Maximus IV Extreme question

[sniffsunder]

I'm thinking of getting a new mobo, will the Maximus IV Extreme give me SLI @ 16x,16x? Some of the other boards in the P67 arena only provide SLI @ 16x,8x

 

[Surveyor]

Odd but this is what it says in the Asus specification:

4 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single @x16, dual @x8, triple @x8, x16, x16 )

I assume that if you only use 2 cards the NF200 chip isn't used leaving you with the standard 16 lanes.

I would say this:

1) You won't notice any difference between x8 and x16 except perhaps a tiny amount in benchmarks

2) You can get P67 motherboards for less than half the price which will do SLI

3) The Maximus Extreme IV is an E-ATX motherboard so won't fit a lot of cases

4) The money you save by buying a cheaper motherboard would near enough buy you a 2500K

 

[sniffsunder]

Thanks, you're right, the Asus P8P67 DELUXE is over 100 quid cheaper, I think I'll probably go for this board or the PRO version as the layout looks as though I'll get my existing sound card in there too along with 2 GTX 580's.

 

[Surveyor]

Thanks, you're right, the Asus P8P67 DELUXE is over 100 quid cheaper, I think I'll probably go for this board or the PRO version as the layout looks as though I'll get my existing sound card in there too along with 2 GTX 580's.

The Asus boards are the most problematic of the P67 boards.

You'll see numerous threads on this forum of people who had issues.

You might consider a Z68 board if any of the additional features are of use to you:

1. LucidLogix Virtu (universal switchable graphics/GPU virtualisation)
2. Intel Quick Sync Video Technology (Way faster media transcoding than what only CPU or only discrete graphics card has to offer)
3. Intel Smart Response Technology (SSD caching- faster performance of SSD + large storage capacity of a regular HDD)

Not all features are implemented by all manufacturers.

 

[sniffsunder]

The Asus boards are the most problematic of the P67 boards.

You'll see numerous threads on this forum of people who had issues.

Hmmm that's worrying. Has anyone got any experience of the Gigabyte P67 boards, I'm not sure I'll need the extra features on the Z68 chipset, my build will consist of the following:

CPU - Intel Core i7 2600K

Mobo - As yet undecided but I have always used Asus boards in the past

Memory - 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-12800 (16000)

Cooling - Water cooling yet to be decided

Graphics - GTX 580 x 2 in SLI

Physx - Not decided yet if really needed

Boot drive - OCZ 240GB Vertex 3 SSD

Case - Corsair Obsidian 800D

PSU - Corsair Professional Series Gold AX1200 1200W

Blu Ray - Plextor PX-LB950SA x12

I play a lot of games, I’m an intermediate overclocker, I love technology and I like to tinker so I’ve also decided that I’m going to have a go a water cooling the thing. I might even have a go at producing a build log of the whole setup.

So any suggestions on my selection above and recommendations on mobo would be most welcome i.e. alterative components, also your opinions would be appreciated, e.g. is it overkill for a gaming rig?

 

[whipgeez]

a lot of benches show no difference in sli or crossfire with different channel bandwiths

 

[The Asgard]

I have had zero issues with my MIVE, best board I have ever owned which is saying something.