 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
NVIDIA nForce 680i Roundup May 31, 2007 Jake Lenin22 Ratner |
|
 |
|
| |
Summary: With support for FSB speeds of 1333MHz, DDR2 up to 1200MHz, and SLI support, NVIDIA's nForce 680i SLI chipset has proven to be highly popular with enthusiasts. In this article we take a look at five popular nForce 680i motherboards from abit, ASUS, and Gigabyte. See how well the boards perform and overclock in our nForce 680i Roundup!
 Introduction | Page:: ( 1 / 11 ) |
The question on the minds of many enthusiasts upgrading to Core 2 though is which motherboard to buy. That’s where today’s article comes in. We’ve rounded up five popular nForce 680i motherboards; each of these boards share the nForce 680i SLI chipset in common, but vary from there. Before we get into that though, let’s quickly go over the highlights of the nForce 680i chipset.
The nForce 680i platform
Since the introduction of Intel’s Core 2 platform last year, much of NVIDIA’s chipset development has been for the Core 2 CPUs. First, they released the nForce 590i SLI chipset, essentially an updated version of their nForce 4 SLI X16 chipset, only with a newer South Bridge featuring more PCI Express lanes, additional SATA and USB ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and HD audio support.
However, Intel’s own chipsets, the P965 and the 975X ultimately proved better in performance overclocking, and value than nForce 590 SLI. So NVIDIA went to work and developed a new Northbridge for the 590. They kept the South Bridge the same, but renamed the package as the 680i. You can get the full details of the new chipset in our 680i Preview article.
The nForce 680i SLI chipset supports much higher memory speeds of up to 1200MHz versus the 667MHz limit of the NF590. FSB support is also boosted to a whopping 1333MHz and up (our EVGA test board hit 1804MHz FSB in our nForce 680i preview article).
Other changes include a third PCI Express Graphics (PEG) slot and an improved memory controller. The South Bridge is untouched since it is already packed with features.
EVGA and ASUS were the first to provide boards with the 680i. In fact, EVGA was the NVIDIA reference board provided in our 680i preview article. Today we’ll be looking at 5 boards Abit, ASUS, and Gigabyte in addition to the already tested EVGA 680i board.
Let’s start with the Gigabyte board.
| Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6 | Page:: ( 2 / 11 ) |
Gigabyte continues with its DQ6 series boards. Earlier we review their Intel P965 based DQ6 board and found that it was top notch. All DQ6 stands for is ‘six quad’. This means the motherboard features or supports 6 things that are grouped in a quad or four. Even though this is just a marketing scheme, the DQ6 features are very useful and set the board apart from others. We’ll go through each feature in detail as we look over the motherboard.
[image]
| <% print_image("01"); %> | <% print_image("02"); %> | <% print_image("03"); %> |
The next feature is Gigabyte’s quad triple-phase (12 phase) power. Even the more expensive ASUS Striker Extreme motherboard that we’ll be looking at later only has 8 phase power. Gigabyte’s 12-phase power delivery system ensures the most stable power delivery at the most extreme voltages.
The expansion slots are very standard. The blue PCI Express Graphics (PEG) slots are 16x, while the middle PEG slot is only 8x. This third graphics slot is for future SLI physics support. Although the board only has two slots designed for SLI graphics, the board supports Quad SLI in the form of two GPUs per board. In case NVIDIA decides to make the 8x00 cards in the quad SLI flavor, Gigabyte guarantees compatibility. As you may have guessed, this is yet another Quad feature.
In between the expansion slots you can see that all capacitors are solid. They are more expensive, but are much higher quality than standard capacitors. They also help with tweaking exact frequencies. Solid-state capacitors last about 5 times longer as well.
[image]
| <% print_image("04"); %> | <% print_image("05"); %> | <% print_image("06"); %> |
Here are the various controllers on the motherboard. The first is the Texas Instruments Firewire controller. Next are three of the four Marvell controllers for the four Gigabit LAN ports. This brings up the next Quad feature. Unlike any other motherboard that we have tested, the N680SLI-DQ6 has 4 Ethernet ports. This is great for a server or a gateway PC. Four gigabit ports can also support two 2 gigabit connections through DualNet and Teaming, both technologies exclusively available only with NVIDIA’s nForce 500 and 600 chipsets.
