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#228687 08/27/2009 9:52 AM
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any of you guys know of an x58 chipset motherboard that has SLI mode that doesn't block the normal PCI slot if you have 2 video cards running?

everything I have looked at so far, if you install a second video card, it covers the PCI slot.. which is really stupid.

I'm looking at upgrading to an intel I7 920 and having a hard time finding a decent mobo that doesn't have stupid design flaws.


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eh, it looks like this board has a bios update to enable SLI, the price is good and the expansion slot layout is functional.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375



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I personally do not like the GIGABYTE boards. They do not hold up well for continued use and turning them on and off is even less desirable for long term use. They last a whopping year for me in the past.

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i have had good luck with them in the past, and PC Gamer used that same board in their mid range "dream machine"

I'm trying to keep the cost of the mobo under $200, I found an MSI board for $220 I think (at work now, can't look it up) that seems like it would do the trick as well.


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I like ASUS boards; they're pretty good quality. Prior to only going ASUS I was primarily investing in Soyo, but they no longer are in the MoBo market...


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I have used both SoYo and Asus in the past... in fact my brother has a machine I built for him runing a soyo dragon MoBo.

I was in a pinch when I bought my current Mobo, FoxCon Winfast board.. nothing fancy but it works well.

I have been reading reviews on that gigabyte and it is a decent "sub $200" board.
the one that tom's gave the best review to is actualy $20 cheaper, but out of stock. ASRock X58 Extreme

I am looking at building a windows 7 system with the new hardware, and probably dumping a 64 bit copy of XP Pro on this one so as to take full advantage of the CPU and RAM, and possibly making it into a media center.




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Honestly, I'm beginning to dig W7 x64 a lot; it doesn't seem as bloated as Vista and I'm enjoying the resource usage as much as I liked WXP Pro x64


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I tried it when the beta first came out, I liked it much more than Vista.

are you running the release candidate? what version/build?

I just downloaded what I hope is the correct build, supposedly a clean, no malware build, going to mess with it later when I get a hard drive cleared off to install it on so I don't have to mess with my current XP install.



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I'm running the RTM without a key so RTM in "beta" mode...


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I saw that you can run it 30 days without activating, and then run the rearm thing for another 30 days, 3 times, which is what I think I will end up doing till the retail is released and I will probably actually buy a copy of win 7.

I have never actually bought an OS, but am seriously considering it this time.


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If your looking for a quality board try a Tyan. If your looking for cheap and a decent quality go ASUS.

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Yeh, if I had the spare cash I'd buy W7 without a doubt; it's a shame too cas my desktop is under a year old and came with vista, but the "free upgrade" only covers stuff sold within the last like 3 months...


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yeah.. MS is really raping us on the price plans... hell, XP is still just as expensive! thank god I have a slew od 23 bit pro keys.. too bad I don't have a pro 64 bit key.


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The 32 bit key should still work on 64 bit, if I recall what a tech told me some years ago correctly...

BTW, WTF do you have so many xp pro keys boy!


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company I work for bought all new computers for all the offices, installed with a corporate key, yet all the towers have the hp OEM key stuck on them, so I either peal or copy the stickers. I prefer peeling them then no one else in my company has the same key. when they first started, they even had the OEM install CD, which I grabbed a couple of.


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You're so my hero lol...

I have a good 4 computers here running WXP (see my latest pm) lol...


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the searches I just did say you have to have a 64 bit key for xp 64...


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Weird, I'm pretty sure in vista it doesn't matter, never tested it on XP though...


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it seems that vista and 7 are uni-sex when it comes to the key, they aren't advertised as 64 bit or 32 bit...


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Well the funny thing is, I have W7 x64 installed on the one machine, I didn't say I wanted 32 or 64 when I downloaded the RTM but evidently that's what I got (and wanted) lol


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I purchased 2 copies of Windows 7 for $59 each during their promo. But I also have the MS Technet RTM that allow up to 10 copies as long as it's not used in "production" and only for testing.

Windows 7 x64 on i7 3.2Ghz is an awesome setup. Hopefully by this time next year all the software vendors will have up to date drivers and software to FULLY support Windows 7 x64. A lot work on x64 but are not native 64Bit and some functions that work on x86 don't work on x64 -

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$59?! holy crap!

I'm guessing they are OEM or something?

I have the 920, which is only 2.66Ghz, but supposedly can be OCd to close to 3.8Ghz. though the first time I tried it, windows ran for a while then crashed, then had problems getting to even load.
I need to research the OC settings for my mobo and memory more I guess.


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I saw the promo; just didn't have the cash to spend on anything :/


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I have already set aside the money needed to buy a retail copy of windows 7 business. ultimate isn't worth the additional $$$$


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I'm waiting for a dell OEM to come available tongue


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I am pretty much done with OEM software products.
To many issues when upgrading down the road in time.


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OEM can only be installed once now. not like XP that can be done over and over through various hardware changes.


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I haven't had problems in vista... not expecting one in w7 (since my bios has slic 2.1 from the update last week)


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Carpal Tunnel
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These are RETAIL DVD downloads direct from Microsoft. They are not OEM
Microsoft ran some special promo -

Sorry, It was not $59 I just went and found the order 6/26/09 and it was for 2 copies each at $99

Windows 7 Professional Upgrade.

Windows 7 will be available starting Oct 22, 2009.
• Your card will not be charged until your order is shipped or the product is made available for download.


So basically was $100 off each copy.
http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/windows-vista/category/102



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I'm going with the full version, not the upgrade.
to install the upgrade, I have to reinstall XP and activate it on this machine first each time.. no thanx, considering I usually reinstall windows a couple times a year.


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I really don't think you have to. The upgrade will blow out the partition and install fresh I'm pretty sure. I don't have that exact version here to test it out but from other posts on the Web it sure seems that way. At worst you'd have to insert your XP/Vista CD/DVD to verify and then it should move right along.

You can Google it and check on it more if you like. I just don't see paying an additional $100 on top of the $100 already saved to have a Full DVD.

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everything I have read says that the upgrade can only be performed on an activated copy of windows, on the same drive... even though going from XP to 7 is going to wipe it clean and start over.

not like the old days when you just had to insert the install disk for the older OS to verify it.

i have heard rumor that this will only be needed on teh first install, that it will merge your old XP or Vista key with the new 7 key so that it knows that it's an upgrade and that it has been verified already the next time you try to install it.

still seems like a major hassle.


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