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- Date:
- Sunday , March 25, 2007
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
EVGA nForce 680i LT SLI
EVGA’s nForce 680i LT SLI “Designed by NVIDIA” motherboard uses the latest NVIDIA chipset supporting Intel’s Core 2 processor line. It is being targeted as a budget solution with teeth, and that is exactly what it seems to be.
Introduction
EVGA is a well known name in the PC gaming market, persistently delivering high quality and high performance video cards to the masses.
While a relative new comer in to the motherboard space, they’ve translated their video card expertise well in to this new market for them, delivering some very high quality and high performance solutions. Their latest NVIDIA based solution, featuring full support for the Intel line of processors, seems to be a winner out of the gate.
One thing to keep in mind while you are reading this is that this motherboard was designed by NVIDIA's engineers. EVGA has little to do with the hardware itself, but are of course charged with servicing and supporting it. And from our vantage point it seems that they have been doing a very good job of that lately and have grown immensely in the motherboard support area due to some of the hoops that NVIDIA has forced them to jump through.
- All hardware, software, drivers, and BIOSes are designed by NVIDIA. This complete kit is brought to market worldwide under partner brands including EVGA, XFX, BFG, Colorful Technology, and others.
- Designed by NVIDIA motherboards unleash the potential of NVIDIA hardware and software technologies and features.
- NVIDIA is responsible for the design, development, and dissemination of all software and BIOS updates that are distributed to customers through participating program partners. This in turn provides NVIDIA with a direct connection to customers, enabling them to receive software and BIOS updates quickly.
- Designed by NVIDIA motherboards are manufactured under the direction of NVIDIA to ensure high-quality and feature components that have been tested to offer stable and reliable operation under extreme conditions.
- A broad product family of Designed by NVIDIA motherboards will be available by the end of April starting as low as $99 USD. The original NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI is also available for $249 USD.
The nForce 680i LT SLI is EVGA’s latest offering for the Intel Core processor LGA775 based processor line. EVGA chose to design the board using the latest NVIDIA chipset, the NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI MCP. This chipset offers in-built support for the following technologies: all LGA 775 type processors, DDR2 DRAM modules operating in Dual Channel mode up to 800MHz, and dual PCI Express bases x16 graphics cards operating in full x16 SLI mode. The nForce 680i LT SLI is design to be a feature complete solution, requiring the minimal number of additional components for a functional system: an Intel LGA 775 style processor, DDR2 memory, drives, and a PSU. The following onboard components are included in the nForce 680i LT 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; 8 USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 IEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, and 1 onboard header); 1 NVIDIA GigE Ethernet ports in rear panel; Realtek 8-channel audio codec featuring an S/PDIF optical output port; and PS/2 port support in the rear panel.
Main Specifications Overview:
Detailed Motherboard Specification List:
Packaging
EVGA box art design exudes performance, featuring a double turreted gun firing bullets, with the board’s name and supported features prominently displayed. The box itself is overly large, with the motherboard and components encased in a clear plastic clamshell, assuring the board’s safe delivery to the end user. The following accessories are packaged in with the motherboard: ATA-133 IDE and floppy rounded cables; rounded SATA drive cables and dual ended power cables; NVIDIA 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
NVIDIA did an amazing job with the nForce 680i LT SLI’s layout and design. The board components are well placed and spaced out, with heat sinks and active cooling units covering all the necessary hot spots. NVIDIA chose to use capacitors for the nForce 680i LT SLI manufactured by the following companies: Rubycon (Japan); Sanyo (Japan) marked as SEPC; United Chemi-Con (USA, Japan) marked as KMQ; and NIC Components Corp (Japan) marked as NRSZ.
The area surrounding the CPU socket is free of obstructions, through NVIDIA’s use of low profile capacitors and power circuitry in this space, which allows for the use of even the larger HSF or water based CPU cooling mechanisms. The CPU cooler itself is held to the board through the standard LGA775 4 hole implementation. The nForce 680i LT SLI Northbridge chipset is directly to the left of the CPU socket, covered by a good sized HSF unit. The cooler is held in place by push pins on opposite sides of the chipset. Directly above the CPU socket is the VREG_FAN header and the 8-pin ATX12V power connector. The aluminum heat sink covering the power circuitry is held in place with push pins. To the right of the CPU socket is an additional passive cooler covering more of the CPU power circuitry, with the 4-pin CPU_FAN header just below this heat sink.
The onboard DD2 DIMM slots are located directly below the Northbridge chipset and CPU socket area, arranged in a 2-by-2 configuration. Dual Channel memory mode is activated with modules placed in like colored slots across the sets. Directly below the DIMM slots are 4 SATA II ports, the front panel header, the ATA-133 IDE port, the 24-pin ATX power connector, and a 4-pin MOLEX 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 Southbridge chipset is situated to the lower left of the primary PCI Express x16 slot. The chipset itself is covered by a low profile HSF unit, held to the board with push pins on opposite sides of the chipset. Directly below the Southbridge are the onboard floppy port, 2 SATA II ports, and the POWER_FAN2 header Note that both the floppy connector and the 2 SATA II ports have been placed parallel to the plane of the board, allowing the cables to parallel the board when engaged. The 2 onboard USB 2.0 headers and the CMOS battery are located directly to the left of the Southbridge. The CHASSIS_FAN header, serial port header, and CMOS reset jumper are located in the lower left quadrant of the board, along its left edge.
NVIDIA designed the nForce 680i LT SLI with a total of 2 PCI Express x16 slots, 2 PCI-Express x1 slots, and 2 PCI slots. The front panel audio header is to the upper right of PCI slot 2, while the onboard IEEE 1394 header is located between the top of PCI slot 1 and the secondary PCI Express x16 slot. The SYS_FAN header, which powers the Southbridge chipset HSF, is located between the primary PCI Express x16 slot and PCI slot 1. The NFORCE_FAN header, which powers the Northbridge HSF unit, is located to the lower left of the primary PCI Express x1 slot.
The following ports are integrated in to the nForce 680i LT SLI’s rear panel: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; 4 USB 2.0 ports; 1 IEEE 1394 port; 1 NVIDIA Gigabit LAN Ethernet port; 6 analogue audio ports; and an S/PDIF optical output port.
NVIDIA nTune
EVGA chose to bundle the NVIDIA nTune performance suite for Windows base overclocking and board setting manipulation. The nTune version included with the board and shown is 5.05.14.
The Adjust Motherboard Settings link opens to the Adjust Motherboard Settings page, which contains options for manual manipulation of most system voltage, clock speed, and memory timing settings. The Adjust GPU Settings link opens to the Adjust GPU Settings page with an NVIDIA based video card in the system. This page contains performance related tuning options as well as fan speed settings for the NVIDIA video card in use .
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.
The Perform Stability Test page, accessed from System Stability link within the primary NVIDIA control panel interface, contains settings for initiating a system stress test. The stress test can be configured to involve the entire system or targeted sub-systems, useful in determining overall system stability and possible system bottleneck areas.