Next we have the Realtek ALC888 codec supporting HD Azalia audio with 8 channels. Finally, we see the crowded lower right corner of the motherboard with a myriad of connectors. At the top of the photo you can see 6 yellow SATA2 connectors provided by the 680i MCP chip. There also three yellow headers for 6 USB2.0 ports. In the very corner is the battery. We didn’t picture the BIOS chips but they’re a little over. This is one of the most important quad features this board has to offer. Gigabyte pioneered the DualBIOS technology to prevent faulty flashes and dead motherboards. Now Gigabyte added Xpress BIOS Recovery software into each of its BIOS chips and this has become QuadBIOS. It ensures four copies of the BIOS between the motherboard and hard disk, so you can recover the BIOS if anything happens.
The final quad feature of the motherboard is quad external SATA ports. The two Gigabyte controllers support the four purple ports which could be used for both external and internal SATA purposes. Unlike most motherboards which have eSATA ports on the back panel, Gigabyte provides expansion slot brackets with the ports on them. This might actually not be feasible if you have two dual slot video cards and other expansion cards and fill up all of the rear openings, but considering how crowded the back panel on the DQ6 is, we can understand why Gigabyte mounts the eSATA ports on a separate expansion bracket.
[image]
| <% print_image("07"); %> | <% print_image("08"); %> | <% print_image("09"); %> |
The back panel is fairly standard except for the 4 Ethernet ports. Gigabyte also includes a serial port, which have long been excluded on top end motherboards along with other legacy ports such as the parallel port. The four 240pin DDR2 slots were a
Quad feature on the previous DQ6 board, but not anymore, because there are more important quad features now. The ITE monitoring chips is a standard, as are the single IDE and floppy ports. There is also a Molex connector for more power when using SLI and overclocking.
Overclocking
Gigabyte’s BIOS is very easy to navigate. You must pres CTRL + F1 to access DRAM and Voltage settings. This is a smart idea to protect the motherboard from inexperienced users. Our initial tests with the F2 BIOS resulted in failures to boot occasionally even at stock settings. However, the F3 BIOS changed everything. We were able to stably run the motherboard at an amazing 528FSB (2112FSB effective). That greatly surpasses our EVGA board which did 451FSB (1804 FSB effective).
Let’s move on the ASUS’s flagship motherboard, the Striker Extreme.
| ASUS Striker Extreme | Page:: ( 3 / 11 ) |
ASUS diverts from its naming scheme from letters and numbers to a single word naming scheme for this motherboard. We did a preview article on the board a while back. The Striker Extreme, or just Striker is the highest end motherboard for the 775 socket from ASUS. Like the ASUS Commando and CrossHair, the Striker Extreme is part of ASUS’s Republic of Gamers series and are “designed for gaming.” This is once again a marketing scheme which raises prices dramatically and does decrease the board’s bang for the buck. There are definitely advantages to the more expensive boards though.
[image]
| <% print_image("10"); %> | <% print_image("11"); %> | <% print_image("12"); %> |
ASUS stays with its dark PCB for the Striker. It is planned out very similarly to the Gigabyte board. The Striker sports four heatsinks on the motherboard that wind around the CPU socket. The MOSFETS and 680i SPP are cooled by this system. You can see 8 phase power near the MOSFETS. Some wide heatsinks will not fit unless their fins rise above the heatsinks. The ASUS Striker supports all quad core CPUs.
The expansion slots are arranged with one PEG and other slots alternating. This allows better airflow for dual slot cards and SLI configurations. Like all 680i boards, the Striker has a third PEG slot for a possible SLI physics or for three video cards if you need more than 4 monitors. All capacitors are solid, for longer life and durability. This is to be expected of one of the most expensive motherboards available.
[image]
| <% print_image("13"); %> | <% print_image("14"); %> |
| <% print_image("15"); %> | <% print_image("16"); %> |
ASUS’s controller choices vary a bit from those of the Gigabyte board. It uses a VIA Firewire controller. The two Ethernet controllers are Marvell. ASUS chose not to overdo it on the amount of LAN ports. Almost all enthusiasts will get by with two ports.
