Suggestions/critiques on my build... thanks!Post Date: 2011-03-19 |
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shatteredhalo 
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Joined: 19 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
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 Topic: Suggestions/critiques on my build... thanks!Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 9:35pm |
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Looking for advice/critique/suggestions for a build I'm considering. Usage will be largely for gaming but I want the potential for overclocking as well. Budget isn't really a big deal. I was sort of aiming for future-proofing with the specs I chose. If I had to put an upper limit, I'd say $5,500. I don't need peripherals or disk drives as I have extras laying around that I'll install myself. I really like the look of the Haf X case, but I'm thinking the Hailstorm Assassin or a less open case might be a little quieter? It will be in the same room I sleep in, so I'm hoping the liquid cooling will help keep the noise down.
Thanks for your help guys! http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=504428 *Edit: When I say I have disk drives, I'm referring to DVDRW drives. I use my PS3 for Blu-ray. Edited by shatteredhalo - 19 Mar 2011 at 9:43pm |
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 10:02pm |
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There is no such thing as future proof, with new things coming out the old parts won't be compatible, for example look at sli 275, only 2 years old and can't support DX11, a game like metro would make it cry, so its not much future proof, best future proof is to get a pc that can get you what you want now and then be upgraded to be compatible with future stuff.
Now what res will be gaming at? 90% of your noise comes from gpu's fans when under load, the cases are all pretty much the same when it comes to noise, open case has better airflow, closed cases like hailstorm are better for LC on cpu/gpu. going LC does not mean quiet, remember the rads have fans on them and if the fans are regular loud fans then you got the same noise with LC as you would if you when with the fan upgrade that adds the same fans that are loud. now you can go with Scythe gentle typhoon, but you want to make sure that they are the 1300rpm and more important that your rad is one that works good with low cfm fans like the typhoon 1300rpm fans, such rads are feser or xspc rads but only the RX series. |
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shatteredhalo
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Joined: 19 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
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Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 10:14pm |
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Right now my monitor is 1920x1200 but I'll probably soon be moving to a 2560x1600. I've done a little more research and it actually sounds like the 2600k would be a much better choice for my purposes as well as being $700 or so cheaper. I redid the build using that CPU instead, but I'm not really very knowledgeable about the 2600k compatible motherboards.
Here's the modified build. I'm all for saving a cool $1,000. : ) http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=504440 I'm not sure on the motherboard as I know very little about Sandy Bridge, any advice there? Or should I stick with the X58 boards and the 990x? Edited by shatteredhalo - 19 Mar 2011 at 11:13pm |
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 19 Mar 2011 at 11:58pm |
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the 2600K oces higher and runs cooler thn the x58 platform, and it beats or matches the performance of 9xx chips, so no point in spending money on inferior/same power.
plus because the SB chip runs cooler, it can be oced higher and with this platform (p67) ocing is made much easier as there are fewer settings to mess with, higher oc means faster speeds. Because of this you can get the Noctua NH-U12P air cooler and get a 4.7GHz oc with the 2600K, but with the x58 platform, if you want higher oc then 3.9GHz, you have to go to stage 3 LC, which cost a lot more, and at the end the 9xx chips will run hotter at 4.7GHz then the 2600K chip will, these are all important facters, at the end it all adds upto spending more then $1000 less, and getting more performance than the system that cost $1000 more. OK I love the haf X but for LC on both cpu and gpu, I like the hailstorm, which is the case you see in my sig, but I will do config for your with both: HAF X: Here you go Ticket# 504495 --- $4014 (To see this build click here) Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue) System Memory: 8GB 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 (160GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (2TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD2002FAEX) (SATA 6Gbps) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: - No Thanks Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards H20 Tube Color:Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive) Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (UV) (Creates Glowing Effect for H20 Tubes) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 4.0GHz to 4.5GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card 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 (Medium) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty Ask DS specifically for this fan to be added to the top, so you endup with 4 x 200mm fans: haf 200mm non led fan --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- Hailstorm: Here you go Ticket# 504496 --- $4270 (To see this build click here) Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS HailStorm Edition Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue) System Memory: 8GB 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 (160GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (2TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD2002FAEX) (SATA 6Gbps) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards H20 Tube Color:Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive) Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (UV) (Creates Glowing Effect for H20 Tubes) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 4.0GHz to 4.5GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card 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 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty Now I got to be honest with you, for 2560 x 1600 I like the cf 6970 better cause it has more vram, and that comes in handy at that res lot of times, for cf 6970, just click on my config and change 2 x 570 to 2 x 6970, thats it. Edited by DST4ME - 19 Mar 2011 at 11:59pm |
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Treelox
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Joined: 04 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 78 |
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Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 5:09am |
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@DST
Just wondering, since shatter wants to "future proof" his machine and said he had a higher budget that those two configs price out at, that you didnt suggest a slightly larger PSU or more RAM.
