Hi all,

I'm about to buy the all round gaming, 3d anim, photo/video editing, web design, etc, pc (yes I have too much time on my hands). A bit over $4000(au) worth. I'm looking at the Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6. Its got pretty much everything you could want but its also got 2 x pci-e 16x slots. I am thinking about 2 x 8800 gt's. if i'm gonna get a SLI board then i should get 2 cards. I would rather spend the money on a 8800 ultra for slightley less. I have an sli board atm which has served me well (when 1 card gets fryed you have a spare too ) so I like sli but from what I can tell an ultra would be faster. The problem is most of the high end boards all have SLI/CF.

Can anyone suggest a board that has firewire, loads of USB,etc that does not have SLI/CF?

Are the gt's more future proof than an Ultra? I'm guessing not. I cant wait anylonger this money is staring at me saying "spend meee....".

Also is the 680i chipset the only 1 that has 2 x pci-e 16x? I figure if i'm gonna gonna use SLI then this is the go.

Thanx.

PS is this an Australian site?

i am no expert but surely if a mobo has SLI/CF you dont have to use it and can run it fine with one card?

or am i wrong?

You can run a SLI/CF board with only one video card. I think the OP feels that he'll get a better deal on a board that doesn't support SLI if he doesn't need it. I'd recommend looking at motherboards with the P35 chipset (assuming intel lga775 processor). You should be able to find something that suits your needs.

I think most of the posters here are American, though I notice a fair number of Canadians and British as well, and other scattered nationalities.

Im an Aussie

My question to you would be what size/res screen do you run. SLI is really only an advantage at higher res's (1600x1200+).
If you have say a 24" that does 1920x1200 then the SLI would be good... if you go SLI 680i is the best option for intel CPU and i believe the 2xGT's would be better than one ULTRA at those res's (as long as the game scales ok) and would be a little more future proof with SLI.
If you have a lower res id go with a P35 board assuming intel CPU and get either one GT or the ULTRA (i think the ultra is a waste of money but up to you)

Thanx guys.

I looked at the p35 boards but all the boards I saw with firewire all had sli aswell. I guess I'm wondering why they dont make high end boards without sli. Maybe its so that suckers like me will go out and buy 2 g cards when they dont have to lol.

Thanks chookman. You confirmed my original choice. I'm gonna be running 2 22" widescreens so 2 gt's should run it pretty easily and I would like a 24 in the future.

Thanks again.

I think your getting confused... just because the MOBO has 2x PCI-e 16 slots doesnt make it SLI. It could be Crossfire or neither depending on the chipset. P35's dont support SLI, they only do CrossFire. the only boards that support SLI are Nvidia chipsets.

Anyways with the options in monitors you have if you have the dough the SLI 8800GT is a nice way to go on the 680i chipset.

Yeah, I only research this sort a thing when it comes to upgrading or buying a new pc. Apart from reading mags. But I always thought 2 pci-e ment SLI or Crossfire. Didnt know it could be neither. I guess thats just for running multiple monitors.

I wish the Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 had higher memory speeds. I cant afford an Asus stryker or the faster memory but it would good to be able to upgrade the ram in future. I'm pushin the budget way over as it is.

Thanks.

edit. It does support 1200mhz ram. Only 4g tho. The budget just went up agian. . I need to do some ram research. I get confused with fsb and ram hz.