Near the CPU socket area, you can see a Silicon image SATA controller. It is so far up the board because the two eSATA ports on the Striker are on the back panel. The bottom corner of the Striker is not as crowded as the corner of the Gigabyte board. There are only 6 SATA controllers from the 680i chipset and only two USB 2.0 headers. ASUS provided power, reset and clear CMOS buttons so you can test the motherboard and do all the overclocking outside of a case for less hassle. This is a very useful feature and is very common on premium boards. We were surprised to not find it on the Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6. In addition, there are bright blue LEDs circling the motherboard
[image]
| <% print_image("17"); %> | <% print_image("18"); %> | <% print_image("19"); %> |
The back panel on the Striker is very unique. The USB, Ethernet, eSATA, Coaxial and other ports are pretty common on newer motherboards. The one thing that makes this panel stand out is the LCD screen. It can be used for all sorts of things like reporting speeds and temperature readings, but it is mainly designed for debugging outside of the case. The button with the light bulb toggles the backlight on the LCD screen. The screen definitely helped us when overclocking to the max since we got many reboots and BSODs before finally reaching stability.
The Striker and all of ASUS’s 680i boards come with a separate Supreme FX sound card. This isn’t a bad idea because you can choose not to use it if you have a better audio card. The Striker also has an array microphone which is great for VOIP or gaming.
Overclocking
The ASUS Striker Extreme is the best overclocking Intel board we have ever tested. It reached 537FSB (2148FSB effective). This is 9FSB higher than the Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6. If you want the best, then this is it, despite its massive $350 price tag. The LCD debugger helped pinpoint problems we had to maximize our FSB reach.
| ASUS P5N32-E and Plus | Page:: ( 4 / 11 ) |
The P5N32-E SLI Plus is the next step down from the Striker. There is less ‘bling’ and unnecessary features, and a hefty drop in price. In fact, all of ASUS’s 680i boards are build on the same PCB (printed circuit board). Take a look:
[image]
| <% print_image("20"); %> | <% print_image("21"); %> |
| <% print_image("22"); %> | <% print_image("23"); %> |
There’s not much to say about the P5N32-E SLI Plus that we haven’t already said about the Striker. You can easily tell that the PCB is the same by the location of capacitors and the colors of the slots. The P5N32-E SLI Plus is cut down though.
Around the CPU socket, the power management has been cut down from 8 phase to six phase. The cooling on the 680i SPP and the MOSFETS has been reduced, though still adequate for overclocking. All the capacitors are solid, so the board is still top quality. You can see that there is a sticker that says P5N32-E SLI Plus. If you were to pull it off, it would say Striker Extreme, confirming that the PCB used for all three of ASUS’s 680i boards is the same. If you look at the two pictures of the expansion slot area of the P5N32-E SLI and the Plus, you can see that the P5N32-E has standard capacitors in that area. These are found on cheaper boards. This is why ASUS can bring the price of the P5N32-E down even lower than the Plus. The P5N32-E SLI Plus has solid, more reliable capacitors. Other than that, the two P5N32-E SLI boards are identical.
[image]
| <% print_image("24"); %> | <% print_image("25"); %> | <% print_image("26"); %> |
The controllers used by the Striker Extreme remain on the P5N32-E and the Plus versions. The VIA Firewire controller and two Marvell Ethernet controllers are still there. The only controller missing is the external SATA controller near the CPU socket. Both the P5N32-E and the Plus have no eSATA, so the controller and rear ports are gone. If you want an ASUS 680i board with eSATA, your only choice would be the Striker Extreme.
The bottom right corners of the P5N32-E and Plus look deserted. Where the bright blue LEDs and onboard power, reset and clear CMOS buttons were on the Striker Extreme are now empty spots. The board is dull, but all the practical and necessary components are still there. The six SATA2 ports from the 680i chipset and two USB headers are still there. ASUS keeps the same BIOS of Striker on the P5N32-E and Plus, so the overclocking potential should be similar, if not on par with the Striker Extreme.
