890FX vs 890GX for Crossfire

[drannin44]

MB is fried and I need to replace.
Have 2x Sapphire 4870s running in Crossfire.
Should I buy a $130 890GX or spend $180 on a 890FX board to run with 2x16 lanes instead of 2x8 lanes.
CPU is X4 955 BE. I do like to dabble in over clocking.
Is it worth the 50 bucks for the FX??

 

[hunter315]

Wont make much of a difference, see the image below. What it will make a difference in is if you plan to do heavy OCing, the FX boards usually have better quality components and better coolong on the onboard components.

 

[drannin44]

Wont make much of a difference, see the image below. What it will make a difference in is if you plan to do heavy OCing, the FX boards usually have better quality components and better coolong on the onboard components.
http://media.bestofmicro.com/W/K/225380/original/PCI Express Scaling.png

X4 955 runs at 3.2 and I would like to get up to 3.6 or 3.8 on air. Just not really sure if it is worth the 50 bucks or so (for FX over GX) and based on that chart for game performance, it wouldn't be. I don't suppose having a PCI Express SB Titanium Fatality has much effect on the bandwidth do you think? I also read on Toms that you should not really buy a board with built in Graphics if you are never going to use them so in that case, there is not really an 800 series choice other than the FX.

Any suggestions on a board that fits this build (already have all these parts)

2x 4870s in CF
GSkill Ripjaw DDR3 1600- 4GB
x4 955 BE
SB Titanium Fatility
Win 7 64

 

[Emperus]

Since you can afford it, you really should go for the FX chipset.. The differences may not be huge and both may have the same feature set but why would you like to skip on the option of running both the cards in full speed.! Right now, the cards may not be using the full pci express bandwidth also but it'll change with time.. The only catch is if you are getting a top notch GX chipset for the price of an entry level FX board, i'd tilt towards getting the GX board.. BTW, how was that sound card performing before your mobo crashed.? Is that a pci sound card or the pci express version.?

 

[hunter315]

Where did you read that told you not to buy a board with built in graphics if you never plan to use it? It has trouble shooting potential, and if you ever have an issue with your GPU it will let you keep using your machine. The 890GX should let you get the OC you want and the sound card should be able to run in a 4x slot fine so that shouldnt affect your bandwidth much.

 

[drannin44]

Thanks to both for the input. Not sure exactly where I read about the on board gfx, somewhere poking around. Forums, articles, and reviews all seem to jumble together these days. I do like the idea of trouble shooting but if I lose both gfx cards....yikes
I would like to think that by the time I go to upgrade the 4870's, it will be the AM3 and x4 955 that will be holding things back. 2x4870s still seem to rank pretty high on the charts here.
The sound card worked great on XP , it was PCI express, and was a disaster when I moved to windows 7. Tried every adhoc driver I could find (PAX, Daniel K) and still snap, crackle, pop. Am hoping maybe the new MB will help, and if not, will use onboard sound so would like a MB a good rep for decent sound (I know they all use AC888, 889 or 892new)

Any suggestions on the 890GX or 890FX. Not a ton of choices (on FX) and the reviews on Newegg seem to be all over the place. I read the 890FX article here and they all seem to have some teething issues.

 

[Emperus]

The Asrock Extreme3 motherboards have got good ratings by reviewers all around.. They have Extreme3 model on both the 890GX and the 890FX chipset..