CrossFire Motherboard selection Help

S

Squilly_D

Newcomer
Hello beyond3d posters! I am a long time reader of the beyon3d forums; beginning in 1998. I am currently working toward a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Physics and will be graduating in May 2006. I plan to use graduation money to build a monster PC and was considering a Radeon 1900 CrossFire solution.

My questions are:

(1) Where can I find a good comparison between the current crossfire motherboards?
(a.) Some quick motherboard pro/con recommendations from forum posters would
be great also!

(2) Is the RD580 chipset out, or on its way?
(a.) If it’s not currently out, what is the time frame for release?
(b.) Is there any benefit for waiting on this chipset?

It’s been a while since I built a new pc, and since I haven’t really been following the CrossFire motherboard solutions, I not sure where to begin. I think it would be helpful to get answers from people in the know!

Thanks!


Dr. Dré
 
im trying to do the same thing. haven't found any side by side comparisons.

have found that ati's build partners seem to be slow at offering their solutions (perhaps unable to handle heat???). most are, now, active click on ati site, but still can't find a model their offering for sale.

anyway, i found a couple places (from ati site partners)...monarch (no longer offers the rig i spec'ed on their "build it" menus)...and all american computers (a liquid cooled solution...$5500).

monarch's could have been pricing problem too though, as at about $3300, i find it hard to see how they made money on it. based on newegg pricing for similar equipment.

im waiting while those custom builders offer something and maybe it gets reviewed. no magazines reviewing crossfire solutions yet either (everything is SLI) that i've found.

my OTHER issue is making sure i have enough spare PCI-e, PCI slots to handle sound and a PPU (Physx processor)...apparently some issues over that as well.

oh and perhaps just getting 1 1900, in hopes of upgrade for dx10 card(s) in '07
 
Cartoon Corpse said:
im trying to do the same thing. haven't found any side by side comparisons.

have found that ati's build partners seem to be slow at offering their solutions (perhaps unable to handle heat???). most are, now, active click on ati site, but still can't find a model their offering for sale.

anyway, i found a couple places (from ati site partners)...monarch (no longer offers the rig i spec'ed on their "build it" menus)...and all american computers (a liquid cooled solution...$5500).

monarch's could have been pricing problem too though, as at about $3300, i find it hard to see how they made money on it. based on newegg pricing for similar equipment.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I am currently looking at building my own system so I can reuse all of my drives and case. I also forgot that the PPU will be coming out, but that is not a priority. I figure once I get a real job, I can upgrade more compared to now!

Dr. Dre'
 
Squilly_D said:
(2) Is the RD580 chipset out, or on its way?
(a.) If it’s not currently out, what is the time frame for release?
(b.) Is there any benefit for waiting on this chipset?
Click to expand...

I too often read Beyond3D but never bothered to register (I guess I'm mostly a "front pager" here until recently unless I needed something specific in the forums).

From what I can tell, the RD580 chipset is coming out pretty soon. According to the INQ probably at CeBIT (March 9-15). Of course, that's the Inq though so you can take it for what it's worth.

I too am torn as to what to do. I have a broken nForce3 gigabyte board right now that only kinda works in my primary PC right now. It'll be going back for a RMA but I decided that I'm going to move to PCI-E anyway. So now I actually have a X1900XT on the way, no PCI-E motherboard, and a broken machine. But, I don't want to miss on the new (and potentially much better if you believe the hype) chipset by a measly month.

As far as what the new chipset offers, the best I've read is the Anandtech preview, though if there are other sources people can recommend I'd love to see them. It looks pretty nice (if paired with the ULi southbridge).

From what I can tell on the various forum postings and whatnot, the best Xpress 200 board out there right now is the ASUS A8R-MVP. It does appear to have it's issues, and you have to take Anandtech's glowing review of it with a grain of salt as it appears they had a special BIOS (in addition to what I'm sure was a hand-picked board)... But the issues reported look minor if you don't have your heart set on overclocking much (and maybe that good BIOS will come along one of these days). It does seem to be reported as a very good, stable board at stock clocks (apparently the voltage adjustments aren't as reported initially and there are memory problems at lower speeds than what Anandtech found).

So, I'm torn. Do I blow an extra $100 now (when I'll probably wish I had waited for the RD580) and just get the Asus board? Or do I wait for the A8R32-MVP and other RD580 boards to come out (which is supposed to be available at launch, but who knows with ATI's until-just-recently track record)? Of course, even if it comes out a little before CeBIT that's a while from now, and my X1900XT will be burning a hole in my closet while my current computer crashes repeatedly. Plus, in order to get the real scoop on the new boards you'll have to wait at least a month for all the early adopters to get theirs and then surf the postings to check out if it does what it's supposed to do, if you don't want to pick the wrong board...
 
I will not get an ATI mobo until the 580 is out and it has been properly reviewed and so on. The performance is not that impressive of the current ATI mobos.
 
JCLW said:
If you are willing to go intel then the newer intel chipsets support CF.

Top of the line: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2671
Click to expand...

I'm not. Plus, I'm upgrading from an existing (and broken) nForce3 board. I already have the RAM and Processor and whatnot.

suryad said:
I will not get an ATI mobo until the 580 is out and it has been properly reviewed and so on. The performance is not that impressive of the current ATI mobos.
Click to expand...

