EVGA 680i to 780i promotional upgrade, is it worth it?

Y

yoops

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EVGA is proud to announce the 680i Motherboard Upgrade Promotion.
EVGA is offering a special (1) one time upgrade promotional program
to all of its
(122-CK-NF68-XX)* registered customers. This program is for a limited
time and will run for 60 days. (122-CK-NF68-XX)* customers will be
able to upgrade to the 780i
(132-CK-NF78-XX) motherboard for a one time fee of $89.99 USD or €79.
99.

What do you get for the $89.99 (€79.99)?
• New EVGA 780i Motherboard (132-CK-NF78-XX)
• 3 Way SLI Bridge ($20 USD €14 Value)
• Free Ground Shipping** ($10 USD €7 Value)
• PCI-E 2.0 Slots
• 3 x16 PCI-E Slots
• ESA Certified Platform
• New Upgrade Warranty (–A1 Limited Lifetime / -T1 2 Year Limited
Warranty)

All products must be registered (http://www.evga.com/myEVGA/)
You will need to send in your EVGA 680i Motherboard once you have
been approved for this promotion.

Please visit our website at: http://www.evga.com/680iupgrade/ and
then log in to see this upgrade offer.

Thank you,
EVGA Marketing

----

Should I do it? What are the benefits to upgrading?
 
pft , thats all the 780 is worth so its like , "buy our 780 and give us your 680 while your at it"
 
Just got the email also and am researching now..How future resistant are these??Do they support the 45nm Qxxx??I have NO interest in 3 way SLI so spec wise it doesnt do a whole lot more than my trusty 680i atm..Is the $80 future resistant at least??
 
well if there is any info on the 780i i might actually be interested in 1, and return the maximus =p

actually no I probably won't sli is and lack of multi monitor support while using it is not that attractive >< the maximus it is

but it does state on the 780i evga page that it has full 45nm cpu support I wonder if the raid is better then the 680
 
I don't see why it wouldn't support the new 45nm processors, as Nvidia has not mentioned any other motherboards coming out (Intel already announced their x48 chipset, Nvidia only has the 780i mentioned). I was running my 680i at 1600fsb for over a year, and just lowered it a few weeks ago, so I would imagine the 780i will definitely take the same speeds or more. Plus their new board will support PCI-E 2.0, which hopefully the 9800 GTX will take advantage of.

For $89 it's not bad. PCI-E 2.0 is nice, but I just read that the 780i is a DDR2 motherboard, not DDR3. I will have to wait to see what the 9800 GTX will bring to the table. If the 9-series does not take advantage of PCI-E 2.0, then there is no point in upgrading, as when the 10-series comes out and it does take advantage of PCI-E 2.0, DDR3 will be the norm and you'll need a new board anyway.
 
I think I'm going to wait for the new GeForce Series to come out and then build a whole new system with a Nvidia chipset that supports DDR3. Doesn't seem like there is much going for this board with the limited information I've seen (except for 45nm support)
 
Is it true; If I want to run 3 way SLI I will have to give up my audio card and use on board audio?
 
As soon as I get home I'm biting on this deal.
 
Given that no cross-shipping is offered, my response is to wait and see. The first real reviews of the board, as well as the first user experience reports, should provide early but dependable guidance as to whether or not this is a genuine improvement over the 680i. If the 780i can't hold a 500+ mhz FSB, then there would be little point in swapping out for a Yorkfield anyway.

If the 780i supports a stable 500+ FSB with a quad (something most 680i boards can't do), then I'll likely switch. All things being equal, the key to this support would most likely be having a cooler running north bridge--and by the looks of that large triangular heat-sink, I would hope (if not outright assume) that this is something nVidia adequately addressed.

Mark.
 
clayton006 said:
I think I'm going to wait for the new GeForce Series to come out and then build a whole new system with a Nvidia chipset that supports DDR3. Doesn't seem like there is much going for this board with the limited information I've seen (except for 45nm support)
Click to expand...


the 790i is coming out in Jan 2008 and supports DDR3
 
Just ordered my from MotherboardPro.com, pray for me, lol! I'll let you all know how it works out!

That is my EVGA 780i!
 
Just did my upgrade for $89.99. Figure I won't upgrade to DDR3 for awhile anyway because of cost and performance isn't that much better than DDR2. Hopfully this 780i will work out of the box. Took me three 680i boards to get one that works well.
 
This would have been the best news for me this year, however the implementation was a little off. I would gladly pay shipping costs, which would financially benefit EVGA more, if I could be eligible for a cross-ship.

Hell, I'd gladly pay it all up front, so no chance of a loss to EVGA to get a cross-ship!
 
Just go to your nearest microcenter and buy a cheap board to use while they process the order, then return it once you know the 780i actually works :p
 
I am thinking about doing this but not sure if I will. Im going home for break and wont have my desktop for 3 weeks, so its no problem to wait. But I been very lucky with my 680i and havnt had a single issue and dont want to take the chance and end up having issues. Also, I really dont plan on upgrading to 45nm anytime soon, and im just thinking of waiting to Nehalem anyway. Hmm what do you guys think? Go for it or not?
 
I'm tempted, but probably won't for two reasons.
1) Top PCIe x1 slot is gone. I actually use mine, keeps airflow to my video card unobstructed. If I have to move my AirPace, my video card may overheat, or at worst won't fit with a double-slot heatsink.
2) HR-05 NB cooler probably won't work. The holes line up, but there are now two chips to cool- and neither one is centered.

