other uses for 3x SLI with only 2 GPU cards

You want to avoid sli or cf if you can, what res are you gaming at?

My pleasure

for 1900 x 1200 all you need is 1 x 5870 for highest settings and 8x aa and 16x af.

sli/cf has issues/bugs of it own, rule number in gpu is:

1. single card solution is always the best option.

also I love nvidia myself, however right now the ati cards are beating nvidia left and right, the current nvidia cards don't even support dx11.

how high your resolution goes depends on your monitor and not the gpu, your monitor's native res is 1900 x 1200, so that is the res you gonna wanna be gaming at.

Here you go Ticket# 387916 --- Price: $4181 (To see this build click here) Price after current promotion $3831

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932 (Black OPS Edition)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 Classified 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (256GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: CMFSSD-256GBG2D)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance (Does NOT fit on the regular EVGA X58 3X SLI)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Please include a free copy of a hot-selling game
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 5 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)

I think the ram fan won't fit, if it does not its ok, don't worry about it, the d14 is worth it.

right now the mobos even tho they say they support tri sli, they actually provide only 2 x x16 lanes and not 3, the third card will endup with an x8 lane.

some people play intensive games that need tri sli at at their res to get things going with with some aa.

these days the cards take 2 pci lanes, so a mobo can have 5 pci lanes, but in tri sli it will have no more available lanes.

other uses for the pci lanes are: sound card, wireless card, usb card, tv card, etc.

the micro mobo has 3 pci lanes, which means that in dual sli you have no more lanes available for any pci cards, but if you don't use those to being with then most likely you don't need them anyways, but lets say down the road you want a sound card, now you have no room for it in the micro. the micro has two x16 lanes in lanes 1 and 2.

the LE mobo has only one x16 lane, but it has many pci lanes, its more for people that have use for pci cards.

the 3x sli is for somebody that want to go dual sli and a sound card or something like that, in the 3x sli you two x16 lanes, lanes 1 and 2,this means both cards are stuck together and that means temps will be a little higher. the 3x sli can only do a max of tri sli, with that there will be no more available pci slots.

the classified mobo is for somebody that wants to go tri sli and have room for a coupe more pci cards. or somebody that wants to go dual sli but does not wan the 2 cards next to each other, the classified has its two x16 lanes at lanes 1 and 3, this means that the cards are apart and that means better temps.

hope that helps.



Edited by DST4ME - 25 Feb 2010 at 2:44am

in that case you want 2 x 5870, so just change my config so that it has 2 x 5870 and you are set.

My pleasure