are 680i SLI motherboards still good?

[Xpyrofuryx]

I found a really good deal on tigerdirect, its a q6600 and a xfx nvidia 680i sli board all for $329. I was originally going to get a 750i board and a q6600 separately but this deal is awesome. So my question is are 680i sli motherboards still good? Even tho their successors are here

 

[Xpyrofuryx]

anyone?

 

[slickjr169]

The 680i architecture is really starting to age (Thanksgiving of 2006), also the ability for that board to over clock to the extremes tends to be on the weakside or unstable (1066mhz native and support for 1333mhz). Albiet the price of the boards are falling and both 16X channels work electrically at 16X, but your gonna reach a point when XFX will stop support on the board. This translate into few upgrade options in the future especially when newer revisions for 45nm processors come around. I would suggest to shop around for a good 750i board if you dont care about triple sli. This will move you to a board that is native 1333mhz and 1600mhz support and newer processor support with the drivers to accommpany them.

 

[Xpyrofuryx]

I dont plan to upgrade for a while though, and the Q6600 i plan to take to 3.4Ghz with a aftermarket cooler.

But with all that does the deal out weigh the aging of it? or is it still too old?

 

[slickjr169]

The price isnt too bad and the overclock you want is within the spectrum of that board, so you arnt asking too much. First thing I would do is check the current bios revisions that are currently out and see what are the latest processors it supports. Now ask your self this, am I gonna upgrade to a 45nm processor down the road? Your board may be compatable with the current ones now but what about the ones down the road? If the answer is no then go ahead and get the combo and then upgrade to the next platform that is 8 month away.

 

[Xpyrofuryx]

Okay thanks, I am 97% sure I will not change my CPU until i make a new computer

 

[kad]

Motherboard is the most important and essntial part of PC
Do not economize when buying
If you are on tight budget you can get cheaper processor, ram, graphic card and later on upgrade
But never Motherboard
A time will come after one year when you'll say to yourself what the f***k I did ? for 100$ or 200$ more I could have purchased that mobo and upgrade to what I see in market now .

 

[Xpyrofuryx]

I think im good because by the time I want to upgrade we will be on the next socket anyway and DDR3 memory, so i would have to change motherboards anyway. Or am i wrong?