13th gen motherboard for dual GPU

[pd_phoenix]

Hi there,

I'm putting together a new 13900kf build, and I need to decide on the motherboard.
The system has two 3080ti, 64gb Ram, two NVMe M.2, but I haven't settled on the motherboard yet.
I won't do any overclock considering the already high temp of the 13900.

I was leaning towards this motherboard:
ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E

Is there any other good option?
Initially, I was thinking to go with the ASUS ROG Strix Z790-F, but it's not available at the moment.

Thanks

 

[Jerry James]

I'm currently working on an article for LGA1700 options for 13th Gen Intel CPUs, and I have to say that I'm really liking the Gigabyte Z690 Aero D for dual GPU setups. Is there any specific reason why you're going for those Strix boards?

 

[pd_phoenix]

Thanks, @Jerry James

I don't have particular reasons for going with the Asus Strix. It just happens those are the first ones that show up when I search for 13th gen + DDR5 motherboard. Honestly, I could probably save some bucks, as from my understanding some Strix are meant for overclocking.

That said, I briefly looked at the Gigabyte Aero D, and indeed it looks nice, though one review caught my attention:

the second PCI-E x8 slot takes away 8 lanes from the top PCI-E x16 slot

Is that something I should worry about?

 

[pd_phoenix]

After some quick research, it seems that the 8 lanes will affect the performance of the GPU. It might not be the ideal solution then.

 

[Jerry James]

After some quick research, it seems that the 8 lanes will affect the performance of the GPU. It might not be the ideal solution then.

But I thought you were running two GPUs? On motherboards with a single full x16 slot, the second slot will be much slower at x4 through the chipset.
If you’re running more than 1 graphics card, x8/x8 is the best possible scenario.

more info - https://www.cgdirector.com/guide-to-pcie-lanes/

 

[pd_phoenix]

But I thought you were running two GPUs?

Yes, that's the setup, but I'm still confused about how the PCIe lanes work.
Thanks for the link! I'll read the article, that should help

 

[PerterZ]

I'm currently working on an article for LGA1700 options for 13th Gen Intel CPUs, and I have to say that I'm really liking the Gigabyte Z690 Aero D for dual GPU setups. Is there any specific reason why you're going for those Strix boards?

@Jerry James I've been looking for the PCIe x16 slot which can handle x8 speed of two GPUs. Glad to find your comment here. Since this is a while ago, I wonder what you're recommendation would be for the Z790 board? It seems generally at least most Asus and Gigabyte board are poor at handling the PCIe slots for more than one GPU, it's rare to find one board that actually claimed for two x16 x8 of two GPUs. It's appreciated if you have reached any recommendation by now.

 

[PerterZ]

Want to add, I don't mind DDR4 or DDR5, Z690 is fine too so far as it can do x8 and x8 for two GPU cards. But if there is a Z790 and DDR5 does it I'd prefer. Thanks

 

[Jerry James]

Want to add, I don't mind DDR4 or DDR5, Z690 is fine too so far as it can do x8 and x8 for two GPU cards. But if there is a Z790 and DDR5 does it I'd prefer. Thanks

Our article is up

Best Z690 & Z790 Motherboards for Intel CPUs [13900K, 13700K, 13600K, 12900K]

We did a deep dive into Z690 & Z790 Motherboards and hand picked the best for Intel's newest and most popular CPUs that professionals need for efficient work.

www.cgdirector.com

Let me know if that helps!

 

[PerterZ]

Our article is up

Best Z690 & Z790 Motherboards for Intel CPUs [13900K, 13700K, 13600K, 12900K]

We did a deep dive into Z690 & Z790 Motherboards and hand picked the best for Intel's newest and most popular CPUs that professionals need for efficient work.

www.cgdirector.com

Let me know if that helps!

Thanks @Jerry James I read your articles and bought the gigabyte z690 aero D for the dual x8 pcie to run two 3090 cards, at least that's the objective I have. However, the journey of the build hasn't been smooth. I have fried the three of the same motherboard so far, all start as soon as I mounted the high waltage psu, evga 1300GT and later evga 1600G+, though the motherboards initially all worked fine with my few year old 1000w evga 1000GQ. After triage at the cost of frying parts and board, it appears to be related to the SATA SSD, a 2T samsung is possibly fried in the process but replacing any other SSD won't be detected either after tried with the high powered psu.

The gigabyte aero D has one advantage I like about, is the space between the two x8 slots. It's wider than the majority of other high end board where the 3.5 slot sized Nvidia card may not leave much room for the 2nd card. I even tried the NVlink bought recently to measure the distance, it's perfect. Based on the amazon image, the Asus Rog Maximum Z690 Extreme seems to layout similarly but at a much high price tag. https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Maximus-motherboard-2-5GbLAN-2xThunderbolt/dp/B09K93XRJF

Is there another motherboard that's friendly with two gpu and high waltage psu you'd recommend? I'm a bit hesitating to keep asking amazon to replace my motherboard, this is unprecedented to me and I guess to many who's building rigs over years. However I've never used any psu higher than the 1000w in the past.

 

[Jerry James]

Is there another motherboard that's friendly with two gpu and high waltage psu you'd recommend?

This motherboard shouldn't be having an issue with that setup, tbh. Especially if you've already gone through like 3 motherboards already.
A few questions:

Are those PSUs (1300 and 1600) brand-new?
And are you having any issues when the SATA isn't connected?
How did you confirm that the previous motherboards died?