Not complaining, just looking for some insight. |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 5:37am |
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For gaming 8GB of ram is more then enough, you need more ram only if you gonna do heavy media editing or run virtual server environment/s, otherwise even 6GB is more then enough for a good few years as far as gaming goes.
As for PSU, for sli/cf a 1000w corsair is more then enough, so once again just like ram, there is nothing to gain by getting more, the only difference noticed will be the bank account, bigger psu (1200w corsair / 1500 silverstone) are for tri / quad gpu setups, in this case the platform is best for dual sli, so we configure everything around that. I'm a big believer in getting power for every penny, to be honest I would not have given him the LC if it was upto me, its not needed, air would do great with SB and 570/6970. Edited by DST4ME - 20 Mar 2011 at 5:38am |
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shatteredhalo
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Joined: 19 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
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Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 12:10pm |
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Thanks for all the input, DST4ME! I'm curious, but is there any particular reason you push the 570 sli over 580 sli? Is it just a matter of the gains not being worth the increased price? Also, are you confident that the 1,000w PSU will be sufficient if I decide to further overclock the cpu/ram/gpus?
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Treelox
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Posted: 20 Mar 2011 at 5:03pm |
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Yes DST I fully understand those points and normally they are true. Just with Shattered's emphasis on futureproofing, i was wondering. Cause if I was "future proofing" a machine with a budget like his I would be inclined to go for more RAM and a slightly bigger PSU.
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 21 Mar 2011 at 2:34am |
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at 1900 x 1200 you will never notice the difference between sli 570 vs sli 580, and the gains are not worth the price. you can oc the heck out of the cpu/gpu, all you want the 1000w corsair can easily take it, don't oc the ram, that causes more problem then its worth, ram oc is mainly for benchmarkers. However if one did oc the ram, still power would not be an issue with the 1000w corsair.
OK let me see if I can be more clear, 8GB = future proof, as you are not using 8GB of ram now to being with for a gaming rig, and you can always easily add more ram if needed. Main reason for psu is to support gpu/cpu needs, if your system can only support dual cf/sli, a good 1000w psu covers you for future upgrades, a bigger psu makes zero difference in a system that can only do dual cf/sli as far as future proofing goes. the systems I mentioned are good for at least 4 years in cpu/ram, the gpus depending on dx12, could be good for 2 years, after that one wants the support for newer DX then one needs to upgrade the gpus. AS I always try to explain there is no real future proofing, cause the future constantly and quickly brings news things, look back 2 years and come forward, nobody that got whatever pc 2 years ago, is covered today, they don't have support for dx11, will have a hard time running metro at 1900 x 1200 res even with sli/cf card, etc. the only real way to be future proof, is to upgrade the things you can to be future requierments compatible. If I saw the need for more then 8GB of ram in the next few years, I would add more ram, but no point spending good money on ram you may never use for the next 4 years, if not longer. hope that clears it up a bit. Edited by DST4ME - 21 Mar 2011 at 2:44am |
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shatteredhalo
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Joined: 19 Mar 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
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Posted: 21 Mar 2011 at 1:54pm |
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DST4ME, would I need to request a specific radiator be used if I were going to go the gentle typhoon fan route? Will DS even let me request a part that's not normally in the configurator?
Also, would you recommend that I just buy the typhoons and install them myself? Which RPM version of the gentle typhoon would be best?
