No kidding.
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Skulltrail and X48 . . .w00t
- Thread starter DarthBeavis
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No kidding.
Negative Decibel
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Me too! My wife knew from the beginning that I am an enthusiast, and it's great! Granted, since she is financially supporting the entire family at the moment until I finish school, there is not much left for my hobby at the end of the month, but I am greatfull for what I do get, and receive little to no bitching from her about it.
Ahhh, She got a sister that likes long haired guys?
And I got long hair too! (sorry my wife has 6 sisters; all of them are taken. (I got the last one))
Back on Topic::
Skilltrail looks awesome! It would kick ass to drop in a few quad core cpus, 8GB high speed ram, and multiple gpus in that. That would make an awesome gaming rig.
mrgstiffler
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Yeah, you're going to have to check my bags when I leave your house in a couple weeks... If you notice a HUGE buldge in my pants, it's not your Skull Trail. I'm just REALLY REALLY happy.
-Stiffler
If you notice a HUGE buldge in my pants, it's not your Skull Trail. I'm just REALLY REALLY happy.-Stiffler
Dell did it to enable SLI on the Precision 690, whether or not it's required has been debated. Personally, I've never pulled the riser out to test. When I get my 5400X board, I'll test it with my FX4500s to see if it'll allow SLI with the quadro drivers. I know the old 7525s allowed it, but I'm not sure about the 5000 series chipsets.
WhiteZero
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*waits for P45*
DarthBeavis
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I have a few 8800 gtxs , , ,will see how they work on the Skulltrail . . .once i get my procs deliveredLast I heard, SkullTrail does Crossfire, not SLI ...the irony cited at the time being that AMD/ATi is a competitor of intel, yet SkullTrail uses an nvidia PCIe to PCIe bridge, hence running afoul of both GPU manufacturers. Maybe intel will support both on this board, which would be hella cool for the consumer, if they can sort the licensing. It would be nice to know, after dropping $1k each on a pair of CPUs, and another $1k on FBDIMMs, that you could choose whatever graphics card is best at the time and in the future. FWIW, AMD doesn't restrict CrossFire, so anybody with adequate silicon is free to implement support on their MB.
I guess the notion of a PCIe bridge to allow massive peer-to-peer bandwidth is interesting, but AFAIK the path between the southbridge and said PCIe bridge isn't huge. Of course, benchmarks have shown it doesn't need to be; benchmarks show that SLI games reach about the same frame rate on PCIe 16x8 and even 8x8 systems, since the entire point of a GPU is to offload the main CPU and RAM. Other than loading textures, which pretty much load up and stay on the graphics card, there really isn't a huge need for bandwidth between the CPU and GPU.
Maybe with 4 video cards you need more bandwidth to copy the textures 4 times? PCIe 2.0 is rumored to provide a multicast capability when addendum are ratified this summer, so it will be interesting to see if all the pre-standards motherboards can do that
Hornet
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never in my wildest dream I've ever thought such wife exist. to say that you're very lucky is an understatement
Anyway thanks for sharing those pix
DarthBeavis
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more to come bro much morenever in my wildest dream I've ever thought such wife exist. to say that you're very lucky is an understatement
Anyway thanks for sharing those pix
McCartney
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The SLI MCPs on the Bone Trail aren't hardware SLI enablers Dan, it's moreso the simulators for a Bridge iwthout a real one.
Forget skulltrail, won't fit on my tj07
Forget skulltrail, won't fit on my tj07
Yes but Bonetrail 1 is X38 based, not X48.
DarthBeavis
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greggie did not notice that was you!!!!Yeah, you're going to have to check my bags when I leave your house in a couple weeks...
-Stiffler
I read somewhere that Skulltrail's future is now in doubt. Intel intended Skulltrail to be a direct competitor to AMD's 'Quadfather' 4x4 platform that has been recently pushed aside as far as future support is concerned. Since the 4x4 enthusiast platform is no longer a viable threat in the high-end arena, apparently Intel does not perceive a need to further development of these platforms. It's just a rumor, but a lot of rumors seem to be holding water this year.
In any event, they're fantastic motherboards to say the least. I have a couple of Clovertown machines myself, and can just imagine the full potential of a Skulltrail based system...
