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- Date:
- Tuesday , November 07, 2006
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
NVIDIA 680i Launch & eVGA's new nForce 680i SLI Mobo
The nForce 680i SLI board is eVGA’s flagship motherboard with support for the Core 2 Duo and Quad that uses NVIDIA’s new chipset. eVGA is NVIDIA’s launch partner for the 680i and the motherboard is available today! Put this one on your short list.
Introduction to the Review
EVGA is well known in the performance video card space, but remains a relative new comer in the motherboard arena. Their experience in designing quality and high performance components lends itself well to breaking in to the highly competitive enthusiast market. With their latest nForce 680i based board, EVGA looks to be trying a “Take no prisoners” approach to the game.
The nForce 680i SLI is EVGA’s premier offering for Intel’s entire Core processor LGA775 based lineup, with in-built support for even the next generation of Intel Core CPUs. The board is built around the NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI MCP chipset, supporting the following technologies: all LGA 775 type processors, DDR2 DRAM modules operating in Dual Channel mode up to 800MHz, as well as dual PCI Express bases x16 graphics cards operating in full x16 SLI mode. The nForce 680i SLI is a feature complete solution, with minimal requirements for a functioning system including: an Intel LGA 775 style processor, DDR2 memory, drives, and a PSU.
EVGA chose to include the following integrated components in with the nForce 680i SLI’s design: 1 ATA-133 IDE port and 6 SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1, and 5 capable) on the NVIDIA controller; 10 USB 2.0 capable ports (6 in rear panel, and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 IEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, and 1 onboard header); 2 NVIDIA GigE Ethernet ports in rear panel; Realtek 8-channel audio codec featuring an S/PDIF optical output port; onboard 2-digit diagnostic LED; onboard power and reset switches; and PS/2 port support in the rear panel.
Main Specifications Overview:
Detailed Motherboard Specification List:
Packaging
EVGA chose to include the following components in with the nForce 680i SLI board: ATA-133 IDE and floppy rounded cables; SATA driver cables and dual ended power cables; extra-wide SLI connector; the rear panel shield; rear brackets with serial, USB 2.0, and IEEE 1394 port support; and the normal complement of driver CDs and manuals.
Board Layout
The nForce 680i SLI’s layout and design is very clean and well thought out. All board hot spots are covered with either passively cooled heat sinks, or actively cooled heat pipe attached sinks. There are no overly tight areas on the board, with more than adequate room between the memory and primary PCI Express x16 slot and the primary and secondary PCI Express x16 slots. As for the board’s capacitors, EVGA went with a variety of manufacturers including: Rubycon (Japan); Sanyo (Japan); and United Chemi-Con (USA, Japan) marked as KMG and LXZ.
EVGA made sure to keep adequate clearance around the CPU socket area, by using low profile capacitors and power circuitry. The CPU cooler is held in place using the standard 4 hole type LGA775 mounting mechanism. Directly to the left of the socket is the actively cooled NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Northbridge chipset. The heat pipe cooler is held to the chipset with a series of 4 push-pins arranged at each of the chipset’s corners. Just above the socket are the VRE3_FAN header, the 8-pin ATX12V power connector, and a large passive cooler covering some of the CPU’s power MOSFETS. There is another passive cooler to the right of the CPU along the board’s edge, with the 4-pin CPU fan header directly below it.
The 4 onboard DDR2 DIMM slots are arranged in a 2-by-2 layout, with Dual Channel memory mode active by placing modules in like colored slots across sets. Just below the DIMM slots are 4 of the onboard SATA 2 ports, the front panel header, a 4-pin MOLEX power connector, the CHASSIS_FAN_2 header, the onboard ATA-133 IDE port, and the 24-pin ATX power connector. The onboard MOLEX power connector accepts a male MOLEX power cable from your PSU in order to boost power to the PCI Express x16 slots when using the board in SLI mode. Standby power and power LEDS are located in the lower right corner of the board.
