Any recommendations on a good dual crossfire board?

[wigglerthefish]

I need a good and powerful motherboard with S-ATA 6GB/s and supports crossfire. I want to crossfire two GIGABYTE 6850s (low cost on NewEgg!). Unfortunately, they are dual slot and the intake (and output) is on the side (hence, the PCIe 2.0 slots must at least 2 slots apart for better airflow). I can't find a good one that is cheap. I only need 2 PCIe 2.0 slots (preferably both @ x16 for no bottlenecking in future upgrades). I just want good airflow for my GPU(s), I don't care about the other expansion options.

 

[wigglerthefish]

Also, I (will) have a Phenom II x6 1055t, so the BIOS needs to be compatible with a hexa-core.

 

[tecmo34]

Have you looked at the ASRock 870 Extreme3?

It is the best valued dual slot board for the price to features / performance. There really is no performance lost at x8,x8. To get x16,16, you will need to look at higherend 890FX boards ($180+).

 

[wigglerthefish]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157208&cm_re=asrock_890fx-_-13-157-208-_-Product

This seems like a good one... But IDK. If 2 dual slot cards are right next to each other, will the temps rise significantly?

Another choice, but they would be right next to each other:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157208&cm_re=asrock_890fx-_-13-157-208-_-Product

Would it be worth the price diff. for the cooling though?

 

[tecmo34]

Your links are both the ASRock 890FX Deluxe4, which is fine since it is a good deal for an 890FX board. It has one open slot between the dual cards, which is more than most board. Dual slot / Crossfire setups typically have the cards back to back with no spacing. This still provides adequate cooling so the extra slot will be a benefit

 

[jaquith]

^+1 {tecmo34} Happy New Year!

If from day 1 CF HD 6850 then I'd go the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula 3-WAY CF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644
PCI Express 2.0 x16: 3 (dual @x16, triple @x16 x8 x8)

Maybe even ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme 4-WAY CF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131667
PCI Express 2.0 x16: 5 x PCIe2.0 x16 slots (dual @x16, triple @x16, quad @ x16, x16, x8, x8)

Maybe look at G.SKILL Flare {F3-16000CL9D-8GBFL} if you can find them!

 

[wigglerthefish]

Your links are both the ASRock 890FX Deluxe4, which is fine since it is a good deal for an 890FX board. It has one open slot between the dual cards, which is more than most board. Dual slot / Crossfire setups typically have the cards back to back with no spacing. This still provides adequate cooling so the extra slot will be a benefit

Thanks. Actually though, I just checked the board you recommended and I love it! Cheap and powerful (I'll stick with x8 x8 since I might not even Xfire). Well, I want the airflow because I am getting the ultra durable VGA version (to OC).

 

[wigglerthefish]

Best answer selected by wigglerthefish.

 

[wigglerthefish]

^+1 {tecmo34} Happy New Year!

If from day 1 CF HD 6850 then I'd go the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula 3-WAY CF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131644
PCI Express 2.0 x16: 3 (dual @x16, triple @x16 x8 x8)

Maybe even ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme 4-WAY CF http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131667
PCI Express 2.0 x16: 5 x PCIe2.0 x16 slots (dual @x16, triple @x16, quad @ x16, x16, x8, x8)

Maybe look at G.SKILL Flare {F3-16000CL9D-8GBFL} if you can find them!

Thanks, but its not in my budget!