SLI capable MB

[CodeguruX]

Trying to find a good board that will give me the option to double up and make the SLI setup later when 770 cards go down in price. Are there any CPU/MB combo packs that are worth getting that have an SLI board, that aren't overpriced?...

 

[jcniest5]

What chipset or CPU socket are you thinking of? If you can narrow down to that, we can certainly chime in.

 

[CodeguruX]

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I was thinking those, but I'm not sure on the motherboard. No idea which ones are good...

 

[MiRai]

The motherboard you linked bears an SLI badge right on its PCB, so I'd assume it supports it; but given the spacing between the PCIe slots, you'll be forced to use the 'ribbon' style of SLI bridge rather than the harder ones (I don't know the technical terms for the bridges).

 

[CodeguruX]

The motherboard you linked bears an SLI badge right on its PCB, so I'd assume it supports it; but given the spacing between the PCIe slots, you'll be forced to use the 'ribbon' style of SLI bridge rather than the harder ones (I don't know the technical terms for the bridges).

I guess the secondary, or even more important question, would be if that motherboard is crap or not. Or if there an SLI capable MB of around the same price that comes with better reliability...

 

[AlNasty]

I have owned that Asrock board for a year now. I bought it last Black Firday when it was on sale for $105. My oldest plays on it for hours every day. Never had a problem with it. I think its a good board for $100.

 

[CodeguruX]

Nice, I might go with that. It's basically down to the choice of a motherboard before I start ordering parts. Unless black friday prices start popping up and I switch out for cheaper things...

 

[CodeguruX]

Alright, I've looked at these two that can both run SLI and seem to be good. Anyone have comparison thoughts?

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

or

ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

 

[MiRai]

Unless you have more than two SSDs that require SATAIII ports, they look to be the same motherboard on paper (with slightly different slot layouts). The ASRock comes with 4x SATAIII ports (but two less USB 2.0 ports) and, in my opinion, is more aesthetically pleasing.

These are all just minor details and either one is just fine.

 

[john3850]

My ASRock Z77 Extreme4 is a fair oc mb for the price.
It has a poor cpu load line calibration control and is very finicky to get a low vcore setting.
Once setup it is a trouble free mb.