Gaming Build Crossfire Concerns

[vexindexin]

Hey, so i'm working on my first build and below is what i got. My main concerns however is the motherboard and crossfire. It says it supports 16x and 4x when in CF, apparently asus boards and 16x 4x mean that crossfire is very bad? Could someone please confirm this or actually tell me the FPS difference i would be seeing...this is most important as if i lose just a little FPS on a high end game maxed out i am not too bothered. Also if you could check if it all works together, i think it does! Thanks

My main goal is to be able to run Battlefield 3 on Ultra @ 1080p with 30+ FPS.
-----

MOTHERBOARD- Asus M5A97
http://www.ebuyer.com/270702-asus-m5a97-pro-970-am3-8-channel-hd-audio-atx-motherboard-m5a97-pro

CASE- Casecom KM-9188
http://www.ebuyer.com/205157-casecom-km-9188-black-mid-tower-case-with-full-black-interior-exterior-120mm-blue-km-9188


PSU – OCZ ZS Series 750W 80+Certified
http://www.ebuyer.com/264510-ocz-zs-series-750w-80-bronze-psu-with-135mm-fan-single-ocz-zs750w-uk


PROCESSOR- AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Socket AM3 3.2 GHz 6MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor
http://www.ebuyer.com/190673-amd-phenom-ii-x4-955-black-edition-socket-am3-3-2-ghz-6mb-hdz955fbgmbox


DVD-RW DRIVE- LiteOn iHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive
http://www.ebuyer.com/176026-liteon-ihas124-19-24x-dvd-rw-dl-ram-sata-optical-drive-oem-ihas124-19


RAM- Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz
http://www.ebuyer.com/178943-corsair-4gb-2x2gb-ddr3-1333mhz-memory-kit-unbuffered-cl9-cmv4gx3m2a1333c9

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM
http://www.ebuyer.com/252857-seagate-500gb-3-5-barracuda-sata-iii-6gb-s-hard-drive-7200rpm-16mb-cache-st3500413as

GPU: 2 x Powercolor HD 6850
http://www.ebuyer.com/280047-powercolor-hd-6850-pcs-1gb-gddr5-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-card-ax6850-1gbd5-ppdh

----

If you have any recommendations of something i should change that would also be great. Thanks again

 

[beenthere]

Though I do not recommend Asus mobos due to their lack of reliability and RAM sensitivity IME, tests have shown that even the current fastest X16 Vid card can not by itself saturate an X4 socket data path so it's unlikely that you would see any drop in FPS. Based on my 20+ years of building high end PCs and using all of the brand name mobos, I would recommend that you use a Gigabyte mobo for both performance and reliability.

Gigabyte has a complete range of AMD Phenom II socket AM3+ mobos in all price ranges.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007625%2050001314%20600138080%20600008296&IsNodeId=1&name=AMD

 

[morgoth780]

you usually want to cfx/sli in x8/x8, x4 does get to be a little small. However, you won't be able to play bf3 on ultra with 6850 cfx.

 

[mtech23]

use one hd 6950 2g and a mobo that supports 16x and 8x/8x in CF for an addition card in the future. just my suggestion. and what is your price limit, perhaps then i could me more specific on hardware recommendations.

 

[inzone]

As long as it is a full length x16 slot and the card fits even though it is rated x4 you can still use crossfire with no reduced fps.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/25/gtx_480_sli_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x4x4/

 

[morgoth780]

use one hd 6950 2g and a mobo that supports 16x and 8x/8x in CF for an addition card in the future. just my suggestion. and what is your price limit, perhaps then i could me more specific on hardware recommendations.

and with 6850 cfx, less ability for future gpu upgrades.

 

[vexindexin]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll have a look at the Gigabyte motherboards and may get one of those instead of the Asus. About getting a single 6850 , i will still get 6850 crossfire, i don't mind too much about not being able to upgrade in the future and also i have seen that a single 6850 can run BF3 quite nicely on high, so on ultra, unless it's a huuuggeeee increase i should be able to run BF3 on ultra at 30+ fps, even if i do have to slightly lower the resolution.

Thanks again

 

[mtech23]

Ill respect your choice to stick to the CF 6850's however given that its almost the exact same price to go to a single 6950 and your giving your system room to upgrade seems like a win win but its all up to you in the end.

Happy building!

 

[vexindexin]

Yeah sorry forgot to mention i only have enough to get a single 6850 now, then another one in about a month. And i don't want to miss BF3 release xD

 

[mtech23]

Gotcha, I literally just finished a gaming build for a family member i5 2500k and a 6870 currently runs bf2 maxed at an everage of 105fps so im very pleased with it

 

[boabs]

ive got all that basicly rite now
6850gigabyte oc
Asus M5A97
phenom965
momentus xt hybrid
8gb rip jaws 7cl.

wot i have found is my cpu cooler has 2 one on each side but its covering my ram slts to i can only use 1 of the fans .so when i overcoock my cpu hits aboot 55deg when playing games.

 

[vexindexin]

How's the system? Lightning fast? Any lag issues or anything... ? Since it's similar to mine would be nice to know

 

[boabs]

yeh pritty fast no lag . turn off blur motion on bf3 i get aboot 45fps on it.