680i or P35?

Well,
If you know the chipset sucks, and when ATI is kicking Nvidia out of it's crown, why in the name of the god would you wanna buy a 680?? And it is obvious that it can never beat the reliability of an intel chipset...!!

?????:confused::confused:
 
its cheap, seems like a solid board, and when i read that article, i thought about it.

plus I can't use the crossfire on P35 boards anyway because of the 16x and 4x slots paired together. I can't afford more than $80 ish for a motherboard right now.
 
Even if it's cheap, no good reason to go with a 680i chipset over an Intel chipset unless you're planning on SLI. Intel chipsets are more stable and reliable than Nvidia chipsets for Intel CPUs. Especially once you factor in overclocking.

It's a really bad idea to go with a 680i motherboard. Though why would you need to get a new motherboard? The Asus P5K-E is a pretty decent motherboard IIRC.

EDIT: Ahh nvm, saw your post here:
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1032869577&postcount=18

Too bad the Asus didn't work out for you.
 
yes i know i'm really dissappointed. everyone had always said Asus boards were so good.

then when i started having these problems, i was like dude this sucks :(

then unfortunately, that board being bad, i was scared about the P35 chipset after that. I mean i have no reason to be, but whatever.

i found a really, really, really cheap 680i board as well. so i'm definitly going with that.
 
I bought a xfx 680i LT for 99 bucks in February from TD ... now I know why it was 99 bucks ... I no longer own it.
 
I'd recommend that if you get a 680i you stick with the LT. It seems to have dealt with the bulk of issues with that chipset. I've dealt with more 680is that most, aside from people like Kyle who are professional reviewers... the LT is the only board I didn't curse at regularly. Just, you know, every now and then.
 
i was going to buy a 680i LT board, but someone graciously offered me an Evga 680i SLI A1 revision motherboard at their expense. so generous of them
 
AmongTheChosenX said:
i was going to buy a 680i LT board, but someone graciously offered me an Evga 680i SLI A1 revision motherboard at their expense. so generous of them
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The 680i's are fine now. I have one that is not a launch board and is working fine for me and i love it. I have the EVGA 680i SLI SE(TR), i have not OCed on this board. Good job getting a A1, it should overclock fine.
 
In my experience,the 680i boards are great as long as your not using a quad......
My 680i would clock my E6600 and X6800 like a mad man.....all the quads I tried were held back..I switched to a P35 for this reason.
 
its an AR, unfortunatly.

but i'm not using a quad, so i'm ok. I planned on upgrading to an E8400 or E7200 before a quad anyways so its not a big deal.
 
AmongTheChosenX said:
its an AR, unfortunatly.

but i'm not using a quad, so i'm ok. I planned on upgrading to an E8400 or E7200 before a quad anyways so its not a big deal.
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Its ok, i to have the one that can't OC quads, but luckily i don't want to OC when i get a quad core CPU.

E8400 should work out of the box(if the motherboard is newer it should have the newer BIOS). But it may need a BIOS update, because the older BIOS doesn't support 45nm.
 
680i can overclock dual core 45nm with ease. The only issue I've had with the 680i is the finicky memory controller (SSP). I would advise not to OC your memory too much and stay below 2.2v. Try not to go above 1.45v on the SSP. Then again, ymmv with your board. Make sure you have the P32 bios if you are going to be using the 45nm chips.

A1 version = lifetime warranty
LT = 3 years, I believe

You can even remove the stock NB(SSP) and SB(MCP) heatsink and replace them with aftermarket types. EVGA will still honor the warranty as long as you send it back with the stock heatsinks. Great company to buy nvidia boards from as they understand enthusiast needs and they know that many people modify their boards with aftermarket coolers.

*edit - it appears that evga has changed their warranty policy on the A1's. used to be lifetime warranty for these boards. maybe newegg posted wrong warranty info...
 
Actually hdnut, you're close but not quite there.

T1/T2, etc - 3 year warranty.
TR - 3 year warranty, no step up (680i SE boards, mostly, but also step up boards from T1/T2 series)
A1/A2, etc - lifetime warranty
AR - lifetime warranty but no step up (step up boards from A1/A2 series)

I don't believe warranty policy has changed.

EVGA warranty is for the first owner only and the board must be registered within 30 days of purchase or you default to a 1 year warranty.
 
the 680/780/790 chipsets are very flaky and problematic... unless you are using SLI, it is very strongly suggested to go with a P35/P45 board.
 
screwballl said:
the 680/780/790 chipsets are very flaky and problematic... unless you are using SLI, it is very strongly suggested to go with a P35/P45 board.
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You know this from experience..? or are you just regurgitating the same old fud...
Because the only problems I have ever had were with quads..other than that, the boards for me were great.
 
