680i Motherboard Choice (LT or not)

[Mussels]

Hey all. The system in my sig, someone i know really wants to buy the mobo off me.

I'm looking at an SLI mobo so i can (potentially) get another GTX if i can afford it, but at the same time i want a mobo to handle the next-gen 1333FSB (45nm) CPU's

The board must also clock to at least 400FSB, preferable 450+ (My current board does 425)

That really leaves me with the 650i 680i and 680i LT motherboards, all Nvidia chipsets.

650i - doesnt seem too appealing, with only 2x8 slots - GTXs would best be played safe with 2x16 PCI-E.

680i and 680i LT... well theres a hell of a lot of variants. Here in aus i can get the DFI, EVGA and asus. I dont want hte asus, my brother has one and has nothing but problems with it.

Any reccomendations? I'd really like experience from people who already own 680i motherboards.


P.S - I would really like 2 PCI slots on the board, with at least 2 slots distance from the primary VGA slot - my GTX is huge and makes PCI cards a real bitch on my current mobo.

[Mussels]

*bump* No really please - There has to be 680i owners on here!

[Namslas90]

Mussles, I've done quite a bit of researh on the 680i's as I also was attracted to them;
Yeah while the 680i sounds realy good, that initial release of that chipset has a few issues. I think you would be better of with and intel 975X. The Abit AW9D Max,is a real nice 975x board for example.
Check the reviews on the 680i's and you will see what I mean. Also most of the "LT" motherboards are somewhat crowded and don't leave much room for the bigger cards to have good airflow, and therefore watercooling options are kind of cramped also. The next generation of 680i Mobo's should be a lot better, but they have yet to be released.

A few examples of Problems with 680i
http://www.nforcershq.com/article7229.html
http://digg.com/hardware/NVIDIA_nForce_680i_Chipset_Problems
http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/chipsets/display/20061214235359.html

[Mussels]

Is there 975x with SLI however? I thought they were crossfire only. (Also, 975x doesnt OC nearly as well as 680i or 965p, which i currently have)

Most of that was about the SATA corruption, from what i heard wasnt that fixed?

Ok so since this is all bad news, i may look at 650i -
http://www.pccasegear.com.au/prod4973.htm

This ones 650i and SLI capable, do they suffer the same SATA issues?

[Agility]

So i'm guessing that the 965P isn't SLI too? Only SLI board is from nvidia themselves?

[Agility]

975 SLI board information;

http://www.techspot.com/news/19454-asus-announces-975-motherboard.html

I know that the X975 is crossfire, but i didn't expect that the 965p is also crossfire. Man..

[Mussels]

Intel chipsets can only do crossfire, no SLI. any SLI comes from an Nvidia chipset board, yes.

To be honest, choosing a mobo is a nightmare :(

Want crossfire? Intel boards work with the external cable crossfire, ATI Xpress 3200 chipsets work with internal or external - but they're quite rare.

Want SLI? grab a board that costs an incredible amount, with the risk your soundcard wont work, and SATA data corruption!

:(

[Agility]

Intel chipsets can only do crossfire, no SLI. any SLI comes from an Nvidia chipset board, yes.

To be honest, choosing a mobo is a nightmare :(

Omfg yea...And there's been so many good P965 board coming out. And worse is Crossfire is HARDLY supported in singapore here. Many go for SLI. And intel's latest babies are all for X-Fire.....

[Namslas90]

[QUOTE=Agility;356826]I know that the X975 is crossfire, but i didn't expect that the 965p is also crossfire. Man..[QUOTE]

I deleted that post, that info was real old, Sorry;

Re-thinking about it if you still are intrested in a 680i board this one is the best you can get, and yeah a lot of those SATA problems have been solved, but not all.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131074

Striker Extreme is expensive, but worthy of your abilities.
Intel should be realeasing a new group of SLI boards soon, maybe wait a bit??

[Agility]

Striker is expensive. 680i nvidia boards are freaking expensive here. They costs a ton.

