SLI and Motherboards

[Recin]

Hi community!

I have a system I am upgrading and have looked at a few processor and mother board combos. The idea was to just get a new processor, mother board and memory, but now that its all in my cart I am worried I can use my current GeForce 6800+ SLI cards on the new board. Does anyone know if I can run these cards SLI, or have a different mother board suggestion?

For the processor I am looking at AMD Phenom II X4 955, 965 or 970.

The motherboards that seemed to go well with these are GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128445

or the ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131647

 

[tecmo34]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware...

If you want AM3 & SLI, this is the board you will need to get for SLI support: ASUS M4N98TD EVO. The boards you listed are Crossfire only (outside of a motherboard hack, which I don't recommend).

 

[Recin]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware...

If you want AM3 & SLI, this is the board you will need to get for SLI support: ASUS M4N98TD EVO. The boards you listed are Crossfire only (outside of a motherboard hack, which I don't recommend).

Thank you for the warm welcome and hardware advice!

As a follow up, is it worth it base my hardware choices on dual GeForce 8600+ 256 mb video cards? Ideally I want a gaming computer that will last some time. How much longer can I get out of these cards configured with SLI?

Thanks!

 

[tecmo34]

It really depends on what games and resolution you play at to determine the length of time. I would say they are getting close to their end, specially at 1920x1080 (if not already). Going with this board, still gives you options to upgrade GPU's. The GTX 460 1GB is one of the best cards out for price to performance, along with GTX 570.

ATI produces great cards, as well. AM3 leans toward ATI cards (AMD owns ATI ). You will have great options (such as the ASRock 870 Extreme 3) by going Crossfire. It would just mean an upgrade sooner than later on your graphics cards... IMO

 

[Recin]

It really depends on what games and resolution you play at to determine the length of time. I would say they are getting close to their end, specially at 1920x1080 (if not already). Going with this board, still gives you options to upgrade GPU's. The GTX 460 1GB is one of the best cards out for price to performance, along with GTX 570.

ATI produces great cards, as well. AM3 leans toward ATI cards (AMD owns ATI ). You will have great options (such as the ASRock 870 Extreme 3) by going Crossfire. It would just mean an upgrade sooner than later on your graphics cards... IMO

Thanks for your advice!

Below is the hardware I am now looking at for my new budget gaming system. I don't know at what point it makes sense to just get everything new, or replace specific parts. Do you have any advice?

-AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
-ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
-G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
-Video card either 460 or 6850 based on other feedback

 

[tecmo34]

1) I would go with the Phenom II X4 955

2) I would consider the ASRock 870 Extreme 3

3) RAM is a good choice

4) I would recommend a video card upgrade. A single GTX 460 will out your SLI setup without issues (same with a ATI 6850).

5) Just make sure to keep in mind to it is helpful to upgrade to a newer SATA hard drive versus an older IDE (if you are currently running one ).