Before I buy all the components for my new build, I want to confirm something.  If I put two EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 XC Ultra Gaming cards on an EVGA Z390 FTW motherboard, are the middle PCIe x1 and the PCIe x4 slots physically blocked or will I be able to put cards in them?

*sigh*  So I can either install one graphics card to use my favorite sound card or go 2-way SLI and try to put up with the Realtek sound system.
 
I wish there was a Classified version of the Z390.
 
Thanks!

Looks like two slot cards will work just fine without blocking anything.
 
https://www.evga.com/prod...aspx?pn=08G-P4-2182-KR

stalmage

bcavnaugh
For SLI with the RTX Graphics Cards you should look more at the X299 Platform.
44 or 28 PCIe Lanes with the correct CPU. Stay away from the Kaby Lake-X on the X299 as it only has 16 PCIe Lanes.
On the Z390 Platform only has a total of 16 PCIe Lanes.

I want to use an i7-9700K (I've already purchased it but I haven't yet bought any other components).  Is that compatible with the X299 platform?  (I don't think it is.)

No, the CPU Socket for that CPU is the FCLGA1151 and the X299 Socket is the FCLGA2066.

stalmage

Sajin
Looks like two slot cards will work just fine without blocking anything.
 
https://www.evga.com/prod...aspx?pn=08G-P4-2182-KR

That's what I was thinking but I want to be sure before plunking down the money.

Sajin is showing the two slot version instead of the three slot. It would give you enough room for a soundcard unless the soundcard takes up more then one slot and that is something I haven't seen. Another option of course would be to use a USB soundcard.

Okay.  And https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=08G-P4-2183-KR is larger, thus blocking the slots.
 
I was considering that model because it was in stock with Amazon.  They don't even list the 2182 model.  But it looks like Newegg has both.  Considering that the boost clock and texture fill rates of both cards are nearly identical, I might as well go with the 2182.
 
Thanks everyone for your help!

mattman657

bcavnaugh
For SLI with the RTX Graphics Cards you should look more at the X299 Platform.
44 or 28 PCIe Lanes with the correct CPU. Stay away from the Kaby Lake-X on the X299 as it only has 16 PCIe Lanes.
On the Z390 Platform only has a total of 16 PCIe Lanes.

I guess the question is, is running 2x GPUs @ 16x PCIE 3.0 but with a lower clock speed CPU, more beneficial than having 2x GPUs @ 8x PCIE 3.0 but with a higher clock speed CPU. Specifically referring to 9800X on X299 vs 9900k on Z390.

I would go for X16 X16 @ 4700MHz over 5000MHz with x8 x8 and have more Cores Core i9 7940X Processor

bcavnaugh

mattman657

bcavnaugh
For SLI with the RTX Graphics Cards you should look more at the X299 Platform.
44 or 28 PCIe Lanes with the correct CPU. Stay away from the Kaby Lake-X on the X299 as it only has 16 PCIe Lanes.
On the Z390 Platform only has a total of 16 PCIe Lanes.

I guess the question is, is running 2x GPUs @ 16x PCIE 3.0 but with a lower clock speed CPU, more beneficial than having 2x GPUs @ 8x PCIE 3.0 but with a higher clock speed CPU. Specifically referring to 9800X on X299 vs 9900k on Z390.

I would go for X16 X16 @ 4700MHz over 5000MHz with x8 x8 and have more Cores Core i9 7940X Processor

The issue there is that the 7940x is nearly $1000 more than the 9900k, whereas the 9800X is effectively the same price point so although it is in the HEDT lineup, it appeals to the same market as those interested in the Z390/9900k tier. The 9900k will also be able to OC past the stock Turbo Boost of 5.0ghz. 

bcavnaugh
Well you are only going with a pair EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 XC Ultra Gaming and not Ti Cards so running @ x8 x8 would be fine.
Now if going with Ti cards you are talking about Cards that Cost More Then the CPU.
Also do not go cheap on the PSU Get a 1000 G2 Or Even Better the 1200 P2 PSU for your Build.
 
"Turbo Boost of 5.0ghz.." Not in the Real World will you be running this on all your Cores.

Exactly.  None of the games I play use more than a couple of cores at the same time.  Clock speed has the biggest impact on performance.
 
And I am going with a 1000 watt PSU.  Newegg had a combo deal on the graphics card and the PSU.  (EVGA 210-GQ-1000-V1 GQ 80 Plus Gold, 1000W).

I don't think either of us said that it couldn't.  In my case, the games I play won't.  But if I fire up Vegas Movie Studio and start rendering a video, it will definitely use all the cores.

mattman657
Out of curiosity, what makes you say 5.0ghz couldn't run across all cores? I think folks have been able to reach this. Especially with a good cooling setup.

Heat

i9-9900K is now in stock at Newegg, nice to know.

blaise
Realistically, WoW, Diablo III and Civilization V/VI ain't all that new or overly demanding so what are you all that worried about?

I'm not worried.  I just want to be able to crank those games' graphics settings to 11 on my 4K monitor.  :)

I'm not really trying to achieve much--just a standard 10% CPU boost and no GPU boost.  I'm currently analyzing options for water cooling the graphics cards and I already bought an EVGA closed-loop CPU cooler.  I'm trying to keep the build to a minimum of fuss.  I've done some complex builds in the past, including hard tubes, lighting, etc., but they took forever and I was never satisfied with the results.  I want my new system to be as plug and play as it can while still giving me some simple overclocking.  I also use water cooling to reduce system noise--the computer sits on my desk two feet from my head and the CPU fan alone can be really distracting.
 
Given that I always find issues and things I forgot about as I assemble the system, it will go slowly as I wait for more parts to arrive.  In addition, I only just received the primary components today (case, MB, CPU, etc.).  I'm taking all of next week off to give me plenty of time to work on it.  :)