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M-ATX + SLi?

C

Cyrusx7

n00b
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
17
I couldnt find a single board thats M-ATX form factor with two PCI-Express ports (x16 or 2.0, im willing to take either). Does one even exist?

Reason being, I was considering doing such a build, mainly because I want 4-DVI ports or a good way to run 4 or more monitors. If you guys have any other recommendations on how I could go about doing this, im all ears :)

Radeon 2600XT X2? Comes with 4 DVIs -- input? (im more of an nVidia guy though so meh)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129104



Otherwise, whats (IYO) the best HTPC motherboard in terms of features? Im a huge fan of the nView chipset but it seems to have been discontinued..
 
Thanks for the speedy response. I dont want to multiply the identical signal on multiple monitors, but rather increase my workspace with more useable pixels.
 
Pricey... NVS 440 $450

Brand new, sealed in box on ebay $300.

Cheaper then dual cards, PSU to run two cards, and a sli/crossfire mobo, especially if you already have a motherboard.

EDIT: and uhh 4 of one of these :D
Or, you can get two of these DMS59 to Dual DVI cables (they sell them with lower end NVS cards, not the 440 though).
 
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How does a Quadro fare against a nVidia 9-series or Radeon 2k-series? I dont know much about the Quadros, but considering 256MB NVS 440 vs 1GB 9600GT (from SLi), I cant imagine the Quadro will come even close in terms of performance (I do understand that memory isnt everything on a videocard, im just saying)? I mean, if im paying $300 for a quadro, I might as well be prepared to spend $50 more to get the 2600XT X2 or 9600GT SLi..

This is going to be a new build, I dont have any of the other parts yet. Im building this computer around the MB/VC setup..
 
Cyrusx7 said:
How does a Quadro fare against a nVidia 9-series or Radeon 2k-series? I dont know much about the Quadros, but considering 256MB NVS 440 vs 1GB 9600GT (from SLi), I cant imagine the Quadro will come even close in terms of performance (I do understand that memory isnt everything on a videocard, im just saying)? I mean, if im paying $300 for a quadro, I might as well be prepared to spend $50 more to get the 2600XT X2 or 9600GT SLi..

This is going to be a new build, I dont have any of the other parts yet. Im building this computer around the MB/VC setup..
Click to expand...

If you are going to SLI, you can only use one monitor. With multiple cards in SLI, you get the choice, better gaming performance and one monitor, or the performance of just one card for one or two displays connected to each card.

What games you playing/what res/why do you need 4 monitors?
 
Demon10000 said:
There are mAtx SLI boards out there. Not many, and I don't know if there are current chipsets out, but they do exist.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1023993
Click to expand...

That's a S939 socket CPU. As of right now, there are no mATX mobos for current Intel and AMD CPUs that support SLI.

IN terms of features, IMO, this motherboard is the best HTPC mobo:
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G mATX Motherboard - $100

It's based off the 780G chipset. The 780G IGP/chipset handles HD content pretty damn well. And this other feature is pretty neat as well:

CrimandEvil said:
The Gigabyte board supports DTS/DD connect which means it will take your audio source and remix it into either DTS or DD audio on the fly and it will also shot that DTS/DD audio over to the build in HDMI port; Gigabytes the only one to support this feature on their mobo.

The reason why this is cool is because of BlueRay movies; That neat lossless TrueHD audio gets decoded and then encoded into DTS on the fly and shot out to the HDMI port. Check the FAQ at the top of this forum for some links as to how TrueHD on the PC is broken and you'll see why this feature is awesome for an HTPC.
Click to expand...
 
I see. Thanks for the input everyone.
colinstu said:
If you are going to SLI, you can only use one monitor. With multiple cards in SLI, you get the choice, better gaming performance and one monitor, or the performance of just one card for one or two displays connected to each card.

What games you playing/what res/why do you need 4 monitors?
Click to expand...
Yeah, im aware of that, I plan on using two displays on each card. I built a 6800XT SLi setup in Q1 '06, but only used one monitor. I just think with falling monitor prices, it would be nice to pick up 4x22" (@ ~$200/ea) for the price of a 30".. Oh and just the workspace would be awesome to have..

Danny Bui said:
IN terms of features, IMO, this motherboard is the best HTPC mobo:
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G mATX Motherboard - $100

It's based off the 780G chipset. The 780G IGP/chipset handles HD content pretty damn well. And this other feature is pretty neat as well:
Click to expand...
That seems to be the best bet if I abort SLi.. Or maybe ill have to go with ATX *sigh* .. Thanks again everyone! Hopefully this thread will be able to help someone else in my same predicament sometime in the future :) If I go with that M-ATX board with non-SLi, that Radeon 2600XT X2 with four DVIs is a go!
 
you don't need dual x16 pcie slots to run 4 monitors. I have an nvs285 pci-e and an nvs280 pci in my optiplex at work and I run 4 monitors without any issues.
 
quique55 said:
you don't need dual x16 pcie slots to run 4 monitors. I have an nvs285 pci-e and an nvs280 pci in my optiplex at work and I run 4 monitors without any issues.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you don't need two PCIe x16 slots to run two video cards. A PCIe card plus a PCI card would work, as would a PCIe x16 card plus a PCIe x1 card. Newegg has several cards that fit in a non-PCIe-x16 slot that support two DVI monitors
 
Werd. Ive never heard of that! a PCI-E x16 video card working in conjunction with a PCI x1? Interesting! That sounds like a fair alternative. That way, I could get a nicer VC for the primary 2 monitors and just a mediocre card for the secondary 2?
 
I should note, though, that there's apparently only one card on newegg that has two DVI ports and is PCIe x1, and is kind of expensive for what it is. And it's a two-slot card as well. If one of your monitors can take a regular VGA cable, you have lots of inexpensive PCI and PCIe cards that will happily drive two monitors.
 
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