I read somewhere that Skulltrail's future is now in doubt. Intel intended Skulltrail to be a direct competitor to AMD's 'Quadfather' 4x4 platform that has been recently pushed aside as far as future support is concerned. Since the 4x4 enthusiast platform is no longer a viable threat in the high-end arena, apparently Intel does not perceive a need to further development of these platforms. It's just a rumor, but a lot of rumors seem to be holding water this year.
In any event, they're fantastic motherboards to say the least. I have a couple of Clovertown machines myself, and can just imagine the full potential of a Skulltrail based system...
I sure hope those rumors are not true. At least the ones that Intel will stop developing its Skulltrail platform.
As I see it, Skulltrail is Intel's only enthusiast platform, while AMD has the 790x chipset, black edition procs and the Overdrive Utility as its. At the moment, Intel doesnt have anything close to Overdrive. Personally, My next system will probably be an AMD one simply because of Overdrive. I much prefer overclocking from inside Windows, and the performance differences in Games is not quite enough to grab an Intel setup.
If skulltrail is out before i build, my mind may change. I would love to have a MP system with enthusiast class processors, instead of server crap. Hopefully the High Performance FB-DIMMs are equivelent to their DIMM counterparts
afaik nVidia Quadros will run SLI on other chipsets but iirc the consumer market cards drivers look for an nVidia chipset before enabling SLI.
That was what was hacked in previous drivers to allow e.g. SLI on 975X with 7 series cards but apparently that's now encrypted in the new drivers to prevent it being hacked again.
DarthBeavis
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like the pic shows . . .got both here . . .
So far, it's only a rumor. I heard it a couple of weeks ago and haven't caught wind of anything since.
Perhaps not, but there are other manufacturers producing enthusiast boards for Intel processors, and Intel does sell the 'Extreme' series of chips. I know, I know, they don't compare in price.
On my Clovertown systems I can OC within Windows. OC from the BIOS or motherboard itself is impossible (AFAIK) with Intel workstation/server class motherboards, but like you stated, software OC is much preferable for ease of use.
I could reply with several paragraphs worth of useful information here, but I don't have the time. To be brief, I read somewhere that Skulltrail motherboards will be really expensive, if they're ever released. For the rumored price or a little more, I would much rather purchase a quad socket-F SLI-capable motherboard. We're talking potential 32-core system here (with extra daughter board). Granted, it won't sport all the enthusiast features, but I'd take maximum core count over other features any day.
Santa came early . . .Skulltrail and Bonetrail 2 (X48)
Unless I read something wrong, the X48 will support SLi yes?
DarthBeavis
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not sure yet. . .the are just sitting in bags while I am away for XMas . .
Again, not likely.
What utility are you using for that?
Also, a 32 core system is useful only for some people. An 8 core system will be more than what the vast majority will use, and for gaming/enthusiast use, an 8 core system (at least at the moment), is plenty.
Granted.. I would LOVE to have a 32 core system at my disposal. Would definitely help with my multitasking habits. (I keep slowing my q6600 down to a crawl.)
The only reason I don't think they will is cause nVidia would be kicking themselves in the balls on this one. Why would anyone buy a 780i or 790i for that matter when they can get SLi working fine on the x48. The only reason I could see is if the x48 couldn't do 3-way SLI.
I hope nVidia supports motherboard makers so they can release SLi capable x48's. If they did I would have no problem dropping serious cash on 2 cards next cycle. I just hated my 680i experience. I spent more time troubleshooting my system than actually using my system. I had to send back like 6 kits of memory and 4 680i motherboards. I had to send my eVGA 680i back like 4 times. The only board that didn't kill my ram was my last 680i and that was the Abit 32X-Max. That board was actually not too bad, but it really stunk that I couldn't do 500Mhz on the FSB...
Very true indeed. One may even argue that a quad core is more than sufficient for the gaming enthusiast. Even though I definitely fall into the computer enthusiast category among hobbyists, I do not consider myself a 'gaming' enthusiast per se. My priorities lie elsewhere. For example, an SLI rig would be overkill for my current video needs. Maybe things may change in the future.
If one looks hard enough and is possessed of a will so inclined, one can find deals on the net. A quad socket-F Opteron board can be found for a little over $700 with four PCI-E connectors (yes, SLI as well). That will permit a 16-core system to start off with when decent processors will be made available. I wonder how much the Skulltrail board will retail for??