Crosshairs said:
You know this from experience..? or are you just regurgitating the same old fud...
Because the only problems I have ever had were with quads..other than that, the boards for me were great.
Click to expand...

A had a number of reliability issues with 680is, but my 780i reference board has been unproblematic. I do agree the scaremongering has gone a bit far at this point.
 
screwballl said:
the 680/780/790 chipsets are very flaky and problematic... unless you are using SLI, it is very strongly suggested to go with a P35/P45 board.
Click to expand...

At launch, yes. Now a days they have fixed most of there problems and is pretty much safe to pick one up. I dont know about OCing it tho, that still may be causing problems(i dont OC). But for general usage the nforce chipset has gotten more reliable, but i am sure you can still find a couple with problems from the start like not being able to POST. I have had my EVGA 680I for about 13 months so far and is going strong.

Going to get a Q6600 and a EVGA GTX 260 FTW soon.:)
 
3far4shot said:
At launch, yes. Now a days they have fixed most of there problems and is pretty much safe to pick one up. I dont know about OCing it tho, that still may be causing problems(i dont OC). But for general usage the nforce chipset has gotten more reliable, but i am sure you can still find a couple with problems from the start like not being able to POST. I have had my EVGA 680I for about 13 months so far and is going strong.

Going to get a Q6600 and a EVGA GTX 260 FTW soon.:)
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If you don't OC then......

I am currently trying to OC a Q6600 on an Asus P5N32-E and it's such a bad OC'r it's not even funny. Stable at 3330 right now but it's taken me a long time to get there, my P35 + Q6600 was so easy to OC to 3600 in comparison.
 
MaStaFLaSH said:
If you don't OC then......

I am currently trying to OC a Q6600 on an Asus P5N32-E and it's such a bad OC'r it's not even funny. Stable at 3330 right now but it's taken me a long time to get there, my P35 + Q6600 was so easy to OC to 3600 in comparison.
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Thats sucks, i here the 680i's aren't good OCers, but i can argue with that.(since i dont OC)
 
3far4shot said:
Thats sucks, i here the 680i's aren't good OCers, but i can argue with that.(since i dont OC)
Click to expand...

The 680i SLI chipset based boards are great dual core overclockers and are terrible at overclocking quad core processors. They've been improved over time but they still aren't great. The P35, P45, X38, and X48 are all FAR better choices for overclocking.
 
Dan_D said:
The 680i SLI chipset based boards are great dual core overclockers and are terrible at overclocking quad core processors. They've been improved over time but they still aren't great. The P35, P45, X38, and X48 are all FAR better choices for overclocking.
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Agree.
Although my 680i ASUS board was very good and never gave me a problem, even ran Triple-SLi; it could not OC my Q6600 worth a shit.

I've got a Gigabyte X48 now and it has been able to OC the quad very well and is as stable as they come.
 
magoo said:
Agree.
Although my 680i ASUS board was very good and never gave me a problem, even ran Triple-SLi; it could not OC my Q6600 worth a shit.

I've got a Gigabyte X48 now and it has been able to OC the quad very well and is as stable as they come.
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My Striker Extreme was a fairly good board for almost a year and a half. It had some quirks that all Striker Extreme boards shared, but overall it was a stable and solid board until about a month or two before its' death. One day all my USB front panel headers died and then it just spiraled down the toilet from there. The 680i SLI reference boards were certainly worse for me. I had a ton of DOA boards and none of the A1 versions ever lived longer than three months for me. I had one board that shit the bed after 14 months of usage and that marked the death of all of my 680i SLI boards. I've got a stack of them that will go up on my wall of shame when I get around to putting that back up. (I had the wall at my previous residence.)
 
I handed down my 680i board to my son's computer.
He has a Q6600 at 3 GHz and a couple of 8800 GTs.
He runs his box almost 24/7 and it's still solid as the day I bought it. BUT.....it isnt insanely OC'd and about all he plays is WoW and the occassional CS:S.

I still like this X48 much better. Just so much easier to set up and not much dicking around once I got to where I wanted to be on settings.
 
Dan_D said:
The 680i SLI chipset based boards are great dual core overclockers and are terrible at overclocking quad core processors. They've been improved over time but they still aren't great. The P35, P45, X38, and X48 are all FAR better choices for overclocking.
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I Agree.
 
Crosshairs said:
You know this from experience..? or are you just regurgitating the same old fud...
Because the only problems I have ever had were with quads..other than that, the boards for me were great.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it if it wasn't from real world experience
 
IMO, the only reason you would ever want to get a nVidia chipset is for the sole purpose of SLi. Otherwise it's just not worth it. They certainly can't compare in overclocking as my brother has a 680i and an E6750 and he can't get over 3.2GHz with aftermarket HSF. Another friend has a 650i and it won't take his E6600 over 3.0GHz. My E2160 with a stock speed of 1.8GHz is already at 3.1GHz on my P45 and its not even trying...