The NVIDIA 680i Southbridge chipset is located directly below the blue tertiary PCI Express x16 slot. The chipset is cooled by one end of the heat pipe, covered with a low profile cooler held to the chipset by push pins on opposite sides of the chipset. Directly below the chipset are the onboard floppy port and 2 of the onboard SATA 2 ports. Notice that both connectors have been rotated 90 degrees so that the cables sit parallel to the plane of the board when engaged. Directly above the SATA 2 ports are the 2-digit diagnostic LED display, the 2 onboard USB 2.0 headers, and the CMOS battery. The diagnostic LED display shows numeric post codes that can be useful in debugging system initialization related issues. The CHASSIS_FAN and serial port headers are located in the lower left corner of the board, with the CMOS clear jumper located directly above.
The nForce 680i SLI is designed with a total of 3 PCI Express x16 slots, 2 PCI-Express x1 slots, and 2 PCI slots. Note that the 2 black colored PCI Express slots are for video card use in SLI mode, while the blue color PCI Express x16 slot is for an expansion card, such as a dedicated physics engine. The SYS_FAN header, power and reset buttons, integrated speaker, and front panel audio and S/PDIF headers are located along the left edge of the board, next to PCI slot 2. The onboard IEEE 1394 header is located to the upper left of PCI slot 1. The NFORCE_FAN header is located to the lower left of the primary PCI Express x1 slot.
EVGA integrated the following ports in to the nForce 680i SLI’s design: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; 6 USB 2.0 ports; 1 IEEE 1394 port; 2 NVIDIA Gigabit LAN Ethernet port; 6 analogue audio ports; and an S/PDIF optical output port.
NVIDIA Control Panel
The nForce 680i chipset drivers include a web driven control panel interface for configuration of various integrated features. NVIDIA’s control panel interface is broken down in to 7 distinct sections: 3D Settings; Display; Networking; Performance; Storage; System Stability; and Video & Television. The System Stability section contains the Perform Stability Test page. Using this module, you can run a system stress test on the entire system or target sub-systems in order to gauge overall system stability and possible system bottleneck areas.
The Networking section contains all chipset related network performance options. The Configure FirstPacket Settings link opens to the Configure FirstPacket Settings window, allowing for configuration of the FirstPacket network prioritization module on a program executable basis. The FirstPacket module is a hardware based system that prioritizes the outboard ordering of packets tied to specified programs in order to reduce the network latency encountered when using the program. Note that the FirstPacket module only affects outboard network traffic. The Set TCP/IP Acceleration configuration link opens the TCP/IP Acceleration settings window. With TCP/IP Acceleration enabled, all TCP/IP traffic routing is handled internally by the chipset rather than going through the CPU. Theoretically, this reduces the overall system CPU utilization with heavy TCP/IP traffic loads. The Adjust Teaming configuration link displays the Teaming configuration window. Enabling the Teaming module forces the system to treat both onboard NICs as a single entity, allowing for doubling of the normal bandwidth and transfer speed potential, which translates to a 2GB interface for this board.
The Performance section contains all windows based setting for manual and automated system performance tuning, as well as system monitoring. The Adjust Motherboard Settings link opens to the Adjust Motherboard Settings window, which contains options for manual manipulation of most system voltage, clock speed, and memory timing settings. The settable ranges available for the options shown mimic those available in the BIOS screens. The Adjust GPU Settings link opens the Adjust GPU Settings window, allowing for customization of GPU related speed and voltage settings. The Dynamic BIOS Access link displays the Dynamic BIOS Access page. From this screen, you can navigate to most BIOS pages and manipulate most BIOS related options, including those having to due with chipset specific performance settings.
The Tune System link display the Tune System page, which allows for automated overclocking. Via this program, the system automatically determines the overclocking sweet spot for the system based on the components selected for overclocking and stress tests the system for stability over the specified time period. The View System Information link displays a system information page containing a read-only view of most system settings. The Adjust Custom Rules link opens to the Adjust Custom Rules page. This page allows for setup of rules to control system performance settings based on system events occurring, such as monitored temperature threshold or program startup.