Need help finding compatable mobos

[kelzhul]

i was wondering if anyone knows of a motherboard that has:
dual or triple sli (trying to run 2-3 gtx 260)
am3 cpu socket (AMD Phenom II X4 965)
ddr3 1600 mhrz ram slots (G.SKILL Ripjaws)
external e-sata ports

board manufacture doesnt matter at this point

thanks in advance for any thoughts or ideas

 

[saint19]

Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

1- Do u already have the components?
2- If u don't have anything yet, go with ATI because for the SLI u need a mobo with chipset nVidia and that mobos aren't very good.
3- The manufacturer always is important, go with ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI.

 

[kelzhul]

1- i do have the components
2- do i absolutely need the nvidia chipset to sli? ive always thought sli was just that little cable between the two cards
3- i saw a gigabyte board (GIGABYTE GA-890XA-UD3 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard) but it was crossfire ready and im not sure if i can sli on it)

 

[saint19]

Hi.

Yeah, for SLI with AMD CPUs you need a mobo with chipset nVidia. That Gigabyte is a very solid mobo, but only can handle Crossfire since the chipset that have is AMD.

 

[kelzhul]

how about a MSI NF980-G65 AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a SLI HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard? im just making sure everything will fit together and work before i buy it

 

[saint19]

That mobo looks pretty good and a good price or this ASUS seems good too for a less price and without onboard video. ASUS is much better that MSI.

 

[kelzhul]

wow thanks, it even has the esata port i originally wanted. i did hear a few complaints about msi's bad customer service. one question though, it supports 2000 mhrz ram but im assuming at OC, does that mean ill have to OC to get the 1600 mhrz ripjaws to run?

also, i guess ill throw the rest of the build in here while i have your attention:
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler

a friend suggested COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 but at the time it was sold out, im pretty sure these will all fit, but i doesnt hurt to ask for expert opinion. im also putting it all inside an antec nine hundred two

 

[saint19]

Not properly OC for the 1600 of ur RAM in the ASUS, the only thing that u need to do is set all the specifications manually in the BIOS.

 

[kelzhul]

is there a guide somewhere that helps me with setting that up around here?

 

[saint19]

Isn't difficult, just enter to the BIOS, look for the DRAM configuration, go to advance and set all the specifications of ur RAM, save and reboot. After that, test the rig with memtest86+ for one hour, for know if that specifications are stables on ur mobo.

 

[kelzhul]

okay, thanks for all your awesome input. any last comments on my build? im just trying to make sure itll last for 2-4 years before i have to do any major upgrades or build a new one

 

[saint19]

Any time, that's why we are here.

 

[kelzhul]

Best answer selected by kelzhul.