To OP: Good luck, but there is no way you will be able to get the E2180 to 3GHz on stock voltage with the 680i board.
 
Crosshairs said:
You know this from experience..? or are you just regurgitating the same old fud...
Because the only problems I have ever had were with quads..other than that, the boards for me were great.
Click to expand...

I can assure you it isn't FUD. I've worked with a ton of these boards and they are indeed problematic.
 
CamaroZ28 said:
IMO, the only reason you would ever want to get a nVidia chipset is for the sole purpose of SLi. Otherwise it's just not worth it. They certainly can't compare in overclocking as my brother has a 680i and an E6750 and he can't get over 3.2GHz with aftermarket HSF. Another friend has a 750i and it won't take his E6600 over 3.0GHz. My E2160 with a stock speed of 1.8GHz is already at 3.1GHz on my P45 and its not even trying...

To OP: Good luck, but there is no way you will be able to get the E2180 to 3GHz on stock voltage with the 680i board.
Click to expand...

I have a 650i not a 750i. And I can get it to 3.2GHz. But in any case, I regret getting nvidia chipsets, they suck. I'd rather go with P35 over the 680i anyday. I will never get an nvidia chipset. Hope that helps.
 
It's not worth going for a 680i. Currently the Ethernet is failing on mine and before that I have had various other problems. I am waiting for the new intel chipset to come out and going to trade this thing asap. Whatever advantages you are thinking about picture yourself diagnosing problems for hours and waiting for RMAs.
 
FWIW I have an Evga 680i LT and have had a great experiance with it. The Evga warranty is *I believe* lifetime if you register it within 30 days. I've RMA'd it 2x, both times ended up having nothing wrong with the board (drivers, then bad ram). For a few bucks they will even cross ship and cover postage.

 
retardude48 said:
I have a 650i not a 750i. And I can get it to 3.2GHz. But in any case, I regret getting nvidia chipsets, they suck. I'd rather go with P35 over the 680i anyday. I will never get an nvidia chipset. Hope that helps.
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My bad, typo. Corrected now.
 
CamaroZ28 said:
IMO, the only reason you would ever want to get a nVidia chipset is for the sole purpose of SLi. Otherwise it's just not worth it. They certainly can't compare in overclocking as my brother has a 680i and an E6750 and he can't get over 3.2GHz with aftermarket HSF. Another friend has a 650i and it won't take his E6600 over 3.0GHz. My E2160 with a stock speed of 1.8GHz is already at 3.1GHz on my P45 and its not even trying...

To OP: Good luck, but there is no way you will be able to get the E2180 to 3GHz on stock voltage with the 680i board.
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uh ok. why not? have your "friends" tried updating the BIOS?
 
AmongTheChosenX said:
uh ok. why not? have your "friends" tried updating the BIOS?
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I can sufficiently say that I have tried updating the bios. But some bios work better than others. So, depending on ur system, an older bios may work better at overclocking than newer bios. But currently, I (the friend with the 650i), have the latest bios. Plus he is talking about stock voltage. You have prob. messed with voltages, and thus bought an aftermarket cooler, and ur sig. confirms it. You can def. get the same output ur getting right now on an 680i or even an P35 board for that matter. But if you are looking to overclock ur processor more than 3.0GHz, good luck with that since you're pretty much at the wall with that processor and pushing it even more will degrade the processor. If you want faster speeds, get a better processor. I'm not tryin flame you or anything but i dont see the need for a 680i when you already have a good enough Asus P35 chipset motherboard that will easily spank the 680i chipset. Also to mention, that Anandtech article was written November 8th, 2006 and the P35 chipset was released in June of 07'. But, as an honest answer to your first post, I would spend a lot less and get a P35 chipset board over that 680i board you posted earlier. Even with that, I would get a P45.
 
retardude48 said:
I can sufficiently say that I have tried updating the bios. But some bios work better than others. So, depending on ur system, an older bios may work better at overclocking than newer bios. But currently, I (the friend with the 650i), have the latest bios. Plus he is talking about stock voltage. You have prob. messed with voltages, and thus bought an aftermarket cooler, and ur sig. confirms it. You can def. get the same output ur getting right now on an 680i or even an P35 board. But if you are looking to overclock ur processor more than 3.0GHz, good luck with that since you're pretty much at the wall with that processor and pushing it even more will degrade the processor. If you want faster speeds, get a better processor. I'm not tryin flame you or anything but i dont see the need for a 680i when you already have a good enough Asus P35 chipset motherboard that will easily spank the 680i chipset. Also to mention, that Anandtech article was written November 8th, 2006 and the P35 chipset was released in June of 07'. But, as an honest answer to your first post, I would spend a lot less and get a P35.
Click to expand...

werd... :cool:
 
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