Suggestions on Motherboard for dual/tri setup

[bonoscot]

Can you guys advise me on any motherboard suggestions that will fit the following:

Coolermaster 932 Case(my current p7p55d Le fits but barley/leaves space in IO shield area/loks stupid)
2x6970 GFX cards
120 Corsair SSD
Thermaltake toughpower 1000wt Modular PSU
8gb Ram


My processor is currently i7 860 2.6Ghz......ram DDR3

I am looking for a MB that will support the above and also future proof,the Motherboard MUST support Dual 16 x lane speed for Crossfirex/sli
i am trying to build a pc pice by piece ,but i am running int Mb problem and dont wanna waste my cash so suggestion would be appreciated

Price Up to 140 GBP
$230

thanks guys

[Gilly]

Can you guys advise me on any motherboard suggestions that will fit the following:

Coolermaster 932 Case(my current p7p55d Le fits but barley/leaves space in IO shield area/loks stupid)
2x6970 GFX cards
120 Corsair SSD
Thermaltake toughpower 1000wt Modular PSU
8gb Ram


My processor is currently i7 860 2.6Ghz......ram DDR3

I am looking for a MB that will support the above and also future proof,the Motherboard MUST support Dual 16 x lane speed for Crossfirex/sli
i am trying to build a pc pice by piece ,but i am running int Mb problem and dont wanna waste my cash so suggestion would be appreciated

Price Up to 140 GBP
$230

thanks guys

IMO, based on both those concerns and "don't wanna waste cash", I would stick with what you have.

You are losing at most 5% performance, (can you notice between 60 and 63 fps?) (do you think that going from 30fps to 31.5 will suddenly make the game playable?) and the only way you will get that performance back is by going to a 1366 or 2011 system, which are old tech, and very expensive respectively.. The nF200 chip that gives "extra bandwidth" is a complete hoax, the physical CPU doesn't have any more than 2 PCIe x8 lanes, by having a super fat pipe connected to 2 small pipes, you are still limited by the small pipes.

IMO your best bet it is to wait till Ivy Bridge, then upgrade to a IB CPU and 1155 mobo, they will support PCIe gen 3 (some of the current boards do, but the current SB CPU's don't have enough PCIe lanes), and I would guess that there will be 2x PCIe (3G)x8 ports (because they are gen 3 they get the same bandwidth as the current x16 slots), that would solve the problem.

Although, it is your money, do what you want. But upgrading for cosmetic reasons whilst still "not wasting cash" doesn't sound so smart to me.

[bonoscot]

So is this setup i have a good gaming setup as it stands?
As i say im new to all this,i know a bit about this and that,im trying to get the best outta BF3 for eyefinity(sad i know) i only upgrade every few years and it happens to be now,so im trying to do it well.

Im currently playing on 1 monitor just now in crossfire 6970 and getting 60-80 fps on High/ultra.
Gonna test on 3 monitors soon though.

I thought if id upgrade to a eg.SABRE Gaming Motherboard 16xlanes and i7 2600,would i see a considerable difference?Or is the Mb and setup i have not that far of that anyways and would be a waste of cash?

thanks for reply

[Gilly]

Trying the hardware you have now will not cost anything!