[Mussels]

My brother has a striker extreme. His first one stopped booting and had to be RMA'd, and his second one is slower by over 1s in superpi (same OS install and everything) and barely overclocks - 300FSB is a problem for him, compared to the 400+ off my far cheaper board.

It also costs WELL over $500 here in aus.
http://www.pccasegear.com.au/prod4650.htm

[newtekie1]

I have the eVGA 680i board, I've had to RMA it twice already due to problems. The first one simply failed. After about a months of normal use it suddenly stopped turning on. It would power on for a second then turn off. The next one came in with a faulty case intrusion detector, so it would always warn about the case being openned.

I would avoid any reference 680 or 650 chipset board, which pretty much just leaves you with ASUS and DFI. ASUS being the better of the two currently, IMO.

[d44ve]

OK.... how about this. Most people give there opinion on one thing or another saying its bad or good without any personal experiance on them

I own both the Striker Extreme and the eVGA 680i A1 boards

and I hate to tell ya guys..... but the eVGA kicks the S.E. in its nuts when it comes to OC and stability.

ASUS just cant seem to get their BIOS working well.

I am not going to give my opinion on the 975 965 or any of the other boards because I do not have personal experiance with them, and when people start doing that.... it just causes trouble because they "heard" something bad about them.

Just remember, unless someone uses or used something, take their advice worth a grain of salt.

EDIT : BTW... this was not aimed towards anyone in this thread. Just making a gerneral statment. So please do not get offfended

[newtekie1]

I know what you are saying d44ve, but at the same time I can't recommend the eVGA board to anyone after having to RMA it twice. I've never had a problem with any of my ASUS boards.

[Tatty_One]

There is only a 2-3% performance difference between 8x and 16x in SLi. Some 650i boards also clock to 520FSB, mine will hit 500.

[newtekie1]

Yeah, but when laying out that much for graphics cards I wouldn't want to lose any performance because I cheaped out on a motherboard.

[Tatty_One]

Yeah, but when laying out that much for graphics cards I wouldn't want to lose any performance because I cheaped out on a motherboard.

Yes but the reviews I have read suggest that most (not neccesarily all) 650i chipset boards are actually around 5% faster in 3D apps than the 680i chipset so you would actually be gaining! I'll see if I can dig a linky out for ya.

Have a look at this, and check the bench pages before this page they are sli tests, you will see the 650i wins some!

http://techreport.com/reviews/2007q1/asus-6x0i-mobos/index.x?pg=17

http://techgage.com/article/asus_p5n-e_sli/

[newtekie1]

Very interesting, but there is still an overall performance loss, even if it wins in a few benchmarks.

Plus those were done using older graphics cards, the 8800 series is much more dependant on the extra bandwidth provided by the extra 8 PCI-E lanes.

[d44ve]

I know what you are saying d44ve, but at the same time I can't recommend the eVGA board to anyone after having to RMA it twice. I've never had a problem with any of my ASUS boards.

Oh I know... I would do the same thing. I would expect you to say that....

I would do the same thing if that was my personal experiance.

Hell, I had to RMA my S.E. too

[Tatty_One]

Very interesting, but there is still an overall performance loss, even if it wins in a few benchmarks.

Plus those were done using older graphics cards, the 8800 series is much more dependant on the extra bandwidth provided by the extra 8 PCI-E lanes.

Your right but I got the 2-3% from a review I read exactly using 2 GTX's in Sli only thing is I cannot find the damn thing....dont get me wrong, I am not suggesting you should buy it just maybe consider it, that depends on what frills you need but in many cases the 2-3% loss in sli bandwidth is made up by the boards general better overclocking and matching 3D performance and Bang for Buck.....well say no more!

