ATI + Asus / Crossfire question

[Danai Perficio]

Hey,
Any opinions on

ASUS A8R-MVP Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 CrossFire ATX AMD CrossFire Motherboard

+
Dual
ATI 100-435805 Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

combo?
Is this the best you can get from ATI + Asus or is there anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance

[Lord_Vyper]

ASUS A8R-MVP Socket 939 ATI Radeon XPRESS 200 CrossFire ATX AMD CrossFire Motherboard
A8R-MVP is... flakey. I'm currently using a Abit AT8, and loving it.


Dual ATI 100-435805 Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card combo?

The XTX isn't crossfire capable, in that there isn't a master card version.
You're going to want to look at the X1900XT, and X1900CF instead.

The system I'm putting together would probably help you out in researching whatever you're looking to do. Here's the thread on it. (http://www.silkyvenom.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2867)

[Danai Perficio]

A8R-MVP is... flakey. I'm currently using a Abit AT8, and loving it.


The XTX isn't crossfire capable, in that there isn't a master card version.
You're going to want to look at the X1900XT, and X1900CF instead.

The system I'm putting together would probably help you out in researching whatever you're looking to do. Here's the thread on it. (http://www.silkyvenom.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2867)

I saw your system and took alot of suggestions from it.
Id preffer an Asus over any other brands because the real good experiences I have had using their products. Although if the difference between the Asus and Abit ones is too much I might consider to go for Abit, I have heard great things about them as well.

Thank you for the response

[Fozzik]

The issues with the Asus A8R-MVP board seem to be centered around the onboard network chip. Although other people around the web have mentioned problems with overclocking options and some BIOS bugs, I think some of those are being corrected through BIOS upgrades, and it appears that although slightly quirky, the board is capable of decent overclocking if it's done right.

The Abit board has all the same features, but with a different onboard network chip that seems to be problem free. If you are buying now, based on L_V's experiences, I would probably go with the Abit.

Abit is a great company, and although no company designs perfect products every time, Abit is responsible for some of the best motherboards ever made.

If Asus is your favorite, though...it might be a good idea to wait a bit. ATI has a new chipset coming very soon, the RD580, and Asus has already completed their motherboard based on the new ATI chip. It's called the Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe, and comes with more features, including two onboard network chips (one of which is on the PCI-Express bus which should improve performance).

Hm. I read a preview of the board yesterday, but I can't find it now. They may have gotten in trouble for posting the preview too soon...wish I could remember what site I was visiting when I read it.

On the video card, the XT makes much more sense. The performance is very close to the XTX, it costs considerably less, and it will match perfectly with an X1900 crossfire card.

[Fozzik]

Ok, it was Anandtech that posted the preview, and it was a full preview with a finished product. They did pull the article, most likely because ATI got annoyed that Anandtech was giving out so much info before the launch date.

It looks like the official launch of the ATI RD580 (will be called Xpress 3200), could be as soon as Feb 23.

Abit also has a board ready... called the AT8 32X. Should be neat to see.

I found Asus' page for the new board -
http://www.asus.com.tw/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1042&l1=3&l2=15&l3=268

[rabb1t]

Consider that Vista is due out around December and that no current GPU is DX10 compatible. If you don't care about DX10/Shader 4 compatibility go ahead and get whatever you want now. If you do - I'd consider something like a single x1900 XT and planning on upgrading to a DX10/Shader 4 card at the end of the year.

Me, I don't see the point of running the highest gen in dual card format. It is simply vast amounts of overkill in all the game reviews I've seen. :rolleyes:

[Lord_Vyper]

Me, I don't see the point of running the highest gen in dual card format. It is simply vast amounts of overkill in all the game reviews I've seen. :rolleyes:
With the notable exception of large screens/high resolutions :p
Granted this only really applies if you're running a 30"+ monitor, and want all the eye candy all maxxed out, but hey, it's a reason :twisted:

[rabb1t]

For the 30" ... mmmmaybe. But for 1920x1200 I just don't think the 2? 3? games that actually would require that much power would be worth the cost.

Especially considering that you would have spent ~$1,000 on video and in roughly 10 months Vista will launch with DX10 / Shader 4 compatibility and your $1,000 video solution will NOT be able to run the DX10 effects.

I suppose though, if you have 1k to just toss into graphics without really thinking about it you wouldn't care at that time and just drop another 1k to do it again with DX10/Shader 4 cards. :p

[Lord_Vyper]

The Dell 30" resolution runs up to 2560 x 1600, as does the 24".
To even display in those resolutions requires dual DVI transmitters, which IIRC are limited to X1800+, or 7800+ lines.
So, if you're using a a large display, and high resolutions, a single high end card is the minimum you can get away with. To add all the pretty effects requires more power then any single card can currently provide.