[image]
| <% print_image("27"); %> | <% print_image("28"); %> | <% print_image("29"); %> |
The rear panel of the P5N32-E and Plus boards is very similar to the Striker. The only features missing are the two SATA ports, the debugging LCD, and the LCD backlight toggle button. You can clearly see the empty connections for these on the PCB. All other features are kept. If you don’t need SATA2, are an experienced tweaker and don’t need the debugging screen, you could probably settle for one of lower ASUS 680i boards. All ASUS 680i boards come with the Supreme FX audio card. If you have your own, you don’t have to use it so it is a great option.
Overclocking
Our overclocking results with the ASUS P5N32-E SLI and Plus boards were different. The BIOS is the same for all of ASUS’s 680i boards, so these boards had the same options as the Striker, which achieved the highest speed of any Intel board we tested. The ASUS P5N32-E SLI achieved a measly 477MHz FSB, which isn’t bad at all, but compared to the Striker’s 537MHz, the ASUS P5N32-E’s numbers seem small. This could possibly mean that the Striker’s chips were hand picked. The ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus topped out at 503MHz, right between the two other ASUS boards. It may have done better because of the solid capacitors, even if that is unlikely. Remember, overclocking is random, and changes by chip. This is also why CPUs all overclock differently.
| abit IN9 32X-MAX | Page:: ( 5 / 11 ) |
Last but not least, we have Abit’s flagship Intel based board. The MAX in the name signifies Abit’s top line of enthusiast motherboards. Abit is well known for their Fatal1ty motherboards which are supposed to be for gaming, named after the well known pro gamer Fatal1ty. This board does not bear his name, but those are just words.
[image]
| <% print_image("30"); %> | <% print_image("31"); %> | <% print_image("32"); %> |
Aside for the great layout, the cooling on the IN9 32X-MAX caught our attention. It does not wrap around the CPU socket like ASUS’s boards do like, but rather is a 3 piece setup like that of the Gigabyte board’s. Abit’s cooling is massive, larger than Gigabyte’s solution. The Northbridge heatsink stands out the most. The MOSFET cooling is not as large as Gigabyte’s solution, but MOSFETs don’t need much cooling anyway. The area around the CPU socket is empty, which is great for larger coolers with wider bases. The expansion slots are very standard. This is the same exact layout we have seen on the other boards. Once again there are three PEG slots. Two are 16x and the 8x (marked blue on this board) is for NVIDIA’s upcoming SLI physics technology. In between the expansion slots, and all over the board, the capacitors are 100% solid, showing that this board is premium grade.
[image]
| <% print_image("33"); %> | <% print_image("34"); %> | <% print_image("35"); %> |
Like the other boards, Abit uses two Marvell controllers for their Gigabit Ethernet ports. They use a Winbond chip for hardware monitoring. HD Azalia audio is powered by the Realtek ALC888 codec. The bottom corner of the board is very cluttered. There are two red Firewire headers and three blue USB headers. There is a debug led screen that displays hex symbols. The front panel connectors are colored, like the Gigabyte board. The graphics card retention mechanisms are also like those of the Gigabyte board. Now that we come to think of it, the cooling layout and the color of the capacitors is also the same. We don’t know if that means anything, but the numbers will speak for themselves.
[image]
| <% print_image("36"); %> | <% print_image("37"); %> | <% print_image("38"); %> |
The rear panels of the IN 32X-MAX are pretty standard. There are four USB ports, two Ethernet jacks, two eSATA connectors 8-channel audio and PS/2 legacy ports. Abit includes a wireless LAN card and antenna with the IN9 32X MAX, something unique to this board. They also include two SLI connectors. We don’t see a point to this, but GeForce 8800 GTX/Ultra cards come with two bridges, so we guess they supplied them for that purpose.
Overclocking
The Abit IN9 32X MAX overclocked fairly well. Its OC Guru section of the BIOS was not as feature rich as some of the other boards. However, it was able to reach a maximum stable FSB of 489MHz (1956MHz effective). This is fourth out of the six 680i boards we have tested. This speed should be enough for even any E6300 and E6400, whose multipliers are 7 and 8 respectively.
