Biostar T5XE CFX-SLI

[jhatfie]

Just put together an update to my gaming rig and added a i5-750, Biostar T5XE CFX-SLI and 4GB Gskill Ripjaw.

Just started getting started, but so far I am 6hrs OCCT stable at 3.906Ghz (186x21) @ 1.32v and the ripjaw at 1854mhz. Using a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, seeing temps top out at 72C, which seems like a ton to me, but based on what I have read, is fairly normal.

The Biostar T5XE CFX-SLI is a pretty basic board in terms of features and I have not had a chance to test it's crossfire capabilities yet although the fact that the board can do both SLI and crossfire with dual 8x links is impressive for under $120. But so far it seems pretty solid. OC's pretty nice, seems stable. No real frills, but I do not need esata or firewire anyway. Only complaint is that ram slot 1 right under where my cooler fan is, so if I decided to move to 4 modules, they would need to be low profile.

Also it seems to suffer a bit from some voltage droop with the 1.32v dropping to 1.3 and even as far as 1.28 briefly under load. Maybe a culprit of the more simple 4 phase power design?

 

[Elmario]

Hi!

I am wondering if should buy this board for a good priced sli gaming system with OC capabilities.

I'm curious, what is the maximum clock you could get it stable, yet.
It would be nice, you could support my decision.

Thank you,

Elmario

 

[jhatfie]

I am pleased with the motherboard, I am actually still using it. I know that there are some other motherboards with more features, but as far as I know the T5XE is one of the most affordable crossfire and SLI capable motherboards around (I got mine for $115 at the time).

I use it with my crossfired 5850's and for that, it has worked flawlessly. The max OC that I could get stable out of my i5-750 was 4.1Ghz, but with to much voltage and heat so I settled at 4.0Ghz, so I'd say that it is a pretty decent overclocking board based on those results.