[Tatty_One]

OK, I found the review with the 8800GTX's in SLi tested on the 680 and 650 chipset, I think I got it slightly wrong, in many tests the 650 outperformed the 680!

http://www.techspot.com/review/45-nvidia-nforce-650i-sli-vs-680i-sli/page5.html

[Namslas90]

Sounds like a lot of reasons to wait for something better.:toast:

[Tatty_One]

TBH, I have got to say my board has taken a lot of getting used to, it does have some anomolies and coming from the AMD camp where I was for 5 years I found it quite hard to get to grips with, I am there now and for the price it is an excellent board but there are better out there no doubting that.

[Mussels]

OK, I found the review with the 8800GTX's in SLi tested on the 680 and 650 chipset, I think I got it slightly wrong, in many tests the 650 outperformed the 680!

http://www.techspot.com/review/45-nvidia-nforce-650i-sli-vs-680i-sli/page5.html

You have the P5N-E SLI right?
http://www.pccasegear.com.au/prod4973.htm
Within budget, for a single GPU theres also a shatload of room for PCI Cards too. Looks good so far. 1333FSB CPU support - check!


Ok all thats left Tatty - Whats chipset temps like? Is it beneficial to throw on an upgraded mobo cooler for 400-500FSB? (I'm using a thermalright HR-05 on my current board, something like a 30C reduction in temps)


Edit: after reading reviews, people had to heatsink the second chipset, which is naked by default on this board - did you do that to reach 500FSB?


edit:2 for refrence
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1972653
this thread has a lot of good info on the board.

[Mussels]

Adding another post, too many edits makes me sad.

The board appears excellent, as long as you arent using an E4300 - they seem to have issues reaching high FSB.
*Don't update beyond the 0401 bios (i believe thats it) as it locks the multiplier (Possibly old info - would like updates on this tatty)
*Upgrade northbridge cooling, Thermalright HR-05 SLI is a common choice
*Upgrade southbridge cooling - any passive sink works here, HR-05 normal is the overkill choice
*800-900MHz is the sweetspot for the ram with tight timings. 1GHz+ ram is pointless.

After the cooling upgrades it negates the cheapness of the mobo - but it gives you massive OC ability, SLI options, and its generally a nice stable mobo.

[Tatty_One]

Adding another post, too many edits makes me sad.

The board appears excellent, as long as you arent using an E4300 - they seem to have issues reaching high FSB.
*Don't update beyond the 0401 bios (i believe thats it) as it locks the multiplier (Possibly old info - would like updates on this tatty)
*Upgrade northbridge cooling, Thermalright HR-05 SLI is a common choice
*Upgrade southbridge cooling - any passive sink works here, HR-05 normal is the overkill choice
*800-900MHz is the sweetspot for the ram with tight timings. 1GHz+ ram is pointless.

After the cooling upgrades it negates the cheapness of the mobo - but it gives you massive OC ability, SLI options, and its generally a nice stable mobo.

OK, funnily enuff when I got it I had an E4300, I got that to 3.3Gig but they run hotttt! I have put some ramsinks on the southbridhe chip, works a treat, never got too hot in any case, I have good case airflow so combined with the ramsinks....no problems at all. I have just mounted a 60mm fan onto the Northbridge passive heatsing, according to Asus probe, at 3.6Gig the Northbridge idles at 28C and at full load hits around 40C....nothing really to worry about there, problem is that a decent chipset cooler is not going to fit (unless it is under about 3cm in height) if you have a decent CPU cooler as there is little room but the fan works just fine and I am on the 2nd highest Chipset voltage setting which is 1.565V I think....1.7 something is the highest but I have not needed to go that high.

I cannot test the FSB at the moment as currently the multi is locked for me at 9x, when I first got the E6600 on an older BIOS I booted to 7 x 500Mhz FSB just to test it and it did that on 1.45V easy....no issues but a couple of BIOS's ago Asus messed up and somehow managed to lock the multi upwards and downwards (I think it was 0505 after 0401 yes) but in anycase I try not to drop the multi if I dont need to as I find it just adds another potential imgredient to instability, they are aware of it and apparantly will fix it in the next release. I have just updated the the May 07 BIOS and that seems to be running well at the moment but there have been memory stability improvements since 0401 so unless you specifically need to lower the multi I would keep up to date, otherwise wait.