Yea, I spent almost $1,200 on 2 X1900XTs, and when Vista comes out in a year, I'll wait another year or 2 for DX10 to become required for games. By then, chances are I'll wind up replacing my entire system. ~$5k every 2-3 years doesn't seem bad to me.

Edit: And I don't even have a 30" monitor to use the power of those X1900XT's.. :p Go figure!

[rabb1t]

up to 2560 x 1600, as does the 24".

You must be smoking something. (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?TabPage=techspecs&sku=24053YR&spagenum=&category_id=6198&brandid=&k=&c=us&l=en&cs=19&mnf=&prst=&prEnd=&mnfsku=&orderby=&searchtype=&pageb4search=&page=productlisting.aspx&instock=&refurbished=)

To add all the pretty effects requires more power then any single card can currently provide.

Not really. I've had a 23" 1920x1200 display for 15 months now and only with a few current games is running in max res an issue. I also don't have a 512 meg card, I'm running on 256 7800 GT.

I ran WoW with a 6800 GT in 1920x1200 at max settings and had 70-90 FPS. I ran CoH just fine with a 6800 GT as well.

With current games a single 512 meg card (highest gen) can hold you just fine at 1920x1200.

[Lord_Vyper]

Doh, guess I looked at the 30" monitors twice.

[rabb1t]

Doh, guess I looked at the 30" monitors twice.

Caaauuussse yer runnin' dual card? :rolleyes:

[Lord_Vyper]

Caaauuussse yer runnin' dual card? :rolleyes:
hehehehe, why no, of course not :p
Actually looking semi-seriously at 20" and up for replacements for old CRTs and LCDs at work, and if I happen "accidentally" order an extra 30"... well :pirate: !

[rabb1t]

hehehe and then you um, need to take it home to check it out, cause um, there may be dead pixels or something causing video trouble. Yeah. Extended testing. That's it. :D

Actually I hear there are new Dells coming out; 2x07s. Not sure what they will bring to the table though. Doubt anything a work place would find more useful than the existing monitors. (You don't need higher refresh rates and such for work apps.)

[Lord_Vyper]

hehehe and then you um, need to take it home to check it out, cause um, there may be dead pixels or something causing video trouble. Yeah. Extended testing. That's it. :D
Heh, my company still has enough of the startup mentality that that is fairly common for the higher end departments.
One of our programmers just got 2 150Gb Raptors in lieu of a cash bonus.

Actually I hear there are new Dells coming out; 2x07s. Not sure what they will bring to the table though. Doubt anything a work place would find more useful than the existing monitors. (You don't need higher refresh rates and such for work apps.)
I hope they keep the layout of the buttons, USB plugs, and such the same. That's one thing I don't really like about the 30".

[rabb1t]

I was/am very surprised at the removal of the inputs from the 30", since that was one of my biggest draws/reasons for getting my 23". (Mine has the same inputs as the Dell minus the memory stick readers.)

Maybe they figure that those who want both TV and Monitor support would opt for a plasma or something instead of leaning towards the monitor side.

*shrug*

I figure it likely won't matter in about 10 years anyways. Much like PCs and consoles will eventually merge, so too will monitors/TVs. (Though I'm betting the monitor/TV merge will come sooner than the PC/Console merge since we can see the early beginnings of that merge and still are quite a ways from the PC/Console one.)

[JaMBo]

What are you tolding about? The XBox is literally a computer in a different case.

[rabb1t]

Merging to a unified box <> less powerful x on a different box.

Yeah, the Xbox is a "low power PC", however, you don't log on to game AND check email, do homework, check your bills, surf the web, etc.

Within probably about 15 years we should start to see such unified 'PC media boxes' become commonplace.

That is, if the various industries that really push things, such as graphics, ever slow down. :p

[Dragoon]

Any news on the ATI boards? I am really thinking of getting one incase I decide to use Crossfire at some point. I would hate to get an ATI video card and SLI MB and have no choice on lower cost upgrade at some point.

[rabb1t]

Um... Daily Tech (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=980) put this up today. I don't really follow the Crossfire board tech, so I don't know if that is useful info or not. :rolleyes:

[Lord_Vyper]

ATI does have some complicated conventions going :p

Quick breakdown on what means what:
RD480: "R"= Radeon, "D"=Desktop, "480"= current gen
RX482: "X"= enthusiast line, "482"= revision of the 480 line.
RS482 = "S"= Integrated graphics line

The R580 line is due out any day now (initial reviews are startingto pop up. R580 is a much different chip then 480. 480 had crossfire capabilities grafted on at the last moment, whereas 580 was designed from the ground up to support it, along with AM2 and dual PCIe x16.

RD550 is the Intel version of the 580 I believe.

R690 is the replacement for the upcoming 580 line.

Whew.. hope I got that all right, and hope it helps someone :p