Alternative to EVGA 680i motherboard?

cutthroat

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So I've bought all the parts for my new system except for the mobo, CPU and video. Here's the specs:

MB: EVGA 680i ???
CPU: E6600 (already made up my mind)
Cooler: Scythe Ninja plus rev B & Shin-etsu X23
GFX: Geforce 7800GTX (will upgrade when the next gen comes out)
RAM: G.SKILL F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK PC2-6400 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4-4-3-5
Sound: X-Fi Platinum
Power: OCZ GameXStream 700W
Monitor: Acer AL2216W 22" Wide HDCP compliant
HDD: 1x320GB & 2x160GB Seagate Barracuda's SATA2 NCQ
DVD: LG 18x DVD does everything (IDE)
OS: XP & Vista dual boot

Rest of the accessories don't matter. As I said most of the parts are already bought, all I need to buy are the MB, CPU & GFX. My mind is made up on the CPU & GFX.

The problem is I can't make up my mind about the motherboard, I keep falling back on the EVGA 680i mobo, it seems to be my only choice. However there are a lot of stories about the board working for a month and then not booting, that makes me want to pick something else.

I want to futureproof my motherboard as long as possible, so I want one with:

-3 PCIe slots for SLI and the extra one for a physics processor.
-RAID controller
-1333Mhz fsb capable
-800Mhz memory capable (on a side note: when will we see mobo's that support 1066Mhz memory?)
-Onboard LAN
-Overclockable, great performance a must.

Plus any other awesome features you can think of, I want them all, except onboard sound (likely get it whether I want it or not)

So in conclusion, please change my mind about the motherboard (or confirm your experience with it), I really don't want the EVGA one, but it seems like my best choice (Motherboards.org rates it at the top of the list). I would prefer an Asus board, they have better software, Q connectors, just more user friendly overall. But the Striker Extreme is $400CDN. I won't spend over $300CDN.
 

haywood

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Physics is dead as a stand alone card. One, very few games use it and ATI and NVidia have siad they will add it to their graphics cards in the future. Don't waste your money on it.

If you have the cash go for an 8800GTX. A good mobo is the Intel 975BX2 or the Asus P5B Deluxe.
 

cutthroat

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Didn't say I was gonna buy a physics card. I'll just use an old video card for it when/if it is possible. I just want the 3 PCIe slots for future upgrade options.

As I said, I will be waiting for the next gen video cards, there is nothing mine can't currently do, and I don't have $700 for a video card right now. The R600 and 8900 are about to come out, they won't start above $800, I'll have the cash by then, and maybe I'll have something to do with it by then.

All I really want advise on is the motherboard.
 

slashzapper

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Well the 680i is a mixed bag but the thing is you can get the one from EVGA they got good warranty and generally they are as many happy people as unhappy , i think you should take the gamble looking at your requirements

So buy the 680i i know i am going to pick one up for sure but with the 8900(when it comes out ) :D
 

elrodvoss

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Physics is dead as a stand alone card. One, very few games use it and ATI and NVidia have siad they will add it to their graphics cards in the future. Don't waste your money on it.

If you have the cash go for an 8800GTX. A good mobo is the Intel 975BX2 or the Asus P5B Deluxe.

I wouldnt say Physx is dead, since BioWare is adding Ageia into there next engine.

But I said it once and ill say it each time: If Nvidia would buy/work with Ageia and incorporate there Physx engine into the next gen cards, then I think everyone would win out.
 

DarkTide

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Are you committed to nVidia and SLI? You mention the R600 as a new card coming up, will you be considering it? You might want to just make due with a 975/65 Mobo til you see where graphics stand in a few months if you're not going DX10 right now.
 

cutthroat

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Are you committed to nVidia and SLI? You mention the R600 as a new card coming up, will you be considering it? You might want to just make due with a 975/65 Mobo til you see where graphics stand in a few months if you're not going DX10 right now.

I'm not committed to Nvidia, but I really don't want to buy a new motherboard if I found the R600 to be faster. I'm gonna have to make a decision now and I'm going to bet that the 8900 is just as fast as the R600, and might come out before the R600 too. They were both rumored originally to be coming out in mid march, but then ATI announced a delay, AFAIK Nvidia did not. Still rumors though, I dunno.

I just starting building a new machine with this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131073

Check it out. Asus has a good name

I think you may have changed my mind. :)

I thought that was a 650i board originally, or at least motherboards.org had it listed as one so I passed it by. I have read a review that put it up against the Striker Extreme and the benchmark results were identical, same board 2/3 the price, just missing some of the fancy features that I don't need anyway.

What about that audio card on the P5N32-E SLI 680i? Do I have to install it, I don't want it. I would guess I don't need to install it if I don't want to.

Can anybody tell me thier experiences with this board, good or bad.

1. Does anybody use G-Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK Dual Channel with this motherboard?
2. Does anybody have any overclocking experiences with this board they would like to share?
3. Any trouble getting a Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B on this mobo?
4. Is the 24pin power cable gonna reach from my 700W OCZ GameXStream to the pins on this mobo in my P180 case?

Anything else you want to pass along, I appreciate any input at all.
 

iniquity

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It is a little confusing because the P5N-E SLI is a 650i mobo but the P5N32-E SLI is a 680i so be careful when your buying it. The audio card seems to be of better quality than most mobos offer. It does not have to be installed if you do not want it. I'm going to finishing putting my machine together tonight so if you'd like I'll let you know how it turns out for me.
 

cutthroat

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It is a little confusing because the P5N-E SLI is a 650i mobo but the P5N32-E SLI is a 680i so be careful when your buying it. The audio card seems to be of better quality than most mobos offer. It does not have to be installed if you do not want it. I'm going to finishing putting my machine together tonight so if you'd like I'll let you know how it turns out for me.

Asus naming scheme is crazy, it's hard as hell to find what you want when you are looking at 100 with virtually the same name. I like how they named the 'Striker Extreme' and 'Commando' like that, so much easier to follow.

Thanks for the suggestion, please do let me know how it works out.
 

iniquity

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OK so its over and done with everything is running perfectly and I couldn't be more happy with the mobo at this point. Very easy setup and the software it comes with is pretty cool.