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Taken from the hexus2scan product suggestion thread..
Whats with the RD580 boards I've seen going around? I'd really like to get one, but seem to block the only, or one of two (i think) spare PCI bays. After using an X-Fi sound card I really want to get my mits on one, and possibly even a physics card as they look quite the awesome!
Am I missing something or does everyone else not mind about onboard audio and no physics upgrade? I can't be alone..
It seems to me that motherboard makers don't know what to do as all the GOOD cards require 2 slots with their massive coolers and so the PCI slots directly beneath the PCI-E slots are just destroyed and becoem useless, basically the only way to get a good all round system (PhysX card and X-Fi card) is to go single graphics card... :( Dual GPUs on one PCB anybody? I have yet to find a well configured board, I really like the sapphire white one but its layout is terrible and its like their budget version and I don't do budget...
http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/8...1image39fe.jpg
Looking at that, I presume a single card would go in the master? X1900XT-X has dual slot cooler (correct me if im wrong), which would cover that only PCI slot? :undecided
I do think that ATi missed a trick or 2 (but I'm sure that they have their own sound reasons) :
How many people run SLI/Crossfire compared to a single GPU?
With SLI the default slot for a single GPU is usually the top slot leaving all the PCI slots available - with Crossfire the default is the bottom slot for a single card ...
(btw that Sapphire RD580 is pretty much identical to the ATi Manta reference design)
With nF4 you have basic & Ultra versions allowing for a single GPU & more PCI/PCI-E slots - afaik only Sapphire did an RD480 board with only 1 x16 PCI-E slot & apparently they have dropped that for RD580 ...
Yes you're right, mine certainly does :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobeman
:( but I wanted a sexy white PCB!
Now I'm not sure whether to stick around with the mature 939 socket, or wait a little to see what AM2 introduces (and does away with.. ie. my nice OCZ memory :( - Damn you DDR2!)
I'd pick yourself up a nice DFI Sli-Expert mate :)
That is: unless you have the patience to wait for both conroe and AM2 to be out and see which one fares the best ;)
The DFI RD580 board looks like it will have 2 usable PCI slots.
http://www.hkepc.com/hwdb/atird580/logo.jpg
Looks to me like the only RD580 board worth considering, well until we see ABits....
Plus, the DFI board will looks nuts in my UV-lit case :mrgreen:
Ahhh good old DFI.
They're the best
I'll take a look when its out.
luff DFI :D
Do you reckon it is worth it? Will higher latency memory not hinder perfromance on the AM2 boards? I don't know much about the AM2 socket :embarrassed: :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by kempez
AM2 will be decent but Intels next gen looks pretty kick ass. Its a bit of a time to wait until both of them are mature tho so I know I couldn't wait that long ;)
http://cimg2.163.com/catchpic/1/1D/1...DC9395D413.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by shaithis
AT8 32X
1 less PCI but quiet chipset cooling.
I noticed that ABit board. I've never used one before, only because they haven't really shone through enough above the rest of the pack. I know you are an avid fan though Buff, and it looks to have a good layout (whats the floppy drive connector doing there though? :()
I've heard Abits tend to be fairly good overclockers, and thats what I want from my next board. Shame about the barf-o-matic colour scheme on them :P
I like the look of the DFI above, but will the change over of the DIMM slots affect third party coolers? Ah decisions decisions!
DFI it is then, no real choice for me....
Good excuse to wait tho and good excuse to try a DFI board for the first time.
DFI's board will not obstruct 3rd Party coolers. They rock. I'm a fan only cause they're the best :)
They work for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobeman
I've actually used more DFI's but I prefer the Abits :crazy:
I like the silent chipset cooling & I find some of the uGuru stuff useful (imo AbitEQ is far better than DFI's SmartGuardian although you can of course run MBM, SpeedFan etc.)
ClearCMOS jumper is in a poor position imo .
Re. floppy, yes it's not a good place but it's virtually obsolete (FlashMenu works well if you take a few precautions)
If you want to get the last fraction of performance in synthetic benchmarks & possibly spend hours tweaking to get it then get a DFI.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobeman
In my experience the Abit will do 99% with far less hassle but ymmv.
In the case of RD580, active cooling (as seen in the DFI) is more of an exception than a rule.
Granted the Asus/Sapphire do not use heatpipes, but they are also passively cooled.
Awesome, thats what I was after, I get lost in DFI BIOS :eek: Everyone is suggesting different things, hehe, I guess i'll wait and see how the prices reflect this.. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by BUFF
The US prices that I have seen are noticeably cheaper than the ASUS A8R32 but still a lot dearer than the AT8.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobeman
I take that back, its not, ignore this post :o
and here we are yet another week later and still no sign of the DFI or ABit offerings in the UK :angst:
Just how long does it take from a product launch before we can buy the damn product in the UK? Checking every website on a daily basis is driving me nuts, I need an RD580 board with decent expansion room NOW :rant:
Starting to think a lot of these boards are vaporware :undecided
The DFI has only just been announced on their website.
The Abit is in stock in 1 or 2 places in the US so it exists :)
Tekheads now taking pre-orders for the DFI CFX3200-DR :thumbsup:
Mines on order :lol:
£165?
Think I'll pass :(
Tempted..tempted...
the Asus A8R32-MVP has spare pci slots
http://www.scan.co.uk/images/products/345216-A.jpg
but its Asus... I've had enough of asus motherboards I want a good motherboard that provides good frequent bios updates and has good support. All of which Asus doesn't do...
& a few problems going by the forums ...:pQuote:
Originally Posted by YorkieBen
To be fair all the RD580 boards seem to have some out of the box.
Umm, I updated my board as soon as I got it, and everything seems to work fine.. With one exception, which I can't quite figure yet: my motherboard temp is high (40+ C). At stock, my CPU is cooler than my motherboard (when idling). Even when overclocked my CPU temperature is roughly the same as my motherboard. The CPU only get hotter than the motherboard when it is under load. The motherboard temperature will still go up a few degrees to ~46 at some point. A lot higher than normal. I wonder where the sensor is so that I can check if the sensor happens to be near my GPU or something.. or in a place with very bad airflow. It doesn't seem to affect system stability though.
the Abit's available in the UK too now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobeman
Similar price (~£140) to the A8R32 & the Sapphire A9RD580
The DFI manages to squeeze an extra PCI slot. I think it may have just clinched it, and my money. When I get some that is.
Edit: Looking at DFI-Street, the CFX3200-DR is plagued with problems atm, as I expected for a new board. May sit this one out a while and wait for a BIOS update before going ahead and purchasing.
Edit2: ..Or possibly do some research into how well the Abit is doing, any news BUFF? :D
Edit3: Just visited abit forums, and funnily enough in the first thread I read, the first reply is from the one and only Abit-meister BUFF! :lol:
You probably know this already ;) reports have it as very stable at stock & a chap at OcUK forums who has both gives it the nod over the Asus.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobeman
The XtremeSystems guys say that they can't get it to boot over ~280 1:1 but there are posts of it doing over 300HTT asynch. The ~280 thing seems to have been common in recent Abit mobo releases but theyll have a BIOS revision I expect (e.g. the AN8 32X had it's first new BIOS release today - 1.Fixed the issue that the external clock cannot be set higher than 277MHz.).
Sounds like the DFI issues can be resolved with that BIOS update....
Will see how it goes when the board gets here, I guess many others will have solutions by the time I get mine though :rolleyes: