SLI questions best mobo for SLI

[Montecorex]

So I am building a gaming pc and I decided to go for the 660ti to fit my budget. I did this with the intention of eventually running 2 and possibly 3 of these cards later down the road. I am looking for a motherboard that will support that; I am very new to this and am a little confused about the difference between pci express 3.0 x 16 and pci express 3.0 x8. Will I need a board that has 3 pci express 16 slots rather than 1 pci express 16 1 8 and 4x4?

 

[itzdanielp]

You will only need a board that has 2 x PCIe 3.0 x8 slots.

The 660's can only be run in Dual SLI (Sorry no 3-way or quad)

 

[carowden]

im pretty sure 660s can be done in 3 way

just from a little google search:
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/buying-advice/pc-components/3376391/nvidia-gtx-660-ti-review-including-sli-3-way-sli/

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-660ti/features

 

[itzdanielp]

im pretty sure 660s can be done in 3 way

just from a little google search:
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/buying-advice/pc-components/3376391/nvidia-gtx-660-ti-review-including-sli-3-way-sli/

Oh crap, you're right!

All the X60's of the previous gen's (560...) were only 2-way capable.

 

[Montecorex]

If overclocking is my goal as well as SLI what board would you recommend specifically? I am looking at the ASRock extreme4 and extreme6.

 

[carowden]

well for 3 way sli, neither of those, but either one of those is great for overclocking and dual sli

 

[carowden]

Oh crap, you're right!

All the X60's of the previous gen's (560...) were only 2-way capable.

haha yeah for sure! i just thought had read that they were 3 way yesterday when they came out and you had me second guessing!

 

[Montecorex]

So 2 way sli is probably a more reasonable achievable goal for me I understand that. I plan on going sli within a month of building this system, as a result, I do not want to have to replace my mobo. The extreme4 and extreme6 seem to be very highly regarded, but with overclocking in mind as well does one edge out the other?


P.S. I can afford either of them right now, but don't want to spend extra on the extreme6 if it really isn't needed.

 

[bctande1]

First of all the 660ti DOES support 3-WAY SLI

Secondly, to run 3-way, you will need a motherboard with 3 PCIE 3.0 16x Slots. Because only 16 lanes are supplied to all PCIE 16x sized slots, a 3 way configuration will supply you will an (8x - 4x - 4x) combination. However, PCIE 3.0, only supported on Z77 Motherboards, doubles the bandwidth you get per-lane compared to PCIE 2.0. So compared to Z68 boards, you will actually be getting (16x - 8x - 8x) bandwidth.

You will also need a board that delivers a quality VRM design and enough power phases to sustain the voltage transference going from the different components.

I don't know your budget but I will recommend you two MOBOs

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131854 - ASUS MAXIMUS V GENE - One of the best Z77 boards on the market, with three PCIE 3.0 slots to fit your 660ti needs,. But this board has EVERYTHING, including Thunderbolt technology. This is the type of board to run you 3 years down the line. But, as you would expect, the price-point is steep. -- 279.99$

2. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128545 -- Gigabyte UD5 Z77 - its a higher end - mid tier board with three full PCIE 3.0 slots. It has a 12+4 phase (I think) power design to split the workload between MOSFETS, not to get technical on you, but it doesn't feature a VRM as reliable as the ASUS board, but it is cheaper. Nevertheless, it will definitely run you a good 3-way SLI config. -- 190$ -- I'd say go no lower than this.


EDIT --- I didn't put extreme4 because it only has 2 PCIE 3.0 slots. If you want cheaper Z77 board with 2-way SLI, I'll post some, just ask.

EDIT -- As Jaquith explained the board requires a PLX-Chipset, which I actually thought about but for some reason dismissed. FOr that reason, the Gigabyte board I posted only supports effective 2-Way SLI

 

[Montecorex]

CPU: i5 3570k 229.99
GPU: MSI MSI N660 Ti PE 2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 Ti 309.99
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W (I feel like I'll need more wattage than this for a 2 way sli which is my immediate goal) 69.99
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 400R 99.99
Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin 45.99
SSD: Intel 330 Series Maple Crest 120gb 102.99
(overall hd space to be upgraded with my next paycheck so probably in the next few weeks not to be included in my budget for the tower.)
CPU cooler: CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler 64.99

My overall budget is 1700 dollars I have about 50 dollars in case fans I'm including in that as well as hdmi cables/monitor/ethernet cable/keyboard/gaming headset. As well as windows 7.

So let's say my budget for just the tower is 1250 for the initial build; any improvements I have discussed will come in the following weeks and I am not including their costs in this budget. Any and all recommendations or comments on my build are welcomed and greatly appreciated.


P.S. Yes 2-way SLI is going to be my goal 3-way is just not going to happen for a while down the road and by then I will be willing and able to replace my mobo.

 

[jaquith]

So I am building a gaming pc and I decided to go for the 660ti to fit my budget. I did this with the intention of eventually running 2 and possibly 3 of these cards later down the road. I am looking for a motherboard that will support that; I am very new to this and am a little confused about the difference between pci express 3.0 x 16 and pci express 3.0 x8. Will I need a board that has 3 pci express 16 slots rather than 1 pci express 16 1 8 and 4x4?

For 3-WAY SLI yeah the GTX 660Ti is an option, but my preference are the 4GB GTX 670/680's IF the resolution is 3xHD and a possibility down the line.

For 3-WAY SLI PCIe 3.0 you either need one of the few Z77 LGA 1155 equipped with a PLX chipset AND an Ivy Bridge CPU or one of several SB-E/LGA 2011 MOBO's using nVidia's PCIe 3.0 patch.

Z77 LGA 1155:
$280 Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3
$310 ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z
$310 EVGA Z77 FTW
$340 ASUS P8Z77 WS
$349 ASRock Z77 Extreme9
$389 ASUS Maximus V EXTREME
$450 ASUS P8Z77-V PREMIUM

 

[bctande1]

Ahh my mistake