Z77 2x PCI-E @ x16

[spankingtexan]

Hi, i'm looking for a z77 mobo that is capable of running sli @ x16/x16 rather than x8/x8 doesn't matter if it's 2.0 as i'll be using a SB processor. Any one know if this is possible with a z77 mobo as it was with the Asrock z68 extreme 7 board?

 

[Martini1991]

You can't unless it's using a chip that provides bandwidth like the NF200, at least to my knowledge.
It's the mainstream platform.

 

[darknite]

Gigabyte sniper 3. I think! It says 2 16x slots. It only says 3 or 4 way sli will drop down to 8x

 

[Martini1991]

Gigabyte sniper 3. I think! It says 2 16x slots. It only says 3 or 4 way sli will drop down to 8x

That one will because of other chips on the board.

 

[spankingtexan]

Brill, thanks guys, it's an expensive board but good news all the same.

 

[Martini1991]

Brill, thanks guys, it's an expensive board but good news all the same.

Personally speaking from an owner of that type of high end socket 1155 board, it's not worth it.

Go for 2 lots of 8x lanes, or, you won't see a difference, you'd end up paying less moving to Ivy and getting a Z77 board that's cheap so ultimately PCI-E 3.0 8X (PCI-E 16X)

 

[darknite]

Asus WS z77 board will as well. Both boards about £300

 

[cmndr_andi]

As martini says - for running two cards it really isn't worth going for a board that uses a bridging chip to achieve dual x16 slots. This is because the CPUs graphics PCIE controller can only handle 16 PCIE lanes (8 per card in a dual card setup). Therefore, you don't see much performance increase with these boards in a dual-card setup, while you do usually see an increase in latency.

However, when you are using three cards or more these boards are more practical and make better use of the available PCIE lanes.


Considering the price of the Z77 boards with full x16/x16 lanes you would probably be better off buying one of the cheaper standard Z77 boards, selling your i5 2500K and buying an i5 3570K - since the Ivy Bridge CPU supports PCIE gen3, which offers double the bandwidth per lane compared to PCIE gen2.

 

[spankingtexan]

Asus WS z77 board will as well. Both boards about £300

Thanks, it's £60 cheaper than the sniper too

 

[spankingtexan]

As martini says - for running two cards it really isn't worth going for a board that uses a bridging chip to achieve dual x16 slots. This is because the CPUs graphics PCIE controller can only handle 16 PCIE lanes (8 per card in a dual card setup). Therefore, you don't see much performance increase with these boards in a dual-card setup, while you do usually see an increase in latency.

However, when you are using three cards or more these boards are more practical and make better use of the available PCIE lanes.


Considering the price of the Z77 boards with full x16/x16 lanes you would probably be better off buying one of the cheaper standard Z77 boards, selling your i5 2500K and buying an i5 3570K - since the Ivy Bridge CPU supports PCIE gen3, which offers double the bandwidth per lane compared to PCIE gen2.

Thanks, was going to go ivy but the heat issue and overclocking potential is rather a worry, I chose to get z77 over z68 for possible future upgrade to ivy if intel release a revised cooler ivy.
I will take note of your comment advising that x16/x16 isn't worth it and that sir may have just saved me a pretty penny. Thanks again guys

 

[darknite]

16x16 will only show gains in benchmarking, and even then tiny amounts. Maybe 5fps with a pair of high end cards?

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Surely the gains depend on the resolution you're running?

 

[stuntmanSLim]

some games benefit from x16 over x8 & some games not. "Asus P8Z77 WS" this board will give you support upto ddr3 2800mhz which the gigabyte sniper doesn't.

 

[8 Pack]

The 16 x 16 option on these boards with bridging chips etc is actually in most cases slower than 8 x 8 using the CPU lanes because of the latencys involved with the bridging chip. The 8 x 8 is on the CPU die so virtually no latency. I have tested this in an ASUS board and found this is true with the 8 x 8 option being superior.

 

[stuntmanSLim]

My advice would be to dump the z77 build that gives you only true 16 pci-e lanes. X79 supports true 40 lanes,this Asrock is the best gamers board: http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Fatal1ty X79 Professional&cat=Specifications

(another tip would be to wait for the ivybridge E CPU before upgrading)

 

[HaloUK]

16x16 will only show gains in benchmarking, and even then tiny amounts. Maybe 5fps with a pair of high end cards?

Has this been proven yet?

Any info on this as im looking into this at the moment. I will have 2 x EVGA GTX 680 4gb and want to know if there will be any difference running 16+8 or 16+16 on a Z77 mobo.

 

[8 Pack]

Z77 motherboards in general run 8x 8x SLI not 16x 8x. ASUS MVE uses a PLX bridging chip and can run 16x 16x but PLX like NF200 (although not as bad as NF200) does come with the latency's as its not on CPU.

Interestingly the world record for Unigen Xtreme which is largely a graphics card limited benchmark is done on the MVF with the lanes running 8x 4x 4x in Trifire. So go figure its not bandwidth making any difference here at world record levels so I doubt in your system your gonna notice at all.

If you want true x16 x16 on CPU lanes you have to go X79.

 

[V F]

If you want true x16 x16 on CPU lanes you have to go X79.

Pricy boards. Nearly all of them are in the steep 200's to 300's. Bar a few that are £165. Can't believe most are as much as a graphics card.

 

[HaloUK]

Thanks 8 Pack

So what do I do... do I go Z77 or X79.

I will def be SLi'ing 680's. so do I go for the Z79 for the 16+16 GPU lanes, is it worth it/will I notice any difference?

Do I go for the Z77 and the Asus Sabertooth (2 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots (Dual at x8/x8))