USB Soundblaster/Xonar will the USB interface mean he won't use any more PCI lanes up?

 

[babernet_1]

Well, as you already know, it's the only one with a PLX chip to allow x16/x16

Have you already bought your CPU? If not, you might be better off on the X99 platform instead as someone has already mentioned.

Here's a question for more knowledgeable posters.....If the OP gets the Z97-A and goes for x8/x8 SLI and then gets a USB Soundblaster/Xonar will the USB interface mean he won't use any more PCI lanes up?

Yes, USB is a different interface. Has no effect on the PCIE lanes.

 

[plywrlw]

Then I think that's a potential solution, get the USB Soundblaster or a Xonar and a cheaper Z97 motherboard like the ASUS Z97-A and run both GPU's at x8, thanks for the reply, it was what I suspected but wanted some confirmation!