I'm concerned about this. Now, actually, my memory for this machine actually currently stinks (plain old Crucial DDR RAM). I have some nice stuff in my HTPC and I could swap out, but I don't know if I want to do that right away. If I don't, then I really won't be overclocking much anyway due to the RAM limitations. For that, the current ASUS board would probably be fine (since it uses the ULi southbridge and not the terrible ATI one).

However, it would be REALLY nice to have the ability to push my 3200+ Venice, as I know it'll push. That makes me want to consider a DFI LanParty nF4 board. But there again, they're so touchy about memory that who knows if it will even work at all (well, dfistreet probably knows but that'll take some real searching). Plus, I'm giving up the chance to ever grab a X1900 Crossfire board with that Motherboard (which means I'd need a motherboard and a second video card at the same time which probably wouldn't ever happen).

I should also mention that while I'm complaining that my "main" PC is down right now, I'm not really "starved" for machines. Through the wonders of the upgrade cycle, I also have my HTPC (which is admittedly difficult to use as a "real" PC), a Mac G4, and a nice nF2-based Kubuntu box. Then again, they're all nice, but not Windows machines. So, do I wait or jump now? If I jump, do I go nF4 and DFI (leaning this way) or ASUS and Crossfire?

My biggest question is, does anyone know any firm launch and availability dates for the Asus A8R32-MVP? I've seen dates ranging from February 23rd (probably wait) to March 12th (probably not).
 
suryad said:
I will not get an ATI mobo until the 580 is out and it has been properly reviewed and so on. The performance is not that impressive of the current ATI mobos.
Click to expand...
Well the OCing is good. Its the USB/SATA for there south bridge that has been less than other SBs. the ULI SB is on many rd480s, so u do have a choice. the 480 NB is a fine chip. I woould think the rd580 will be better.
 
karlotta said:
Well the OCing is good. Its the USB/SATA for there south bridge that has been less than other SBs. the ULI SB is on many rd480s, so u do have a choice. the 480 NB is a fine chip. I woould think the rd580 will be better.
Click to expand...

My question is:

Is there any current Crossfire motherboards out that due have USB2.0/SATA2.0 (Southbridge) capabilities?

Dr. Dre'
 
Yeah. I think I've decided to wait for the A8R32-MVP to come out. It'll be hard, as I'm right now looking at my new X1900XT in the shiny new box, but I think it's worth the wait.

I'm probably going to just go ahead and be an early adopter of the ASUS board though, rather than wait for real user reviews. I'll post back what I find out when it comes in.
 
i think i'll wait too. at least till i see some of the current crop being reviewed more extensively or at least offered by the pro builders.
 
Sometime late last night AnandTech posted a review of the ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe board (the RD580 board coming from ASUS). They pulled it though, I'm assuming because it was never supposed to have been posted in the first place (NDA's not lifted and all that).

However, on this thread in their forums Wesley Fink (an AT editor) said:

Release date for the A8R32-MVP is March 2nd. It will be available for sale on launch day. Many retailers have already received stock but don't list it yet.
Click to expand...

So, it looks like we still have some time to wait. :???:
 
Wait for the RD580, and for it to be properly reviewed. Do not buy any board because one site gives it a glowing review.

Read as many reviews as possible, no less than five, and try to distill an accurate view from them. Techreport, [H]ardOcp, X-Bit Labs, Hothardware, Driverheaven, Firingsquad, Rage3d, Legitreviews, and of course this site are good for ideas. I am not sure I have seen many motherboard reviews here though.

If I had to make a purchase right now it would be a nforce4 board from ASUS, DFI, MSI or EPoX. Some of the SLi boards are worth it even if you do not plan on using SLi for their quality, stability and overclocking options.

Most Crossfire boards are currently budget or mainstream. Again, hold off for the RD580.

BTW I had an A8R MvP. I had problems with it holding 1T with G.Skill PC 4000 ram. Both my EPoX and ASUS SLi Premium work fine at 1T with that memory. Also I had; cold boot bugs where it wouldn't boot and tell me my "overclock failed" with HTT at 250 and up, and it would not apply the appropriate voltage to my X2 4400. With "auto" even at stock speed it would set it to 1.46 volts. Stock speed, those chips need as little as 1.35 to function.

That board was perfectly fine for me at 220-224 HTT 1T although. I would recommend it in that instance, aka stock or light oc. I could run it at 250 and above 2T, however I got tired of the cold boot bug every time I had been away from the computer for awhile and wanted to start with 250+ already set.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah... The A8R32-MVP Deluxe is (as I stated above) an RD580 board. Some interesting things from the ASUS Spec sheet:

  • 2x Gigabit LAN Controllers (1 PCIe and one not)
  • 6 total SATA connections (4 on ULI SB and 2 on SI 3132 controller), 5 interanl and 1 external
  • Realtek ALC882 8 channel Audio w/ coax/optical S/PDIF on I/O panel
  • vDIMM - 12 step DRAM Voltage control
  • vCore - CPU Core adjustable in 0.025V increments (much better than previous ASUS crossfire board)
  • vNB - independant Northbridge voltage controls in 0.1V increments
  • 2x IEEE 1394a connectors onboard but none on I/O Back Panel (a PCI panel is included)
  • Fanless design
 
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