Hope at last: DFI to make mATX crossfire/SLI boards

Some dodgy spec's for this board can be found here: http://my.ocworkbench.com/2008/computex2008/part1/g13.htm

So as I understand things this board will need two ATI cards since P45 only supports crossfire and you need SLI to do the same with Nvidia cards. I'm not sure how this compares with running one of the new nvidia cards in a single x16 slot. Likewise it looks like you'll lose effectively all your expansion slots if you are running two double width cards.
 
dirtypop said:
Hm, the only CPU support it mentions is Pentium D. Dodgy indeed.
Click to expand...

:confused: they mentioned

"CPU �� Socket-775 for Intel Core TM2 Quad, Core TM 2 Duo, Core TM2 Extreme
�� Socket-775 for Intel Pentium® D"
 
Awesome. I've been waiting for something like this. We may finally get a mATX with a no-nonsense Full ATX chipset. Looks like the girlfriend is gonna get my P5E-VM/E4400 as a hand me down, and I'm gonna get this board and an E8400/Q9450.
 
wow, i think i'll definently want to pick this up.

I've always been an AMD user but this mobo would make me switch :)
 
That... is....

*fapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfap*

You'd be reduced to single slot coolers, though, if you want wireless/sound card (and that's all you can add...). But dual 9600GTs, a XonarDX and a wireless adapter... hmm.

Now I need to get a job... Get one of these, and a P45-T2RS. Brother and sister, side by side.

Fan headers: I see 1, I assume there's one more, but is that it? I'm tired of seeing only 2 fan headers on mATX boards.
 
Leman said:
That... is....

*fapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfapfap*

You'd be reduced to single slot coolers, though, if you want wireless/sound card (and that's all you can add...). But dual 9600GTs, a XonarDX and a wireless adapter... hmm.

Now I need to get a job... Get one of these, and a P45-T2RS. Brother and sister, side by side.

Fan headers: I see 1, I assume there's one more, but is that it? I'm tired of seeing only 2 fan headers on mATX boards.
Click to expand...

Probably have to be dual 3850s....
 
June release I take it? It'll be interesting to see what kind of performance it does. You'll want cases that fit and cool this type of set up. I can see the SG03 fitting the need. The Qmicra, although pricey, will do well too. Not sure how well the smaller SFF cases will do. I'm guesing most of them wont allow for adequate cooling if OCing is involved but we'll see.
 
Can we get a confirmation its mATX? It doesnt list it in the specs. I'm guessing the JR means it is but I cant tell by just looking at the pic.
 
Toaster Oven said:
What did you expect? mATX standard only allows for max of 4 expansion slots :rolleyes:
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In all honesty I didn't really know that.

It seemed to me it would be possible to organize the slots so that the cooler of the lower video card extended a little off the bottom of the motherboard. After all the cooler doesn't depend on their being board space beneath it. But I guess mATX cases don't really allow that since they'll assume only 4 slots.

It does mean you'd have to be fairly happy with the onboard audio, though I guess you could get an external solution.
 
Leman said:
Guess I got ahead of myself there, eh? It'd be nice though to have dual 9600s. Hacked drivers, anybody?
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You just know thats gonna happen. :D According to the original info some time back DFI said they were going to make both CF and SLI mATX mobos. Maybe a SLI version isnt far behind? Have to wait and see what they come up with. :)
 
You got the 100th reply. :/

The only concern with a SLI version is that DFI might actually be stupid (or smart) enough to stick a full blown 680i on there. That'll be interesting. You'll be having twin 8mm heatpipes with xboxhueg heatsinks on just your NB and MOSFETs.

That, and any other SLI chipset is more or less gimped in terms of overclocking.
...
And the Xonar DX won't work with NForce boards properly. So I won't buy one.





Hacked drivers it is, I guess.
 
Raz1r said:
Also, will the X16 slots have the full X16 bandwidth or are we going to get crippled at X8? If we do, what is the point of CF/SLI?
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How exactly is it crippled? A PCI-E 2.0 8x slot has the same exact bandwidth as PCI-E 1.0 16x slot. And no one's complaining on lack of bandwidth on current PCI-E 1.0 16x slot for P35 mobos because it's not an issue.
 
I think the most important thing about this board is that it's the first mATX I've seen using the full desktop chipset. Which means no wasted on-board graphics card and the same capacities (x8/x8) as all the other desktop solutions. Sure, a mATX x48 would be neat, but this is still a good step.

Certainly beats the GA-EG45M-DS2H gigabyte is announcing at computex. A single graphics card slot running at x4 is enough to make you cry, which is a shame because I've always run gigabyte boards.
 
Crossfire board so that's not possible? I guess the top performance is either 2 x 4870's (running at x8 each) or a GTX 280 (running at x16). Either should be pretty sick. By the sounds of things the Nvidia card looks good. Then use the other PCIe for a Asus Xonar DX soundcard (since ALC885 not that impressive?) and the PCI slot for a TV tuner card. That would be a sweet mATX setup, and I've already got the SG03 case to put it in. Of course if you're going this route you don't really need the SLI setup and any full featured P/G45 mATX is possible.

