Motherboard for Dual SLI @ 16x16?

[headpiece747]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This Month or Earlier

BUDGET RANGE: USD $400

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming and Triple Monitor Setup (Have all three monitors already not 120hz or 3D)

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: EVGA GTX 580 SC 1.5gb SLI and Corsair 850TX 850W PSU

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Intel 2500K, Asus P8P67, HAF X, Kingston HyperX 8GB, Creative Fata1ty Titanium Champion, 120GB Corsair Force Series 3 SSD, 30 GB Kingston MLC SSD

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: US (Probably Amazon because everyone else charges me shipping including Newegg)

PARTS PREFERENCES: ASUS but open to any that run 16x16 and pcie 3.0 as a bonus (for Kepler upgrade later)

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI: Yes

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 5760x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I wish I would have done more research on my own. I found out that my Asus P8P67 does SLI but only in 16x4 and it disables 2 of my smaller pcie slots and some USB slots. So now I can't use my sound card and have to use onboard audio. I have researched that 8x8 is enough for gaming but for higher resolutions like mine 16x16 will help. I also would like pcie 3.0 just in case of Kepler later on but I will have to buy a another motherboard to have the Ivy Bridge processor push pcie 3.0 if I read that right. I would like a recommendation for a motherboard that can do these things and I was looking on Newegg and these are the right ones to look at? Which one is best if not using all the extra features and not overclocking?

 

[nikorr]

Asus:
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=dzgoion0wgHoT7tp&templete=2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131714

 

[nikorr]

Review @ http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/01/05/asus_p8p67_ws_revolution_motherboard_review

 

[nikorr]

And one more @ http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-GD65--B3-.html#/?div=Detail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574

 

[jaquith]

First, the vanilla ASUS P8P67 does NOT offer any SLI support; SLI support is provided via a BIOS Key that the MOBO manufacturer purchases from nVidia. nVidia will not approve the MOBO's specs where the PCIe lanes are less than x8 per GPU, and no 4-WAY unless the native CPU's PCIe lanes to the GPU are less than 32. The SB CPU (LGA 1155) are 16 native PCIe lanes to the GPU; SB-E (LGA 2011) offer 32 lanes to the GPU. AMD/ATI on the other hand is open and will work on x16/x8/x4 PCIe lanes.

That said, unless the 'plan' is to do 3-WAY SLI on LGA 1155 a NF200 has it's pros and cons; see -> http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sli-three-card-crossfire,2910.html

Further, the 'biggie' is vRAM bottleneck with 3 (1920x1080) w/bezel correction ~5900x1080 where often the 1.5GB GTX 580 models come to a crawl depending on the game. Therefore, my expenditures would be more for 3GB GTX 580's than an LGA 1155 (P67/Z68) with NF200 for x16/x16. I would research your game(s) for your resolution to determine if 3GB vRAM is required. In my case, same resolution, I have that problem but I'm waiting until the GTX 600 series and then only versions with 3GB or higher.

Recommendations for MOBO's depend on your GPU, example a triple width GTX 580.

Q - What exact GTX 580?

 

[headpiece747]

Asus:
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=dzgoion0wgHoT7tp&templete=2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131714

Thanks for the reply but that motherboard has the same problem two cards in SLI with the pcie x1 slot according to this: http://support.asus.com/faq/detail.aspx?SLanguage=en&p=1&m=P8P67%20DELUXE&s=39&hashedid=FpufhQASBFHNvccl&os=&no=7020B15B-6AEB-11CC-34A7-9C22F0C21159

And one more @ http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-GD65--B3-.html#/?div=Detail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574

That one looks good but with dual cards it I think it does the same thing about limiting the pcie x1 slots after researching about it. Also just wondering is there a reason you are suggesting P67 over Z68?

First, the vanilla ASUS P8P67 does NOT offer any SLI support; SLI is an nVidia BIOS Key that the MOBO manufacturer must purchase from nVidia, and nVidia must approve the MOBO's specs and will NOT approve it with any PCIe less than x8 per GPU. AMD/ATI on the other hand is open and will work on x16/x8/x4 PCIe lanes.

That said, unless the 'plan' is to do 3-WAY SLI on LGA 1155 a NF200 has it's pros and cons; see -> http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sli-three-card-crossfire,2910.html

Further, the 'biggie' with 3 (1920x1080) w/bezel correction ~5900x1080 is the vRAM bottleneck on the 1.50GB GTX 580 models. Therefore, my expenditures would be for 3GB GTX 580's way over an LGA 1155 (P67/Z68) with NF200.

Recommendations for MOBO's depend on your GPU, example a triple width GTX 580.

Q - What exact GTX 580?

I know they don't technically support SLI in this board but I can tell you I am running both cards but one is x4 and disabled all my pcie x1 slots and 2 usb slots because they are the lane or something like that.

Not planning on doing Triple SLI anytime soon unless the price dropped huge on another card before the Kepler cards came out

I definitely have read alot about the pros and cons about 1.5 vs 3GB (here and other sites) and since I already had one 1.5GB I just went with that and will upgrade when the Kepler comes out.

My two cards are Evga GTX 580 SC

 

[jaquith]

2-WAY (x8/x8):
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
EVGA Z68 FTW

2-WAY (x16/x16 pseudo lanes), and 3-WAY* support:
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7 or GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 ; both EOL but places like Amazon have some.
ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION

* assumes EVGA GTX 580 015-P3-1582-AR or its equivalent with double PCIe width.

