Hey gang, I am building a new system and I need some help from the pros. I think that I am going to go with this mother board. I know that it is a crossfire board so does that mean that I can not buy the graphics cards that say they are "sli ready"?
No, you can still use SLI ready graphics card, you just cant use two of them. Here is how it works Crossfire= Two or more ATI graphics cards SLI= Two or more Nvidia graphics cards But if you're using one video card it doesn't matter. Oh and if you DO want crossfire then I would not get that board.
Thank you for your reply! It really helped me. Let me make sure I have this straight (Im slow).... I CAN use an "sli" video card in combination with an "ati" card if I choose but I cant use two "sli" cards (with a crossfire board). I understand that I can use ATI cards but when I shop for cards on say, Amazon, the 3 main choices are "PCI Express, PCI and AGP (or I can see "all cards"). Are those three just different brands? Can I use any brand I want with crossfire or does it have to be ATI? Also, if that MoBo is not too great, can you recommend a decent one in the same price range? I dont want to build the PC on a crappy foundation.
No it doesnt quite work like that. IF you want two cards then you will either use two or more ATI(crossfire) cards if your board supports it or you can use two Nvisia cards(SLI) if your board supports it. That board only supports crossfire. So you can either use ONE ATI or NVIDIA card or TWO Ati cards. PCI-E, AGP, and PCI are different technologies. The recent one is PCI-E, and thats the kind of card you want. Basically if you want to use TWO ATI cards you need a Crossfire compatible board. If you want to use TWO NVIDIA cards you need a SLI compatible boards(SLI compatible boards sucks though, stay away from them). That motherboard you picked is EXCELLENT, UNLESS you want to use two ATI cards. If you want to use two ATI card then I would suggest a motherboard based on the X48 chipset instead of the P45 chipset. Something like a GA-X48-DS4, but thats ONLY if you want to use TWO ATI cards. I would stay away from Nvidia at the moment.
ooooh ok. *light bulb comes on* Thank you. I think I get the basics now. I am probably going to start with one really decent ATI card and add another later on. My problem is that when shopping for a card, virtually every card I see is a "g-force" or "sli ready". Where are all of the decent, affordable ATI cards? Also, can I use any processor I want with any video card?
Yes, you can use any processor you want as long as the motherboard supports it. I would suggest this. Get a Q6600 and a ATi 4850 right now with a GA-X48-DS4. Then later on get another 4850 or a 4870 if prices come down.
Gee, thanks. that makes a lot of sense. My thing is that I am but a poor serf and I'm on a budget. The mother board you suggested looks perfect except that it is bit pricey for me. I guess that other board I mentioned would really not be good for two cards? Is there perhaps another, less expensive option? I really appreciate your help!
The first board you mentioned would be good for two cards, it would just give lower performance. Like 10-15% lower, but it will work just fine.
Thanks a bunch! You have helped me tons. PS- if that is you in your sig, you should be out modeling not hanging out with us nerds. You are HAWT!
oh crap, one more question.... how do i know how much ram a board can support? like, how much ram can the one i chose support?
Just a word of warning, don't wait very long before getting the second card, else there will be a single card on its own that will probably outperform the pair, and you would have been better off ebaying the old card and getting the newer one, if you see what I mean.