I'll need to sleep on this one.
 
Eh, for ~$90 and free ground UPS shipping, I'll give it a shot. Didn't have an issue with my 680i. Course, didn't overclock either. I can say that the only issue that my 122-CK-NF68-AR ever had was a voltage/memory issue when auto detecting my Corsair. Set it to 2.0V and all has been well from that point on. We'll see how these 780i's are. time will tell...
 
Thanks EVGA! I am so tempted to do this. I just built a 680i in August.

Only problem I see is I am in Hawaii and UPS doesn't do ground to Hawaii! Of course I will pay for upgraded shipping. I just hope this does not disqualify me from participating.
 
How about selling your 680i mobo on eBay and buy a new 780i mobo? Which is cheaper?
 
Hmm...since they don't do cross-shipping, I'd have to have a spare 'board ready if I did this. Bloody hell...might as well sell the thing or trade it for a nice P35 'board and just get the upgrade cycle over with...
 
I just registered my motherboard and applied for this upgrade.

Bought my 680i in February and figured wth, its worth a shot.

Another thing, the EVGA 780i better not have that fugly bbq looking northbridge cooler. :p
 
I would do the evga swap just for the upgrade path it allows(45nm quads).
 
jacuzz1 said:
pft , thats all the 780 is worth so its like , "buy our 780 and give us your 680 while your at it"
Click to expand...

I wouldn't pay $50 for a 680i so I dont think they are out to make a huge profit by getting your boards back lol. Good deal for those who have the 680s with only one year warranty on them
 
Man, when this whole NVidia vs Intel support for the new CPUs nonsense happened, folks were screaming bloody murder at the evga folks over at their site.

I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and said, "were the hell is the payback for all the great customer service they have given us customers". I said that they would need some time to look at any possible corrective action that would make reasonable business sense.

I am soooo happy not to have to eat my words.

What has nVidia and any of the others done about this mess? Zero, Nada. zilch!!!

eVGA you guys rock. There are very few companies out there that walk the customer service talk like you do. You should be proud of your team.

Ok, I will get off my soap box now and answer the OP's question.

I think the promotion is definately worth it for most.

Personally I am strugling with the decision. My 680i is rock solid, I just bought a Q6600, and it OCs really well on my existing board.

I would like to get ESA, PCIe 2.0 and most importantly the option to get the 45nm support if they turn out to be worth the diff to my Q6600.

I need my rig not just for gaming, but it is also one of my two bread and butter rigs. So since cross shipping is not available, this makes the decision difficult, cause if my laptop craps out during the exchange, then I would be in big trouble.

I know i could use my HTPC, but installing all my applications\tools\data there would be a major pain.

So if you can deal with no cross ship, I would go for it.
 
The one thing that makes me want to do the upgrade is this random PS/2 keyboard bug/quirk that the older 680i (AR) 'boards apparently did in majority, and which mine does specifically; apart from that, it's been a wonderful piece of hardware. On the flip side: I don't even use SLI...so a tri-SLI 'board would be thirty-one different flavors of overkill.

(Then again, I wouldn't have to immediately upgrade my DDR2 if I got a 780i, as opposed to my first choice--something P35-flavored. But I'd still be PC-less for at least a week, if not longer, without a backup 'board.)
 
I'm going to jump on it as soon as I start recovering from Christmas. My 680i is mostly solid, however it's flaky as hell with my quad core and I have an A1 revision board with a G0 revision quad.

If what I've read is right, even the 680i is able to support the 45nm quads...but it requires mb circuit revisions and most manufacturers aren't willing to go through the cost involved, they'd just as soon move on to the 780i. So if things are wired right from the start on the 780i's...hopefully it will support ALL quads better to begin with. THAT is what I'm looking for.

But my plan is to do the upgrade and if it's not much better and still buggy...I'll ebay it and get an Asus Maximus Formula or a DFI x38 based board.
 
i'm struggling with this descision myself. i ripped and clawed to get the 680i board i currently have, i had a very difficult time pinning one down. It's rock solid and i'm loving it (knock on wood)... Wondering if i shouldn't take the "if it ain't broken don't fix it " approach.

Will i be utilizing dual sli probably. will i be utilizing 3 sli's ? hell no... HELL TO THE NO!
at $1,295.00, i probably couldn't afford a 45nm yorkie any time soon anyway...
I like the pcie 2.0
ESA i'm all for it, sounds grand

I'm torn for another 59 days or so.... lol
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I am standing by my - 'not giving another dime to nvidia' stance. First of all there is no crossship, secondly this time when you send in your old 680i you have to include everything that came with it, including sata cables, floppy, etc.

If you do not comply there will be 15% added onto the price, evga still has good cs for offering the upgrade- but ati,and intel will still get my $ from now on when i do finally upgrade again. Good try evga keep up the cs.
 
wouldn't you get new cables with the new board ?
I was under the impression that if i gave back my retail board with all the accessories , in turn i would get back a new 780i retail board, cables and accessories and the whole 9, no ? seems fair


drpeppir said:
you have to include everything that came with it, including sata cables, floppy, etc.

If you do not comply there will be 15% added onto the price.
Click to expand...
 
Yes but this board is over a year old some of us don't have those things, plus you have to send it in the old board b4 u get the new one so using parts from the new to complete the old box wouldnt be possible.
 
So I had a RAID array on my 680i.... will that array transfer easily to my 780i? or is all my data going to be foobared? can I just plugg in the drives and boot up?
 
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