I think I'm pretty well decided on the actual build of the computer now. I'm just trying to decide whether I should get the 4.5 - 5.2GHz overclock option and the details of the radiator/silent fan possibilities. I suppose I could always leave it stock and then change it myself later if I decide it's too loud? I don't know much about LC and have only ever used air, so I don't know how much trouble I'd have switching in parts to the loop.
Thanks to everyone who has responded in this thread so far, I am grateful for all the discussion.
 Edit: Does anyone know
Edit: Haha, I'm a dummy. I just noticed that the stage 6 cooling option actually specifies "dual loop" in the description.  Edited by shatteredhalo - 21 Mar 2011 at 9:47pm |
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DST4ME
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 2:10am |
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You have to call DS and ask them for the brands of the rads and etc, as I mentioned its important to match the rads with fans, you don't what to put high cfm fans on rads that work well with low cfm fans and vise versa, cfm here represents the air flow of the fan, low cfm means the fan moves less air, high cfm means the fan moves more air, cfm = cubic feet per minute.
so tho you can install the fans yourself, you want to make user your rad works well with low cfm fans, and if it does then the zalman fans they use on rads will not be what you want. the oc is upto you, a good high oc makes a good difference in everything, in some games it may not, but everything else it will make a big difference. Edited by DST4ME - 22 Mar 2011 at 2:11am |
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shatteredhalo
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 6:09pm |
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Does anyone have advice on which of the SSD drives offered by DS is the fastest?
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damet
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 6:20pm |
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intel is the most reliable and stable. end of story.
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shatteredhalo
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 6:26pm |
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So the model 510 250GB Intel SSD would be the best choice, then? I've read things saying the 510s have better sequential speeds, but the X-25Ms have better random, and that random is what's most important to the average user/gamer.
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damet
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 6:28pm |
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forget the 510s, they suck. your right, randoms are more important for ur purposes, so the x-25m would be better. if not, just wait for the gen 3 intel ssd.
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shatteredhalo
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 6:37pm |
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I guess I'll go with the 160GB x25m since random read/write is more important to me and leave my options open to upgrade to the G3s everyone is raving about, if they ever come out.
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shatteredhalo
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Posted: 22 Mar 2011 at 6:58pm |
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Ah, another thing: how important is northbridge/southbridge cooling? I've heard the northbridge can really heat up during overclocking, and active cooling with a fan or water can help you stabilize better overclocks. True?
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 23 Mar 2011 at 12:14am |
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go back and look at my configs, you see which intel ssd I have chosen, that is the best one/fastest one from intel to get.
the 510 sucks cause it has a crappy controller. wait till intel gen 3 come out, then upgrade, you have nothing to lose. again in my configs oc will be great and heat will not be an issue for you, in north/south bridge, specially with the haf x and four 200mm fans. Edited by DST4ME - 23 Mar 2011 at 12:14am |
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shatteredhalo
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Posted: 23 Mar 2011 at 9:18am |
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You actually have me talked into the 800D case... I like the smooth/sleek look. I don't guess it'd be too hard to just add in my own chipset waterblocks later, if needed, though. It's hard to decide on the case, both the HAF X and 800D seem awesome. I'm torn between both.
 I think that covers just about everything. Should be ordering around Friday.
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DST4ME
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Posted: 24 Mar 2011 at 2:17am |
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for air cooling I would go with haf x and for LC on cpu/gpu I would go with 800d.
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shatteredhalo
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Posted: 25 Mar 2011 at 7:12pm |
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I just noticed while reading about the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe mobo that it lists these specs:
(2) PCI 32bit (1) PCIe x16 (1) PCIe x16 wired as x8 (1) PCIe x16 wired as x4 (1) PCIe x8 wired as x4 (2) PCIe x1 That looks like only one true PCIx16 slot... does anyone know if that's going to bottleneck my 580 gtxs in SLI? |
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 25 Mar 2011 at 8:24pm |
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no matter what you get, you are pretty much looking at x8 x8 in sli, the performance drop is very little in most cases, its x4 that you will notice performance drop in.
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