Sli

[andydrew39219]

ive always wondered why when running SLI mode on most boards the first card would be running at 16X and the second will be running at 8X i mean Yes i know that some motherboards run them both at 16 but why did some mobo manufacturers decide to run it at 16 and 8.Is there a valid reason? and another question why do the newer motherboards have those little cards between the pci-e X16 slots for sli now? how does that make a difference of just having the bios detect it

[sushrukh]

Hi,Andydrew.You won't see any noticeable diference if you run the cards in 16x or 8x.8x is enough to power the cards.16x is nothing but a marketing strategy.they may perform a little better sometimes but most of the time it's equal to 8x.And i think you are talking about the SLI Bridge which connects two PCI-E cards physically.You can also use SLI without attaching the bridge but you'll not get the most out of it.SLI Bridges are used to connect cards physically.Maybe there will be someday when you'll not need the SLI bridges to connect cards but for now, you have to.

[andydrew39219]

haha thank you very much :icon_tiphat: i always thought that x16 and x8 was how fast information was transfered but i was wrong and i didnt know you could sli without the bridge haha

[sushrukh]

haha thank you very much :icon_tiphat: i always thought that x16 and x8 was how fast information was transfered but i was wrong and i didnt know you could sli without the bridge haha

Yep, i think you may have heard of some modded Nvidia drivers which will let you run SLI even on non Nvidia based boards too.You just need to install that modded driver(DX 9 based cards only) if you don't have any SLI board or you want to experience SLI without attaching the bridge & put two identical cards on the mobo without the Bridge & you can still run SLI but in a slightly reduced performance.Can you believe that i've used SLI using two Asus 7600GT cards on my MSI 975x board that is ATI Crossfire compatible & that too without the SLI Bridge. :ahhhhh:

[andydrew39219]

thats amazing......:offtopic: i need a whole new motherboard,ram and cpu when i get my new board cause i cant seem to find a higher performanced SLI board that is capable of using a cpu with a 533FSB support and also having the Memory standard as DDR2 PC4200

[sushrukh]

thats amazing......:offtopic: i need a whole new motherboard,ram and cpu when i get my new board cause i cant seem to find a higher performanced SLI board that is capable of using a cpu with a 533FSB support and also having the Memory standard as DDR2 PC4200

Why do you want to run your machine with the most outdated & slowest ram speeds & FSB speeds ? :ahhhhh: Do you have a CPU already which you want to use with a new board ?

[andydrew39219]

Why do you want to run your machine with the most outdated & slowest ram speeds & FSB speeds ? :ahhhhh: Do you have a CPU already which you want to use with a new board ?

haha well a few months ago i wanted to build the cheapest custom built pc and i did for around 350-400$ [thanks to neweggs cheap prices] and i wanted to look for a SLI motherboard i could upgrade to again that supported the ram and CPU im already using so i didnt have to buy all the parts and spend alot more money than i had to

[timberwolf120]

I think there was an article in Popular Science months ago and it was a how to build a PC for $80 or some ridiculous low price.

Anways, if you need help finding an SLI-ready motherboard that can use your current CPU and RAM, we can help. Just tell us what CPU and RAM you got.

Did you already buy your other parts? If so, how much money do you have left over for a motherboard?

[tyle6]

my EVGA 680i can run a P4 524 using only a single gig stick of ddr2-533mhz ram. enuf said if its ddr2 and socket 775 you are good to go.
also this wasn't clearly specified, but no SLI board runs 16x+8X what actually happens is the badwidth is shared. essentially the MCP handles the second card and the second card is limited to the MCP bandwidth. where as the first card on the SPP northbridge get a full 16x from most chipsets. on a 680i board both cards get an even 16x this is intended for quad SLI( running a couple GX2's)

[andydrew39219]

Ok well yeah i would like help finding a gaming motherboard at this moment money is not a factor i would just like to get a general price on how much it would be to get a new motherboard my current processor/RAM which i wanna use with the new board is

Intel Celeron D 347 Cedar Mill 3.06GHz 512KB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

and

2 WINTEC AMPX 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Desktop Memory - Retail

to narrow down the search i would like the board to be SLI and if possible using one of the nvidia boards IE [ 680i, 650i]

[andydrew39219]

I know Tyle6 said that as long as it is LGA775, but just in case, I included the Celeron support in my search criteria on Newegg. I came up with these two boards.

XFX 680i LT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141002

MSI P6N SLI 650i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130082

those boards are nice and all but my memory is PC2 4200 (DDR2 533) and both of those boards use DDR2 800 so...would that work? and yes they both support celeorn D but their FSB is wayy to high their 1333Mhz and 1066Mhz and my celeron is 533Mhz once again....would that work

[werty316]

Your DDR2-533 would work in those boards as they officially support memory upto DDR2-800.

As long as your Celeron D is supported it'll work no matter what the FSB of that CPU is.

[timberwolf120]

Here is one from MSI:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130082

You can pick any 650i or 680i sli motherboard. Your criteria did narrow a lot of boards down. But there is still a handful of 650/680's to choose from. As of now, I would think that the 650i chipsets are pefect for you. They offer SLI and other features at a great price. If you want the 680i, then you would have to spend more.

Here's the tech specs of the different 6-series chipsets to help you decide:
http://www.nvidia.com/page/nforce_600i_tech_specs.html

EDIT:
Caught my post before I could delete it... Anyways, Werty is correct on both of your concerns. You don't need to worry. And the spec sheet I linked to above show that all the 6-series chipsets support your Celeron.

[tyle6]

My EVGA 680i is the Nvidia ref. board adn top of the line in my opinion. just noticed scott is using the same board in his new beast that is going to set the new 3dmark06 world record!!! any 680 or 650i board will do you just fine they are the top of the line baords supporting DDR2 and SLI.

[tyle6]

all 775 boards are fully back compatible with the older FSB speeds aswell ram speeds. even though they support up to ddr2-800mhz they operate just fine with 533mhz and 667mhz ram. take what a board says as it max rated speed. not what it is ment to be doing. sorry about the double post

[timberwolf120]

My EVGA 680i is the Nvidia ref. board adn top of the line in my opinion. just noticed scott is using the same board in his new beast that is going to set the new 3dmark06 world record!!! any 680 or 650i board will do you just fine they are the top of the line baords supporting DDR2 and SLI.

It's also been chosen in Maximum PC's Dream Machine this year.

I got one and I love it, though when I got mine, it was the AR version. But you won't have to worry about that when you buy one. They only sell the new and revised A1 version that supports better quad core overclocking.

[sushrukh]

Ok well yeah i would like help finding a gaming motherboard at this moment money is not a factor i would just like to get a general price on how much it would be to get a new motherboard my current processor/RAM which i wanna use with the new board is

Intel Celeron D 347 Cedar Mill 3.06GHz 512KB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

and

2 WINTEC AMPX 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Desktop Memory - Retail

to narrow down the search i would like the board to be SLI and if possible using one of the nvidia boards IE [ 680i, 650i]


I prefer going for the Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus which is a rock solid board with all solid caps & it performs equally to the Striker Extreme & EVGA 680i SLI board in a much lower price point.Good thing is that it supports all current socket 775 CPUs like your Celeron D & your 533 Mhz modules & the best thing is that it's also ready for 1333 FSB processors.It has got everything you want & even more.You simply can't go wrong with this board my friend.:smile::icon_tiphat:

[andydrew39219]

thank you very much for everyone that has helped me =]