 

[headpiece747]

2-WAY (x8/x8):
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
EVGA Z68 FTW

2-WAY (x16/x16 pseudo lanes), and 3-WAY* support:
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD7 or GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 ; both EOL but places like Amazon have some.
ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION

* assumes EVGA GTX 580 015-P3-1582-AR or its equivalent with double PCIe width.

ASUS P8P67WS Revolution looks really great and nikorr, you and the reviews are all recommending it. I think my sound card is going to have to go out the window because it looks with anything it will either drop it 8x8x8 or disable stuff.

EVGA GTX 580 015-P3-1582-AR are the two cards I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130606

On that Asrock do you think it will be good for Ivy and Kepler or should I get a P67 or Z68 cheaper board for now and upgrade when Ivy and Kepler come out?

Also after more research on here and http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/43205-intel-z68-review-sandy-bridge-platform-expands-9.html it looks like P67 is good if I don't want to overclock or use the SSD caching stuff and looking for an in between board for right now.

 

[headpiece747]

I was just giving you options.
is the P67 board gonna get the Ivy BIOS update, if so then it's solid choice.
I have a Z68 and I love all the perks.

I appreciate the reply and looked at both boards and they look good. Which brand Z68 do you have and are you running two cards? If you are how is it?

 

[headpiece747]

Ok I went back and did more homework. First I realized I don't need pseudo 16x16 like jaquith said or pcie 3 but two of the choices come with it for the same price. I don't need the bleed edge tech now because I know now that I will buy the lastest processor, board and graphics when they come out this year. So I trimmed the fat and think I want the to stick with Asus (know their bios). Here are the choices:

ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3
Looks to have the same things as the Pro version has except for two less 6gb SATA

ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z
This is a Micro ATX and I am worried they took something out I need but looking at newegg and comparing the top one it looks almost identical in features

ASUS SABERTOOTH P67
It has great ratings and reviews and I have two SSD so don't really need the features of the Z68 but they are all about the same price.

Which would you pick from the three?

 

[headpiece747]

if you get the mATX board then it's the 2 GTX 580's and that's all that will fit.
I doubt enough room will be left for another PCI card, maybe a mini..

You are right about not getting anything else in there so I think that is off the list also what do you guys think of the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme P67 so I can use my sound card with slowing or disable other pcie and usb. Or the other two the ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 or the ASUS SABERTOOTH P67

 

[headpiece747]

do you really need this sound card, on-board sound technology has come along way...
seriously even the standard HD audio comes with wicked surround possibilities as well as inputs.

unless you have a desired plan to use the card.

I bedroom DJ and make mixes with a DJ program that uses resources with usb and the pcie sound card and it will degrade the sound quality with the on-board audio on the motherboard. I could compromise (because the mixes are for me and not trying to sell it or anything) and sell my current mobo and sound card to offset the price of the new mobo but if I can keep it and use it on the one I get it would be nice.

 

[headpiece747]

I use Virutal DJ myself...!!

That is pretty cool and another resident DJ. I use M-Audio Torq Connectiv myself.

 

[headpiece747]

oh, you use the real deal hardware...
much respect.

I know your perplexed on what to get..

You have no idea how perplexed I am. Before I bought this one I listened to other people without doing my own research and settled for the Asus P8P67(was going to get the high end at that time but people told me it was overkill which it was but I could have at least gotten a Pro/Deluxe that supported sli) which is a good card but I did not know it did not do Sli fully and no one told me so I thought I was good until I stuck the second card in my slot and it did not show sli in the Nvidia control until I did research on my own and got it to work at 16x4. I am still trying to not just buy the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z68 and be done with because long story short I just need something now to sli properly and hold me over until ivy processor, mobo and kepler come out.

 

[jaquith]

Interesting 'chat'. If you want 'real' x16/x16 then perhaps look at the SB-E/LGA 2011.

I agree that PCIe 2.x x8 vs PCIe 2.x x16 vs PCIe 3.x x8/x16 will offer next to nothing, but if you want the 'best' then it's the SB-E/LGA 2011.

Otherwise this thread is IMO going in circles. The MOBO's I posted above work fine. If you can afford 3-WAY SLI GTX 580's then SB-E/LGA 2011 is a pittance.

 

[headpiece747]

I say Z68 motherboard.
might have as well have all the perks.
my opinion.
but to me x16/x16 isn't that big of an issue over x8/x8.
http://hardocp.com/article/2010/08/23/gtx_480_sli_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x8x8/
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/4147/nvidia_nf200_x16_x16_vs_intel_x8_x8_p67_performance_analysis/index.html

I read those articles earlier and it talked me out of x16/x16. Thanks for help. I think I know what I want now.

Interesting 'chat'. If you want 'real' x16/x16 then perhaps look at the SB-E/LGA 2011.

I agree that PCIe 2.x x8 vs PCIe 2.x x16 vs PCIe 3.x x8/x16 will offer next to nothing, but if you want the 'best' then it's the SB-E/LGA 2011.

Otherwise this thread is IMO going in circles. The MOBO's I posted above work fine. If you can afford 3-WAY SLI GTX 580's then SB-E/LGA 2011 is a pittance.

I think I am going with the ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[headpiece747]

Best answer selected by headpiece747.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr