eVGA Nforce 680I SLI LGA775 Worth the effort?

[pavel-]

I will be building a new rig after the july 22 price adjustments and plan on pushing it as far as i can first on air then maybe on water if air just isnt enough.

The question is, I've read this board is a great OC board, however I've also read about some stability issues. Is this board worth the hassle for its overclocking potential or not?
The parts going in this new rig along with the board are [c2d e6600] + [2gb corsair or ocz DDR800 RAM] + [1 8800gtx, and later a 2nd for SLI] + [probably Silverstone DA 750W psu or one of equal or greater quality+power]. The case all this is going into is most likely the NZXT Zero.

Here's a link to this board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188013

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[Zorg]

You should think about how much you want SLI, because the P35 is a much better board. If you aren't that serious about SLI you should really consider the P35.

 

[pavel-]

I am quite serious about SLI, as this will be a primarily gaming machine that I want to last at least 2 years.

What brand of the P35 chipset board would you recommend?

 

[speed4life]

I would go for it. Just becareful of the ram you buy. I have heard many issues with corsair ram. Also watch the voltage you set on your ram. Too high and you will diffinently have problems. I have the T1 version. with Mushkin PC28000 1000Mhz. So far so good. Have good cooling to if oyu plan to overclock. Good luck!!!


Motherboard: EVGA T1 680i
CPU: E6600 L646G494 @ 3.7Ghz. 1:1 Ratio Linked & Synced Voltage 1.44 Load Temp 45c
Idle Temp. 25c
SPP:1.45volts, MCP: 1.50volts
Memory: Mushkin PC2 8000 2gig's 4-5-4-11, 2T Voltage 2.1
Swiftech Water Cooling H20-220
Video: One EVGA 8800GTS 320MB
Power Supply: Silverstone 750W
OS: XP Pro

 

[Zorg]

I don't really know which is best but I am leaning toward Gigabyte. They have the GA-P35C-DS3R which has DDR2 and DDR3 slots but you give up firewire etc. Then you have the GA-P35-S3 and the GA-P35-DS4. Here is a comparison, scroll down.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_ComparisonSheet.aspx?ProductID=2543,2531,2546

Here is a test on the P35. Note that you can OC to 1333 with just a bus speed change no vcore increase etc.

http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2989&p=4

If you are hell bent on SLI you are SOL, at least for the moment. However, the gains from the Bearlake should give you pause for thought.

 

[aevm]

OK, guys, just to clarify. Here's what I understand from what I've read. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

P35 does not support SLI.

X38 may support SLI, if manufacturers manage to do it. We'll know in 2 months.

965 and 975 do not support SLI.

650i does support SLI, but the second card runs at 4x (or was it 8x?).
Exception P5N32-E SLI Plus which does run both cards at 16x

680i does support SLI, both cards at 16x.

If all this is right, then pavel needs a 680i mobo (or the Plus).

Since we're talking about 8800 GTX SLI I will assume that price is less important than quality. Here are the most expensive (and best reviewed) 680i mobos, roughly sorted with the most expensive at the top.

Gigabyte GA-N680i-DQ6
Asus Striker Extreme
MSI P6N Diamond
eVGA A1 (or T1)
Asus P5N32-E SLI
Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus

Have I missed any board that may be promising? Are the boards I listed there really that good? Any good/bad experience with them? So far I heard good things about eVGA and Gigabyte, also bad things about Asus. Nobody really knows about MSI, so far at least.

Edit: the Plus is a hybrid 650i/680i, that's why I listed it in both places.

There's also a BFG board based on 680i. Haven't read about it yet, but BFG is generally a good company IMO. It's worth researching a bit.

 

[Zorg]

As far as I know the P35 does not support SLI.

 

[Hellboy]

Cant you read, he wants SLI.

The best SLI board out there is made by EVGA, thats why i chose it over Asus Striker Extreme.

If you can afford it the Black Pearl is the one to go for.

Intel P35 is a good board, I have got some in stock and fast too.

But at the end of the day the 680 will run faster than the P35 when SLI is used in game benchmarks.

So there ya go


Do Intel pay you to promote the p35 chipset or has Daddy got you one for Christmas early or something

 

[Hellboy]

OK, guys, just to clarify. Here's what I understand from what I've read. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

P35 does not support SLI.

X38 may support SLI, if manufacturers manage to do it. We'll know in 2 months.

965 and 975 do not support SLI.

650i does support SLI, but the second card runs at 4x (or was it 8x?).
Exception P5N32-E SLI Plus which does run both cards at 16x

680i does support SLI, both cards at 16x.

If all this is right, then pavel needs a 680i mobo (or the Plus).

Since we're talking about 8800 GTX SLI I will assume that price is less important than quality. Here are the most expensive (and best reviewed) 680i mobos, roughly sorted with the most expensive at the top.

Gigabyte GA-N680i-DQ6
Asus Striker Extreme
MSI P6N Diamond
eVGA A1 (or T1)
Asus P5N32-E SLI
Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus

Have I missed any board that may be promising? Are the boards I listed there really that good? Any good/bad experience with them? So far I heard good things about eVGA and Gigabyte, also bad things about Asus. Nobody really knows about MSI, so far at least.

Edit: the Plus is a hybrid 650i/680i, that's why I listed it in both places.

There's also a BFG board based on 680i. Haven't read about it yet, but BFG is generally a good company IMO. It's worth researching a bit.

 

[Hellboy]

OK, guys, just to clarify. Here's what I understand from what I've read. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

P35 does not support SLI.

X38 may support SLI, if manufacturers manage to do it. We'll know in 2 months.

965 and 975 do not support SLI.

650i does support SLI, but the second card runs at 4x (or was it 8x?).
Exception P5N32-E SLI Plus which does run both cards at 16x

680i does support SLI, both cards at 16x.

If all this is right, then pavel needs a 680i mobo (or the Plus).

Since we're talking about 8800 GTX SLI I will assume that price is less important than quality. Here are the most expensive (and best reviewed) 680i mobos, roughly sorted with the most expensive at the top.

Gigabyte GA-N680i-DQ6
Asus Striker Extreme
MSI P6N Diamond
eVGA A1 (or T1)
Asus P5N32-E SLI
Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus

Have I missed any board that may be promising? Are the boards I listed there really that good? Any good/bad experience with them? So far I heard good things about eVGA and Gigabyte, also bad things about Asus. Nobody really knows about MSI, so far at least.

Edit: the Plus is a hybrid 650i/680i, that's why I listed it in both places.

There's also a BFG board based on 680i. Haven't read about it yet, but BFG is generally a good company IMO. It's worth researching a bit.

ooops sorry mis posted

http://techreport.com/onearticle.x/12758

have a look at the x38 link , looks like Intels gunning for that too... I heard that the 975 chipset was sli compatible if they released the right driver - but they didnt and at the time ATI was Intels friend ( before AMD got them of course )

 

[NewbieTechGodII]

Krikie- how in the heck do you post on these new boards?

Anyhow, I have the 680i and I haven't had any issues since they've been upgrading the BIOS (currently P29).

If you want the best-damed cooler on the market, then you have to get the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme with a Scythe 21F (I think that's the designation), 120mm fan. Anand tech did a big write up about it and it was able to take an X6800 all the way up to 3.96GHz with a load temp of 47C!

I wrote an email to the guy who did the testing (to ask about the IFX-14), and he stated that he was currently doing tests with water-coolers and that the 120x was still spanking them.

Link:
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=2981&p=1

 

[Yoosty]

aevm wrote :Have I missed any board that may be promising?

There are a few that you missed.

DFI LP UT NF680I LT SLI-T2 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136035

also the new 680i board from EVGA that is preplumbed for Liquid cooling.

The EVGA 680i Black Pearl
http://www.evga.com/articles/365.asp

That could be also used with The EVGA e-GeForce 8800 Ultra Black Pearl Edition that is also liquid cooled.
http://www.evga.com/articles/364.asp

Do not which Liquid Cool reservoir or pump EVGA recommends for there Black Pearl Edition motherboard & graphic card yet.

Hope this helps you out some.

 

[grieve]

If you plan on putting two 8800 GTX in one box make sure you have the room.


I have a striker Extreme with one 8800 GTX in an Antec 900, with a1000 watt PSU (for later expansion); the Antec 900 case is huge and it is a tight squeeze for just one 8800GTX, I am not sure if ill be able to get the second GTX in because the HDD’s are in the way. (I plan to add the other GTX when prices drops)

 

[Europa2010]

I have the same issue...Just purchased a 30' Dell MOnitor and had to upgrade to 8800 GTX....performance is not great so I am now looking for a new SLI compatible motherboard to add another 8800GTX to boost performance.

Asus Extreme ($290) did have ok reviews but at this price i would expect more.
(Since i already own an asus P5w-DH, i am very picky )

I was intrigued by Asus P5N-SLI Motherboard (very cheap $95, Nforce570i) which would allow me to wait for a better P35 motherboard design with SLI.
Only drawback is the SLI is only 1X16 and 1X8...compare to 1X16+1X16 for nforce680i

ABIT IN9 32XMAX Motherboard
(Intel Quad Core/ Core 2 Duo/ Pentium D/ Pentium 4, LGA775, nForce 680i SLI, ATX, 32GB DDR2, 1333MHz FSB )
Abit is also an option but quite expensive for me right now ($280)

 

[pavel-]

Since I've started this thread I have made a few (not concrete) decisions about the new rig.

I am no longer, as someone put, "hell bent" on SLI, since I will only be getting a 24 inch monitor (most likely Samsung SyncMaster 245BW). I am under the impression that a single 8800gtx (OCed to ultra speeds) should be sufficient to run most things at the native resolution (1920x1200), also this would allow me to go with my original PSU choice (Corsair hx620w). Also I am now considering a quad core cpu along with 4gb of Cruicial Ballistix. And finally I have decided 100% on the Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme (which i will be lapping the hell out of) with the Scythe S-Flex 1600rpm 120mm fan.

So, I have been looking at the GA-P35 boards, these more specifically:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA =0&Description=ga-p35&x=0&y=0

I want firewire, but it is not 100% essential and if it saves me $50+ then I'll deal without it.

Some pros, cons and alternatives for these would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[NewbieTechGodII]

You know what? If we can put a man on the moon, then why the heck can't they design an efficient stock cooling solution that doesn't take up three slots?

 

[Zorg]

Since I've started this thread I have made a few (not concrete) decisions about the new rig.

I am no longer, as someone put, "hell bent" on SLI, since I will only be getting a 24 inch monitor (most likely Samsung SyncMaster 245BW). I am under the impression that a single 8800gtx (OCed to ultra speeds) should be sufficient to run most things at the native resolution (1920x1200), also this would allow me to go with my original PSU choice (Corsair hx620w). Also I am now considering a quad core cpu along with 4gb of Cruicial Ballistix. And finally I have decided 100% on the Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme (which i will be lapping the hell out of) with the Scythe S-Flex 1600rpm 120mm fan.

So, I have been looking at the GA-P35 boards, these more specifically:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEP A =0&Description=ga-p35&x=0&y=0

I want firewire, but it is not 100% essential and if it saves me $50+ then I'll deal without it.

Some pros, cons and alternatives for these would be appreciated, thanks.

Your link is broken. The Ultra-120 extreme is an excellent cooler. Be careful about the depth of your case, they are tall. Also, some of the Gygabyte mobos have mounting concerns with the crazycool heatsinks that come on the board. I have heard of people modifying the backing plate or removing the integrated heatsink that gets in the way. Just be prepared to get creative.

 

[NewbieTechGodII]

Since I've started this thread I have made a few (not concrete) decisions about the new rig.

I am no longer, as someone put, "hell bent" on SLI, since I will only be getting a 24 inch monitor (most likely Samsung SyncMaster 245BW). I am under the impression that a single 8800gtx (OCed to ultra speeds) should be sufficient to run most things at the native resolution (1920x1200), also this would allow me to go with my original PSU choice (Corsair hx620w). Also I am now considering a quad core cpu along with 4gb of Cruicial Ballistix. And finally I have decided 100% on the Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme (which i will be lapping the hell out of) with the Scythe S-Flex 1600rpm 120mm fan.

So, I have been looking at the GA-P35 boards, these more specifically:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEP A =0&Description=ga-p35&x=0&y=0

I want firewire, but it is not 100% essential and if it saves me $50+ then I'll deal without it.

Some pros, cons and alternatives for these would be appreciated, thanks.

I purchased the Ultra 120 eXtreme a week or so ago and have discovered that no lapping was required (the base was nice and flat). Perhaps Thermalright resolved this issue. Also went with the Scythe SFF21F 120mm fan.