AM3 mobo SLI/CF question

[touchdowntexas13]

I think i am going to build a new machine based on the new AM3 mobo. However i want it to handle BOTH Sli and CF

Will this mobo do the trick?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128377

The website shows support for CF, but i also want the ability to do SLI if i so choose.

Also, can someone recommend a good 4gb of memory for this mobo? right now this is what i have selected:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231200

 

[hunter315]

Only the intel X58 chipset and nVidia chipsets support SLI and the nVidia chipsets for AMD boards dont get stellar reviews unless you are going the i7 route you are restricted to either a lesser motherboard or CF only.

 

[touchdowntexas13]

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/SLI-Nvidia-Gigabyte,7330.html

"For Gigabyte's EX58-UD4, the method does work according to the PC Home Advance article. The magazine managed to flash the motherboard with the latest F6 Gigabyte EX58-UD4P (note the "P") Nvidia SLI-certified BIOS and actually enable SLI on the cheaper EX58-UD4 model. Ironically, the EX58-UD4 offers CrossFire multi-GPU setups right out of the box, so by flashing the BIOS, the board thus supports both CrossFire and SLI. Coolness."

That says that the "p" means that sli is supported. the mobo i have selected is ud5p. That's the article on unlocking SLI on a non-sli gigabyte mobo. however it says the p at the end is what makes the mobo sli compatible...

 

[touchdowntexas13]

oh but i see that's the x58 mobo. i guess that might make a difference being that it is an intel socket...

that sucks.

 

[megamanx00]

There are no SLI AM3 boards. Blame nVidia. I don't think they will release any new chipsets for AMD platforms and they haven't offered the ability for board partners to add SLI to AMD chipsets like they did for Intel's X58 chipset. The only way to get SLI on an AM3 platform is by using hacked drivers.

 

[gkay09]

^ +1
The SLI chipsets apart from the X58 are flaky and many would not suggest you to get them...
And as for the memory, how about CAS 6 with LED effect for about $71 and one of the most stable RAMs out there - Crucial
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148261

 

[touchdowntexas13]

That really sucks. It almost makes me not want to buy from Nvidia. However, as a consumer i have to buy what is best for the money, and there is no way to predict that two years down the road.

The only solution to this problem would be to go the i7 route. What do you guys think? There is a $123 difference between my AM3 build and i7 build (all parts from Newegg). I am not even sure if i would do SLI/CF, but i like having my options open too. Is the i7 with SLI worth the extra $123?

 

[touchdowntexas13]

Actually with rebates it's only a $106 difference. That's also with the processor from Newegg. Someone told me that i could get a core i7 920 from Micro Center for $200, but i can't even find an i7 920 on Micro Center's site...

 

[gkay09]

^ Well I had heard that in Microcenter, they have only store pick up for i7...so it might not be listed on their website....

 

[touchdowntexas13]

oh ok thanks. If i could get the i7 for $200, i would for sure go for i7, though i don't necessarily need the extra computing power.

 

[gkay09]

If you are dead set on SLI, then the i7 is the way to go...
As it supports both SLI/ Crossfire, you can choose any card from the red and green camp which offers best value

 

[touchdowntexas13]

haha yeah. somethin just bugs me about not having that option...

I think it's rather ridiculous, but i'm not the one selling/making pc parts here.

 

[touchdowntexas13]

well either you didn't read my post, or somehow you don't place a lot of importance on getting the best value out of your hardware. who's to say that ATI will still be offering the best $200 deal (2xhd4770's) a year from now? As a consumer i would like the option to choose.

does that make any sense?