I guess this particular motherboard will win big if 2 ati cards (48xx I guess?) is a very tempting option or there are no other superior mATX boards with a PCIe v2.0 x16 slot. It also depends on there being a market wanting a lot more graphical grunt than onboard can supply in a mATX form factor.

Will be fascinating times :)
 
The ALC885 isn't necessarially a bad codec, it's the second best one that Realtek offers and is fairly identical to their top ALC889. A Xonar DX or other add-in card will give you better quality, but it shouldn't sound horrible with the onboard audio; I only wish they would have put DTS Connect or DDL on the onboard.

In any case, all solid-caps, 'sink on the VRM and a regular desktop chipset makes this one a winner short of gigabyte or asus having a better unannounced board. I'm just interested to see how pricing is on this board, i'm thinking $130-ish around where the P5E-VM HDMI is priced, although hopefully lower.
 
Yeah, I'm guessing $125 - $150 as a MSRP. Probably closer to $150 but we'll see. Of course what NE and others will gouge for when it hits the stores is another story altogether. :rolleyes:
 
That P45 board looks great. Wish I would have waited, but the current Asus G35 suits my needs just fine.
 
Looks good! So the SLI works the same as any other high end ATX board? Or is it limited..
 
New DK JR P45-T2RS picture:
http://resources.vr-zone.com//eventpics/Jun08/Computex/mainboard/IMG_0620.jpg

I'm guessing the other picture's heatsinks are the real thing, since these ones are too ghetto. Even Foxconn wouldn't make those. (Actually, they would and probably did.)

I'm seeing:
1 PWM fan header.
2 regular fan headers. (A new record!)
S/PDIF Coax and Digital
Rear CMOS jumper
PS/2 KB/M
6 USB
1 ethernet
The audio stuff.
4-phase digital PWM

Yeah, I'm repeating alot of stuff from the specs page... but this is from observation only.

Other observations:
The northbridge and socket seem closer to the right edge than other boards. Potential problems with cases and coolers interfering.
There's no CMOS battery?!
 
I notice the little sign out the front differs from the earlier information. This one claims support for 1066 DDR2 ram whereas the other stated 800. Is the "DFI 8 channel theatre level audio" (vague as that is) consistent with a ALC885?

The other question I have is whether going x16 on the primary PCIe slot means you have no connectivity in the second, ie. can't even run a PCIe x1 card in it. Having a dead slot would be a negative.

I also hope it has e-SATA, but I haven't seen a shot of the IO panel yet.
 
Harlz said:
I notice the little sign out the front differs from the earlier information. This one claims support for 1066 DDR2 ram whereas the other stated 800. Is the "DFI 8 channel theatre level audio" (vague as that is) consistent with a ALC885?

The other question I have is whether going x16 on the primary PCIe slot means you have no connectivity in the second, ie. can't even run a PCIe x1 card in it. Having a dead slot would be a negative.

I also hope it has e-SATA, but I haven't seen a shot of the IO panel yet.
Click to expand...

The P45 officially only supports DDR2-800 or DDR3-1066, however manufacturers can offer support for faster speeds in their BIOSes. (everybody will offer at least DDR2-1066/DDR3-1333 support)

The ALC885 is an 8+2 channel HD Audio codec, so that part matches.

It's highly likely that when running in 1x16 mode the other slot is redirected to a 1x lane, this is probally the standard implementation on all P45 boards.

There isn't an e-SATA port, from the pictures and description i can already tell you what the port layout is, from bottom->top: analog audio ports, Ethernet + 2USB, 2USB, 2USB, CMOS Jumper, Coaxial SPDIF, Optical SPDIF, KB&Mouse PS/2 Ports.
It's basically the same as all their other "DK" series boards.
 
computex200817dn6.jpg


Slightly larger picture, credit windwithme @ xtremesystems
 
Have anyone notice that the CPU socket is really close the edge....

Won't this causes problem when installing after market cooler in a cube shape case..

cooler might extend beyond motherboard dimension and hit the side panel ..
 
Toaster Oven said:
Slightly larger picture, credit windwithme @ xtremesystems
Click to expand...

Also interesting is that he has a picture of a AMD 790GX based mATX board from DFI, good to see DFI is going all out with the mATX formfactor. (Amusingly the picture says it uses all sold caps, but clearly almost NONE of the caps on that board are. :D)

wetming said:
Have anyone notice that the CPU socket is really close the edge....

Won't this causes problem when installing after market cooler in a cube shape case..

cooler might extend beyond motherboard dimension and hit the side panel ..
Click to expand...
Nice catch, yeah you'll have to watch your clearance with the motherboard/case if you're using a heatsink that is wider than the retention area.
 
wetming said:
Have anyone notice that the CPU socket is really close the edge....

Won't this causes problem when installing after market cooler in a cube shape case..

cooler might extend beyond motherboard dimension and hit the side panel ..
Click to expand...

Nobody reads my posts... ever.


Except for the CMOS battery one. Which I've never seen implemented before.
 
Leman said:
Nobody reads my posts... ever.
Except for the CMOS battery one. Which I've never seen implemented before.
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I think we were all distracted by your statement that you couldn't see the battery :) . That mounting is actually quite typical, especially on smaller mini-itx boards.
 
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