I need a MOBO that will allow Dual G80 SLI, a PhysX card, an X-Fi card and a TV card. Any advice? I'm a little confused here. Some PC builders like Alienware will say you can't have Dual SLI, a PhysX card and an X-Fi card because there are not enough slots, but Dell allows the configuration and shows no objection. Can anyone explain which 680i board would be best for adding extra cards like the X-Fi card? I'm looking at the EVGA and the Striker Extreme MOBO's. Which is better?

I didn't even know there was motherboards with four GFX slots..

And what in the world would you need FOUR G80 gpus for anyway? O_o

PhysX is completely useless anyway, it serves nearly no purpose at all.
There's what, three or four games that even enable the use of it?

Not four GPU's, two. Dual cards in SLI.

Your topic says dual sli... sli is already the act of having two cards ;P

Anyway, get an external TV-tuner, I couldn't find any mobos with three pci sockets AND SLi support..

Ditch the PhysX and get one step stronger CPU or something.

Hey, any 680i mobo should do! get a pci-e 1x tuner card, and there's a third pci-e x16 slot for a ppu(when they're released in pci-e format). the X-fi should slide in nicly to that one pci slot.

but right now he's right physics is all hype, however in not too long (mid-2007) physics is going to beome a great add-on if not a nesscesity for high-end gaming...

Edit: i just looked and the EVGa 680i mobo has 2 pci slots so it looks like ur good to go for a crrent gen phys card and ur x-fi, as well as a pci-e 1x tv tuner. newegg used to have a ATI thetre card in pci-e, however i cant find it on thier site nemore...

About the PhysX card. I think you simply should dump the whole idea. The idea of the PhysX card was really good during its initial release but it ain't looking so hot now. Quad-core processors promise to do the additional physics processing, plus video card makers are thinking of integrating it to the video card (though i haven't seen any indication that it's really going to happen). I haven't seen any games today that are retail that say "you have to have a PhysX card to run this."


EDIT: But I could be wrong..

honestly i suppose i do have to agree, and both ATi and Nvidia have discussed dumping physics to an extra GPU in ur sys so, yeah...


so you have 2 PCI slots, 3 pci-e x16, and 2 pci-e x1 on the EVGa 680i.


PCI 1: SPU(x-fi) PCI 2: tv tuner PCI-e16 1 GPU 1 PCI-e16 2: open/future GPU/PPU PCI-e16 3: 2nd GPU PCI-e1 1&2: unnocupied. Right? so the 680i should do just fine however i'd be worried about the R600...

you can 't use the bottom pci slot in on the evga if you are running sli'd 8800GTX's.

The Striker comes with an audio riser, which takes up a slot so I would stick with the eVGA...

Plus the Striker is overpriced...

I'm using the evga 680i, and i love it.

4X4, comes out in about a week and a half

I agree with the striker being overpriced. $400? who but the really rich bastards would want to spend that much on a board that is really only slightly better than the aDM version (crosshair - $230) and the Evga is better then the cheaper asus

4X4, comes out in about a week and a halfThat doesn't make it a viable solution.

I say go for the eVga 680i with two 8800GTXs, a Kentsfield and an X-Fi Fatal1ty if you're really trying to max out your system. Don't bother with the PhysX card.

Which is better the SupremeFX / DTS Connect / Array Mic / Noise Filter on-board sound card, found on the ASUS Striker Extreme Motherboard or a Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro Series sound card? And why?

Also will an X-Fi card fit the SupremeFX card slot?

The Fatal1ty is way better, 64 meg onboard RAM to store sounds and free up system RAM, offloads work from your CPU, lots of games support EAX and XFi. The riser card is most likely a based off some kind of CODEX, so its going to eat up some of your CPU.

I don't Think so, its a riser card slot , not a full PCI slot. They did that to remove some components off the motherboard because it so stuffed full of features. Many hardcore gamers would never dream of using that anyways so will just leave that riser card off the system.

I've read a ton of reviews of both boards, both seem to be great boards. the ASUS striker is about $200.00 more. There is a P5N32-E SLI version similar to the striker, but as of this writing, nooner seems to have any 680i Asus boards in stock. The EVGA board is widely availalable, but Evga is known for poor customer service.

The striker does appear to have a somewhat better heat pipe system, it's got the backpannel LCD screen and blue LED lights on the motherboard. It's not a refrence board made by Foxcon like the Evga and BFG boards are.

Performance wise both boards are going to be pretty close to the same, the striker supposedly has better components so has the potential to overclock better. Bottom line is if cost is an issue, go with the EVGA, if maximum overclocking is what your shooting for, you may have better luck with Asus.

I believe all of the 680i boards have an extra 8x PCIE slot that will support using a third graphics card as a physics card later this year when Nvidia release driver support for it. as far as the PhysX card, that is only available as a PCI card at the moment and has limited support, so unless your a Ghost recon junky, I'd avoid it for now and just see how that 3rd slot will work our down the road.

Valve just signed a deal to incoporate the PhysX engine in their games... shrug.

nVidia and ATI are talking about using an older graphics card as a physics card, which should also help us enthusiasts who upgrade a lot. My take on this, wait for physics, leave your options open, but don't take the jump.

Board-wise, I see no reason for anyone to get the striker unless they wipe their butt's with money. The eVGA performs perfectly fine, and has proven to be a nice board. Not to mention the audio rise for the striker kills off one expansion card, and the sound quality difference is negligible.

Instead of telling this guy to ditch the PhysX card... we should all be trying to sell him our stuff we regret buying. Anyone who is considering one of those cards at this point has serious issues or else is living in a bubble.

There are boards with 3 PCI-E slots. The X-Fi cards take a regular old PCI slot, and I think X-Fi is over-rated. Look into other suitable but cheaper cards, there are several with 24-bit support. The PhysX card sucks. Rodney, you actually bought one? Research man, research.

Hell no I didn't buy a PhysX card... I was waiting until after the reviews came out before I made a decision... and I'm GLAD I did. Although I do put considerable effort into researching my purchases... that's not a skill I developed overnight... so yes, in my younger days I'm sure I bought plenty of crap I should have passed on.

When I was 10 my mom bought me a PS/2 30-286... had I picked up and read a PC Magazine at the time I would have known that it was incredibly overpriced... especially in a world of 386 SXs that were so common that year. I hated that computer and my neighbor (owner of a local computer business) for selling it to us.