We’re done with the boards, so let’s move on to testing.
| Test Setup and Benchmarks | Page:: ( 6 / 11 ) |
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
abit IN9 32X-MAX
ASUS P5N32-E SLI
ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus
ASUS Striker Extreme
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR nForce 680i
Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 (P965)
Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6
Shuttle SD37P2 (975X)
2GB Corsair PC2-6400C4
BFG GeForce 7900GTX OC
250GB Samsung SATA2
Benchmarks
Lavalys Everest
- Memory Read
- Memory Write
- Memory Latency
3DMark06
Aquamark 3.3
HDTach
Quake 4
- 1600x1200 Ultra Quality 4xAA 16xAF
Call of Duty 2
- 1600x1200 4xAA 16xAF
FEAR
- 1600x1200 4xAA 16xAF Maximum Settings
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- Outdoors 1600x1200 4xAA 8xAF
- Indoors 1600x1200 4xAA 8xAF
- Foliage 1600x1200 4xAA 8xAF
| Synthetic and System Benchmarks | Page:: ( 7 / 11 ) |
| Game Benchmarks | Page:: ( 8 / 11 ) |
| Ballistics Report | Page:: ( 9 / 11 ) |
ASUS Striker Extreme
Pros
Massive Overclocking potential – This is what the Striker Extreme is made for. It overclocked to 537MHz, which was the highest of any 680i board we tested. We also maxed out the board quicker than the others because of its helpful LCD on the rear panel.
Great Performance – The Striker never led the pack by a lot, but it was on top for the majority of benchmarks. For the extreme tweakers for who this board is designed, every frame, point or microsecond matters. The Striker will deliver the goods.
Cooling – Everything that could possibly need cooling is cooled. ASUS cools both the North Bridge and South Bridge chips, MOSFETS and power management. The other boards only cool the bridges and MOSFETS, and they accomplish this with a network of heatpipes that winds around the CPU socket.
Other Misc. Touches – These include the LEDs on the edge of the board, the onboard power and reset buttons, the LCD and of course the unorthodox name Striker Extreme.
Cons
Price – This is a common problem with the best of the best. It is usually overpriced to the max. This board costs much more than cheaper 680i boards which perform very similarly. While the EVGA board costs around $200 at the time of writing, the Striker Extreme costs $350. But if you want the best, you have to pay a premium.
Cooling Setup – Yes, this is both a pro and a con. Even though the cooling on the Striker is very effective, it is extremely tall and runs around the entire CPU socket. Some aftermarket coolers with large bases will not fit. We think the cooling benefits outweigh the size, since you can always upgrade to water cooling.
ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus
Pros
Great Performance/Price – The P5N32-E SLI Plus stayed within a hair of the Striker at all times. It was usually second best in all benchmarks. The Plus is hard to find on the market, but it should cost about $250, about $100 less than the Striker. You lose some ‘bling’ and a bit of overclocking potential, but you also save a lot of money.
Overclocking - The P5N32-E SLI Plus was one of three boards to reach 500MHz FSB, reaching 503MHz. This is enough for just about on CPU on the market. The two other boards cost about $350, while the P5N32-E SLI Plus costs $250.
Cons
Cooling – There really isn’t anything major wrong with the P5N32-E SLI Plus, so we have to look at the less significant things. The Cooling setup wraps around the entire CPU socket, making some coolers with large footprints impossible to fit.
No Onboard buttons – The ASUS Striker, Abit IN9 32X-MAX and EBGA 680i board had power and rest buttons on the board for easy testing. This motherboard costs well over $200, yet it is missing such relatively cheap features.
ASUS P5N32-E SLI
Pros
Value – For its price of around $200 at the time of writing, the ASUS P5N32-E SLI performed extremely well. It kept up with the ASUS Striker and Gigabyte 680i board, which cost almost twice as much. This is most likely because all of ASUS’s 680i boards are built on the Striker PCB.
Cons
Overclocking – The ASUS P5N32-E SLI reached a measly 477FSB, which is great for Intel boards in general, but low on the scale of 680i boards. This is probably
No Solid Capacitors – Solid capacitors are not only more durable, but also have a positive effect on performance and overclocking. The ASUS P5N32-E SLI had no solid capacitors around the expansion slot area, which hurt performance a bit and crippled overclocking.
| Ballistics Report (cont.) | Page:: ( 10 / 11 ) |
Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6
Pros
Features – The Gigabyte board had the best feature set of any of the motherboards in this roundup. These included quad triple phase power, quad eSATA, quad Ethernet, all not found on the other boards.
