help picking SLI board and gfx cards

I'm going to move onto SLI and i don't know which motherboard to get. I was thinking about the DFI one maybe. I have just got a new hsf Zalman 7000B-AlCu LED, so i need enough room to fit it.

Also which gfx cards sould i go with? i'm thinking of 2 XFX 6600GT or one XFX 6800GT and maybe upgrade later. I don't know which one to go for so any help would be great

Thanks

 

Get yourself an Asus A8N SLi Deluxe/ MSI K8N Neo 3 and another 6800GT

 

Go with the single 6800GT

 

would a single 6800GT still run in 16 pipes?

 

also has anyone used a Zalman 7000B-AlCu with the asus a8n sli deluxe?

 

using it with that particular motherboard will have little difference from using that cooler at all...

it's a nice cooler for air, if you don't want to go water then it's highly recommended. Otherwise, save your money because they're very expensive to not use for a long period.

 

i've just got one, but need the right board for it to fit to

 

The A8n-SLI deluxe has space. Not that much, but I think it'll fit the Zalman cooler. You may have some trouble with the RAM. If it won't go in, try mounting the ram first, then the heatsink.

As for video cards, definatley get the 1 6800 GT. It'll come close to the perfomance of the 6600s, and you'll be able to get another one and drop it in much easier than trying to sell 2 6600s and buy 2 6800s. The 6800 GT (The XFX one, anyway) has 16 pipes.

 

is there much or any perframes differents in the 2x 6600gts to 1 6800gt?

 

I'd go with the DFI nF4 SLI-DR tbh, best SLI board I've used so far.

 

1*6800GT > 2*6600GT

Go single 6800GT with the view to buy a second for great performance boost later.

Single beats 2 6600GTs...

 

Check my sig...

I have the Asus A8N SLI very good board.

Lots of space around the CPU Socket "I had to fit my 2 sticks of memory in the black slots" because I fitted the Zalman heat sink first - it is the 120mm version mind..No real problem..

The BIOS for the Asus A8N-SLI is def the most developed and stable....

If ya wonna do some serious overclock go for the DFI but the SLI set-up for ASUS is better IMHO.

The Mobo Fan is crap apart feom that OK....

The XFX is a very good quality card, I plan to buy another when the price falls and I can be bothered to get an arctic cooler 5 to keep the heat down.

Matt

 

i'm not really that bothered about overclocking really. Wouldn't mind running my 3500+ at 2.5ghz or a little higher then it is now.

 

It's great for air cooling, but the layout of the A8N-SLI is better if you're going to watercool. In fact unquestioned king for aircooled setups. And really just if you want to watercool the chipset at that.