SB w/ Crossfire 6950

olliiee

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Apr 10, 2011
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Getting a i5 2500K or non K (havent decided yet) and a 6950 with a 750W silverstone strider and 8gb ram.
In the future i want to be able to add another 6950 and was wondering what motherboard I should go with for the least amount of money;

it must have x8/x8 for crossfire
usb 3.0
and obviously be able to fit 2 6950's on it with good airflow

Thanks for suggestions :)

 
Your going to spend around $200 for motherboard with these specs made by a reputable manufacturer. Count on that if you want products from the reliable end of the product spectrum. Asus and Gigabyte are by far the favorites for most builders.

The following boards will give you what you need:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128494

P8Z68-V PRO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730

There are other boards in the $130 range that would probably be just fine, but don't offer the same airflow between the video cards as those above.
 

olliiee

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If I'm going to use the Coolermaster Storm Enforcer;

200mm intake (front)
200mm out (top) or 2x 120mm out
120mm out (back)

Would I likely have much trouble with these two cards not spread ie sitting next to eachother?
 
You shouldn't have any problem getting video cards in there. Most take up two slots. The Z68 PCIe arrangement will put one slot between your two cards.

Depending on which video cards you're using, you may or may not have to remove the center cage. I'm using an HAF 912 for one of my systems which also has the removable center drive cage.

Unless you plan to use more than two internal HDDs and an SDD in this system (they can sit in the bottom cages no problem), you don't really need the center cage. By removing the center cage, you also improve the airflow from the front intake fan.
 

olliiee

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Yeah I wasn't planning on keeping the centrecage I was just worried about the lack of side intake fans although the reference 6950's disperse out the back of the case I'm pretty sure. I just don't want to throw a second one in and have some sort of meltdown. So non-overclocked on a ASUS P8P67-M PRO Motherboard B3 in the above mentioned case should be all sweet?

 

Just to give you a point of reference, X58 boards were designed so the second video card sits right next to the first with no slot in between. My 2 GTX 580s (see signature) are right next to each other on an X58 board. They run much hotter than 6950s and the heat blows out the back as well. I don't have any problems with over-heating in my system.

That being said, I like that the motherboard manufacturers recognized putting two hot things together isn't exactly the best idea. So the slot between is a good design improvement on the P57 and Z68 boards.