Skulltrail has always been rumored to support SLI however Bonetrail 2 probably won't.
I havent google the Skulltrail board yet, but does it support Harpertown? I wonder when this board will actually be release and what the price is. Since BT is the replacement BadAxe 2, I'm assuming that it will be ~$200. If that is the case that mean the Skulltrail will $400-$500?
DarthBeavis
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it does accept harpertownI havent google the Skulltrail board yet, but does it support Harpertown? I wonder when this board will actually be release and what the price is. Since BT is the replacement BadAxe 2, I'm assuming that it will be ~$200. If that is the case that mean the Skulltrail will $400-$500?
I heard at least $600 and that would make sense when one looks at server boards of similar specs but less features.I wonder when this board will actually be release and what the price is. Since BT is the replacement BadAxe 2, I'm assuming that it will be ~$200. If that is the case that mean the Skulltrail will $400-$500?
DarthBeavis
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thanks for the thoughtful replies Dan!
He wouldn't say it.... too loudly.
But Dan has been praying for something to replace his 680i motherboard - something that will let him continue to use the 8800 GTX's that he's invested in - and I get the feeling that he's not very impressed with 780i/790i ** cough** fucked over rehashed 680i POS **cough** chipsets. It's just a feeling now, but I'm pretty confident about it.
(all opinions are my own - thank you very much
)DarthBeavis
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He wouldn't say it.... too loudly.
But Dan has been praying for something to replace his 680i motherboard - something that will let him continue to use the 8800 GTX's that he's invested in - and I get the feeling that he's not very impressed with 780i/790i ** cough** fucked over rehashed 680i POS **cough** chipsets. It's just a feeling now, but I'm pretty confident about it.
(all opinions are my own - thank you very much
I am using 780i in a build as well as SkullTrail. I like Nvidia and Intel. I have had 680i rigs and had a good experience with them up to now. I also have a dual Bone Trail 1 build and love it as well (the server for my business). I realize people have beefs with both companies . .I do not want to get involved in flaming companies. Nvidia and Intel have both made large contributions to our community . . .and nothing is ever perfect. I just want to use products that work and work well.
He wouldn't say it.... too loudly.
But Dan has been praying for something to replace his 680i motherboard - something that will let him continue to use the 8800 GTX's that he's invested in - and I get the feeling that he's not very impressed with 780i/790i ** cough** fucked over rehashed 680i POS **cough** chipsets. It's just a feeling now, but I'm pretty confident about it.
(all opinions are my own - thank you very much
Well you aren't far off the mark. The 680i SLI reference boards piss me off. I've given them decent reviews in the past, but sadly with as many of them as I've had to replace, my feelings on them have changed quite a bit.
I hammered the Striker Extreme twice in two seperate articles. Mine is rock solid but it overclocks like shit. So I want to replace it for that reason.
I'm skeptical of the new reference boards. Almost everyone has switched to solid state capacitors, but the 780i SLI appears to use the standard eletrolyte caps. This is no bueno. ASUS has solid state caps on their Striker, and like I said, it is a great board outside of being picky about RAM and overclocking like shit.
I actually have high hopes for the Striker II Formula. That will be the one I'll be paying the most attention to. I'll certainly give the 780i SLI reference boards a look when ever I'm given one to review, and I hope that NVIDIA corrects the issues of the boards' predecessors.
To be completely honest - I really thought about upgrading to a 680i - until I read about all of your negative experiences with them. I've been completely happy with my DFI Lanparty nF4 UT DR, but socket 939 is getting very old and even the fastest processor that I could buy, the FX-60, cost a lot more than a quad core Intel, DDR2 memory AND motherboard would. So, I'm in a holding pattern for the NEXT big thing.
To be completely honest - I really thought about upgrading to a 680i - until I read about all of your negative experiences with them. I've been completely happy with my DFI Lanparty nF4 UT DR, but socket 939 is getting very old and even the fastest processor that I could buy, the FX-60, cost a lot more than a quad core Intel, DDR2 memory AND motherboard would. So, I'm in a holding pattern for the NEXT big thing.
Well I'd wait for the rest of the 780i SLI boards to come out. See how those are and make your choice then. That's what I am doing. Until then I think the only 680i SLI board I could possibly recommend would be the P5N32-E SLI Deluxe. The 680i LT is another good way to go but it doesn't support 3-Way SLI.