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EVGA nForce 780i SLI FTW

With the introduction of the nForce 780i SLI FTW board, EVGA took the winning design of their nForce 780i SLI board and perfected it with better overall power circuitry and board cooling. Is this enough to make it competitive with the Intel chipset based solutions?

Introduction

EVGA is one of NVIDIA’s higher profile manufacturing partners, and has fast become a well respected computer component manufacturer. They’ve leveraged their NVIDIA relationship as well as their high quality manufacturing process to bring some of the best NVIDIA chipset based motherboards to market. Their latest nForce 780i based motherboard is a testament to this fact.

The EVGA nForce 780i SLI FTW is the latest addition of EVGA’s NVIDIA chipset based Intel line of boards. The board is based on the NVIDIA 780i SLI chipset, with built in support for the following technologies: all current Intel LGA 775 processors, DDR2 memory operating in Dual Channel mode up to 1066MHz officially, and dual or tri-card SLI graphics mode when using matching NVIDIA based graphics cards. The nForce 780i SLI FTW board is a feature complete solution, requiring a minimal number of additional components for a working system, including: an Intel LGA 775 processor, DDR2 memory, a video card, drives, and a PSU. EVGA chose to integrate the following devices in to the nForce 780i SLI FTW’s design: 1 ATA-133 IDE port and 6 SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 capable) on the 780i SLI SPP 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 x NVIDIA GigE Ethernet ports in the rear panel; Realtek 8-channel HD audio codec featuring an S/PDIF optical output port; PS/2 keyboard and mouse port support in the rear panel; onboard power, system reset, and BIOS reset buttons; and 2-digit hexadecimal based diagnostic LED display .

Main Specifications Overview:

Detailed Mainboard Specification List:

Packaging

EVGA chose to use an artistic rendering of the board chipset, overlaid with the letters FTW. The box itself shows the supported CPU and memory technologies on the front as well. EVGA chose to included the following components with the board: ATA-133 and floppy rounded cables; SATA drive and dual ended power cables; the rear panel shield; rear brackets for USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, and serial (COM) ports; dual port and tri-port SLI connectors; a backup fan for the board chipset; and the normal complement of manuals and drivers discs.

Board Layout

The board layout was masterfully done, with no real tight areas on the board. Even though they look deceivingly close together, there is adequate room between the primary PCI-Express x16 slot and the onboard memory slots even with a full sized video card installed. The board itself contained no revision id, but did have the serial number on a white sticker in between the CPU socket and DIMM slots. As for the onboard capacitors, EVGA chose to use all solid-state, aluminum based units in the boards design.

The CPU socket area is fully free of any obstructing components, with EVGA choosing to use low profile power components used in the direct socket vicinity. Due to this fact, you should have no problem with using even larger CPU cooling devices. The board uses the standard 4 hole based LGA775 cooler hold down mechanism. The system Northbridge chipset is covered by a large copper heat sink, which also acts as a heat dissipation point for the chipset heat pipe cooling system. Directly above the CPU socket are the Northbridge fan header, a copper heat sink covering the CPU power components, and the 8-pin ATX12V power connector. This copper heat sink acts as a terminating end for the heat pipe cooler. To the lower right of the CPU socket is the 4-pin CPU fan header.

The board comes standard with 4 DDR2 based memory slots, arranged in a 2-by-2 bi-colored configuration. The slots are located directly below the CPU socket and Northbridge chipset. Dual Channel memory mode activates with memory modules placed in like colored slots across the sets. Directly below the DIM M slots are 4 of the onboard SATA-2 ports, the chassis fan 2 header, the onboard ATA-133 IDE port, and the 24-pin ATX power connector.

The board’s Southbridge chipset is cooled by a low profile cooler, which also acts as a terminating end for the onboard heat pipe cooler. To the Southbridge’s left are the onboard 2-digit hexadecimal diagnostic LED display, the 2 onboard USB 2.0 headers, and the CMOS battery. The onboard diagnostic display can be used to troubleshoot system initialization related issues, but using the table provided in the manual to decode the code shown on the display. Directly below the Southbridge chipset are the floppy ports, and 2 of the onboard SATA-2 ports. Notice that both sets of ports have been rotate 90 degrees, so that the cables sit parallel to the board’s surface when engaged. The chassis fan and serial port headers are located in the lower left corner of the board, with the front panel and chassis intrusion headers and BIOS reset button just above them along the board’s edge

The nForce 780i SLI FTW board comes standard with 2 PCI-Express x16 slots, 1 PCI-Express x1 slot, and 2 PCI slots. The auxiliary and system fan headers, onboard system power and reset buttons, and onboard speaker are located along the outer edge of PCI slot 2. The onboard IEEE 1394 header is located between the top of PCI slot 1 and the tertiary PCI-Express x16 slot.

The nForce 780i SLI FTW’s rear panel includes the following integrated ports: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; 1 IEEE 1394 port; 6 USB 2.0 ports; 2 NVIDIA GigE Ethernet ports; and 6 analogue audio and S/PDIF optical output audio ports.