Overclocking – Our Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6 sample reached well over 500MHz, to 528MHz FSB, only 9MHz less than the ASUS Striker Extreme. All solid capacitors and massive cooling helped achieve that.
Cons
Performance – Despite being an ultra high end board, the N680SLI-DQ6 was often beat by all three ASUS 680i boards, two of which cost $100 less or more.
BIOS issues – The Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6 came with the stock F2 BIOS which wouldn’t boot right. It also gave horrible performance numbers. This was fixed by the F3 BIOS. However, we think the performance could be increased with even more adjustments.
Unknown price – This board probably costs a lot to produce. So its bang for the buck value will be determined after it is released. We think the price will be over $300, since their P956 DQ6 cost $270 when released, almost double that of other P965 boards.
abit IN9 32X-MAX
Pros
Performance and Setup – The abit IN9 32X-MAX scored on par with the other boards staying in the middle of the pack. Overclocking was very easy, and setup was a breeze.
Massive cooling – abit’s IN9 32X-MAX’s cooling was enormous. Even though it doesn’t wrap around the CPU socket like the ASUS boards’ cooling, the IN9 32X-MAX’s cooling focuses on the most important part, the Northbridge. The heatsink on the Northbridge was the biggest of any board. Unfortunately, it didn’t help overclocking.
Wireless LAN – abit provided a wireless card and antenna with their IN9 32X-MAX. This is a feature unique to this board. It’s a nice addition to a powerful system.
Other Thoughtful Touches – Onboard power and reset buttons, debugging LED display, and color coded front panel connectors were
Cons
Overclocking – Even though overclocking was very easy on this board, we hit a wall relatively early compared to other boards. The abit reached 489MHz, which puts it 4th of 6 in 680i overclocking, ahead of the ASUS P5N32-E SLI and EVGA 680i boards.
High Price – With the thoughtful features and wireless LAN comes a premium price tag. At $330 ($280 after rebate) at the time of writing however, the abit IN9 32X-MAX is a very poor value. Its performance and overclocking is just not up to par with cheaper boards. The price is no surprise though, since all premium abit boards have ridiculously high prices.
| Conclusion | Page:: ( 11 / 11 ) |
The ASUS Striker prevailed as king of all Intel boards with the best performance and overclocking numbers. It also features an LCD for debugging and power/reset buttons for the ultimate tweakers. Despite these features, the Striker Extreme is still too much money. If you’re on a tight budget or want the best bang for the buck, we’d suggest you look elsewhere.
The same goes for the Gigabyte N680SLI-DQ6. It overclocked great and had the most features of the boards tested. However, its only average performance coupled with it’s the chance of a high cost makes it only good for the enthusiasts and tweakers.
The other two ASUS boards, the P5N32-E SLI and Plus are the best value of the boards tested. The Plus overclocked great, passing 500MHz FSB. The two boards also performed on par with the more expensive options, since all ASUS boards are built on the Striker PCB. If you don’t need eSATA, the bright blue LEDs or debugging LCD, you might as well opt for one of the cheaper ASUS 680i boards.
The abit IN9 32X-MAX is a great board when you look at it by itself. It overclocks relatively well, has a wifi card and antenna, and onboard debugging options. However, when you bring in other boards, the IN9 32X-MAX doesn’t really stand out. Its hefty $330 price makes it the worst price/performance/features option of any 680i board.
NVIDIA’s 680i chipset is definitely the best option for overclocking and performance for Intel’s Core 2 CPUs, and other socket 775 CPUs. However, all six of the 680i boards tested cost from about $200, to over $300. For budget minded consumers, this obviously isn’t the best option. That is why NVIDIA released the 680i LT (Light) and nForce 650i SLI chipsets. These are stripped down versions of the 680i. Boards cost about $150-$175 for nForce 680i LT, and less than $150 for the nForce 650i. You’ll get about the same performance but less features. We’ll look at motherboards based on these chipset in later articles in more depth.