For memory, I can run mine at 1100Mhz no problems....but in theblack not yellow slots I think it is (am at work now so cant check) however anything above about 940Mhz does not like 1T I have found.

Let me know if you need anything more.

[Mussels]

That info seems good, i'll have it in a month or so. The buyer of the board isnt too fussed, so even if it OC's like a turd, he can have this new one :D

(hopefully the E6600 i'm ordering for him OC's better than mine too... hehe swap)

Edit:
Oh and for high end overclocking, there is a pencil mod to cancel out Vdroop (The CPU voltage dropping at load)

Pics attached - use a DMM to measure teh Vcore voltage, and a 2B pencil over the area indicated (you're connecting the two ends, draw over the top with a pencil)

Note: If your voltage at idle goes up, you did too much - you're only making load and idle match up. (If you set 1.6V and it goes to 1.5V at load - its too much voltage at load)

[Tatty_One]

That info seems good, i'll have it in a month or so. The buyer of the board isnt too fussed, so even if it OC's like a turd, he can have this new one :D

(hopefully the E6600 i'm ordering for him OC's better than mine too... hehe swap)

Edit:
Oh and for high end overclocking, there is a pencil mod to cancel out Vdroop (The CPU voltage dropping at load)

Pics attached - use a DMM to measure teh Vcore voltage, and a 2B pencil over the area indicated (you're connecting the two ends, draw over the top with a pencil)

Note: If your voltage at idle goes up, you did too much - you're only making load and idle match up. (If you set 1.6V and it goes to 1.5V at load - its too much voltage at load)

Thanks for that, I might give it a try although mine does not seem too bad and I have got used to adding a little more juice than I need so the Vdroop does not de stabalise at load, I think the worst I have seen at load is a drop from 1.45V to 1.424 but if this adds a little more stability and is that easy to do I think I will give it a try!

I have just ordered an Artic freezer 7 pro, I broke my Infinity (well the pins) trying to take it out of the mobo when I swapped my E4300 for the 6600. A friend who is a bit of a teccie is building me a water cooling setup from some old parts he has but he is kinda busy and I could not wait so the freezer pro is an interim solution, I dont like not being able to push my CPU's but beyond 3.7Gig gets kind of toasty on stock cooling :eek:

I have also just ordered new off E Bay (birthday present) a 640MB Gainward Bliss 8800GTS, I actually got it for less than a 320MB version so at the moment I am a very happy man!

[tkpenalty]

Mussels, dont go for PCCG, they are expensive, go for UMART.net.au... much cheaper.

http://umart.net/au/product_info.php?cPath=49_51&products_id=109781

Stock NVIDIA board though...

[Mussels]

Sorry for the delay getting back here

- I dont always order through PCCG, however they're damned reliable and most packages get to me within 48 hours of ordering. Also, they have very good details/pics for linking other people to, so they know what board it is ;)

That albatron board has a horrible layout :S could they make the 24 pin and 8 pin power plugs in further apart? (asus does this too, i know) Everythings too packed around the ram for my liking, and the 650i board (the asus one) tatty has out-performs the 680i boards... Also as has been stated, the stock reference designs from Nv have a few serious issues.

I think i'll get the asus board, as its now for sale for $180 at PCCG :)
http://www.pccasegear.com.au/prod4973.htm

I think this board, a Thermalright Ultra 120-Extreme, HR-05 SLI should make me a very happy camper!

[Paulieg]

I love my EVGA 680i. NewEgg has a great price on the NF-63. The best thing about this board in particular is that once you flash the bios, it basically turns into the more expensive NF-68, as they all use the same bios. Even Everest recognizes it as the NF-68 after the bios update to p28. The only differences b/t the boards prior to the flash are the number of overclocking features in the bios.

[Live OR Die]

I would go with a 680i mb i havent had any problems with mine i have the striker exterme the only thing with the 680i boards, the ram controller donst like some brands of ram but all the leading brands work fine asus holds the top score on 3DMark06

[Mussels]

my brother has the striker extreme, and as he's visiting i played around with it.

Cant use 4x1GB ram - its so fussy, my ram only works in one set of slots (forget the color atm) - big nono.

Uses a TON of power - my hardware in his system is ~50W up at idle and 60W at load, which is ridiculous because...

the mobo overclocks worse than my Asus P5B-E - i can do 425FSB with ease, he cant pass 400 (1600, in the strikers bios)

Also, and a BIG also - the striker is not compatible with my cooling setup. Using a tower cooler (tuniq, thermalright 120, my noctua) they can only face UP - in my P150, that would nicely toast my PSU with its 120mm fan there, rather than exhaust out the rear of the case like i want it to.

Oh and on a side note - the 650i model costs less than half that of the striker ;)

[Live OR Die]

my brother has the striker extreme, and as he's visiting i played around with it.

Cant use 4x1GB ram - its so fussy, my ram only works in one set of slots (forget the color atm) - big nono.

Uses a TON of power - my hardware in his system is ~50W up at idle and 60W at load, which is ridiculous because...

the mobo overclocks worse than my Asus P5B-E - i can do 425FSB with ease, he cant pass 400 (1600, in the strikers bios)

Also, and a BIG also - the striker is not compatible with my cooling setup. Using a tower cooler (tuniq, thermalright 120, my noctua) they can only face UP - in my P150, that would nicely toast my PSU with its 120mm fan there, rather than exhaust out the rear of the case like i want it to.

Oh and on a side note - the 650i model costs less than half that of the striker ;)

Well im running 4x1gb sticks on mine with no problems i got my fsb past 400 with DDR2 667 but its wont boot into windows the ram timing is to hi if you look on 3DMark06 online scores the striker holds the lead

[Mussels]

thanks for that, as i'm basing my info off the one at hand i didnt really look around - he may have a faulty mobo.

anyway, the big seller was the fact that the 650i version costs a lot less - the system is for gaming only, so the extra sata ports, dual gigabit and all that just arent worth the extra money. Thank you for your input, however.

Edit: my current board boots 4x1GB DDR2 800 4-4-4-15 - my bros striker wont even start with the same ram, all 4 sticks work, but only in one pair of the slots ( again i forgot the colors, sorry) i'll let him know his board is most likely crap :)

[Live OR Die]

thats cool what type or ram your bro usein in his board, the eVGA 680i mb is alot cheaper have you looked in to that

[Xaser04]

Just to give my opinion as I own a P5N-E SLI.

Its a great little board with good overclockability (currently at 3ghz on a E4300 using stock cooling @ 1.4v).

Nice and stable in terms of performance.

HOWEVER

My Gigabit Lan appears to have become faulty as well as the two usb ports that reside next to it on the motherboard. This has happened out of the blue and for no apparent reason.

I will try a different bios before stating that its broken however its just one thing I thought I would point out. (don't know if its a common fault or not)

[Mussels]

Uuuuupdate!

I've got the board, it OC's better than my old one, heres the results.

CPU can be pushed to 3.8GHz, same as old board - temps are the issue again, so i leave it at 3.4.

Memory can do 1000MHz at high voltage, i was warned off this by OCZ tony, so i'm settling for 900Mhz at 2.2V

3D performance is identical to my old P965 board (asus P5B-E)

Overall, the better layout has paid off with lower temps all around (I'm using a weaker CPU cooler and getting the same temps) and faster memory, even before the OC.

Oh as a good hint, the FSB strap changes at 425FSB (1700 quad boosted) so use 424FSB or 1696 'quad pumped' for the most ram bandwidth.

[DOM]

whats the tim your running on the mem ? cas 4 ? try 5-5-5-15 and im sure you can get 1000Mhz