XFX nForce 790i Ultra Motherboard Preview @ [H]

I don't know about everyone else, but this board simply looks like a slightly upgraded 780i. Other than if I needed "official" 1600MHz FSB support for a CPU that no one can even buy, I would still prefer to save a boat load of cash on a 780i with low latency DDR2. Hell, you can get 4GB of DDR2 1066 for $120 while the cheapest 2GB of DDR3 1333 is $180!
 
well there was nothing wrong with the general layout, but remember this is a new chipsit as the 780i was just an upgraded 680i.
 
AthlonXP said:
well there was nothing wrong with the general layout, but remember this is a new chipsit as the 780i was just an upgraded 680i.
Click to expand...
Guess I'll wait for the benches to make the final call. From what Kyle posted in the pre-review, it still seemed to be a few ticks off of the Intel boards... which is right where the 780i was.
 
Looks very nice. Pair it with 2x 9800 GX2's and go? We shall see ;) Any news on availability? When's the release date?
 
I'm currently still with my 590i amd. I'm not a intel fan boy or amd either. But this might get me to move to a new system.
 
how different if 780i to 790i? is it only required memory? and ditch the old motherboard review. if this is how you guys intend to do it, i don't think i'll miss the old reviews at all.
 
rennyf77 said:
how different if 780i to 790i? is it only required memory? and ditch the old motherboard review. if this is how you guys intend to do it, i don't think i'll miss the old reviews at all.
Click to expand...

He said the motherboard review itself is in the works. Hence, "Preview".
 
Hmmm, this board actually looks like it may have something to offer us!:D Time will tell.
 
djBon2112 said:
Looks very nice. Pair it with 2x 9800 GX2's and go? We shall see ;) Any news on availability? When's the release date?
Click to expand...

You can find the XFX and EVGA boards on sale right now; especially priced at $350.

I wonder if Kyle had a chance to "try" and use the new ESA software.....
No matter how stable this baby was, I bet if he pushed the "new, improved" ESA button, it would bring the system to it's knees.

I tried it on my board and it crashed it so much I gave up......nvidia hasn't gone out of beta with this yet......it makes me cringe to think the BIOS is updated from the ESA software package.:eek:
 
magoo said:
You can find the XFX and EVGA boards on sale right now; especially priced at $350.

I wonder if Kyle had a chance to "try" and use the new ESA software.....
No matter how stable this baby was, I bet if he pushed the "new, improved" ESA button, it would bring the system to it's knees.

I tried it on my board and it crashed it so much I gave up......nvidia hasn't gone out of beta with this yet......it makes me cringe to think the BIOS is updated from the ESA software package.:eek:
Click to expand...


we built a machine and ran it on a xfx 780i board and it ran just fine????
no issues...

I am building a machine slowly... and going to go with the 780i mb too.... and the esa program is pretty nifty... :D
 
AthlonXP said:
Nice thorough preview and I am clearly one of the early adopters as I am using an EVGA 790i ultra board right now myself. So far so good. I am going to play around more with it tonight once my faster DDR3 comes in.
Click to expand...

Ez there champ bailey. You may have gotten yours faster but you'e not running 2x2gb pc1600 and a qx9770 ES :D heheheheh
 
magoo said:
You can find the XFX and EVGA boards on sale right now; especially priced at $350.

I wonder if Kyle had a chance to "try" and use the new ESA software.....
No matter how stable this baby was, I bet if he pushed the "new, improved" ESA button, it would bring the system to it's knees.

I tried it on my board and it crashed it so much I gave up......nvidia hasn't gone out of beta with this yet......it makes me cringe to think the BIOS is updated from the ESA software package.:eek:
Click to expand...


agreed! Vista would lock up on boot for me because of the ESA package. it seems hit and miss.
 
Very interesting read. I am thinking about getting rid of this 680i board sometime this year, and have been watching to see if this is a good solution to my problems (I have cards in SLI, so an nvidia motherboard is really my only option). I just hate all the issues I have had with this 680i board.
 
I'm going to disagree that with the statement that Nvidia motherboards are the same as Intel. Performance wise, Nvidia has been a tad slower due in the FPS benchmarks, even the 780 doesnt correct this problem. Thats why people say, if you are only running 1 gfx card, go intel, if you plan on SLI go nvidia, and the price for 8800 GT SLI + 780 makes it the best and cost efficient upgrade for games..... 9800's are too expensive, and 790 DDR3 is crazy expensive.
 
You're absolutely wrong in that statement ironwolve,
People recommend intel for single card solutions since:
1. There would be no need for SLi
2. They are ROCK stable, as ANY intel chipset is (NO exclusions).

That's why people say go Intel for single card. The "slightly" higher performance is within 5 percent of statistical error which is why you should ignore a single card x38's 111.1 FPS compared to a 780i's 110.8....

Just want to clear that up, be careful because alot of people who just read and aren't members would get mislead by your FUD
 
"They are ROCK stable, as ANY intel chipset is (NO exclusions)."

Unless you want to use on board video. Say in an HTPC. Then it's bug city. If you're lucky you can find that one build of the Intel driver that enabled the right stuff to get video to play reliably on your system before it got pulled in favor of an improved build that did not work.

But generally, yeah Intel FTW and zero hassle for single card users.

In fact the 9800GX2 is making me consider a move back to Intel just to get that stability I don't enjoy with SLI chipsets. I have a 780i board. For the msot part it's OK. But I like to use S3 sleep and upon wake the NICs are dead and require a cold boot to revive. Way to go!
 
"The top bus speed we could get out of our setup was 537MHz. A respectable overclock by any standards."

When was this not ridiculously high? I've been out of it for a while, but DAMN! Sweet motherboard. :D

~Ibrahim~
 
Thanks Kyle, it definitely answered the questions I've been having - cardboard oven for the win! :D

I'll wait for the follow-on to see if DDR3 makes any in-game performance differences vs. DDR2 - 790 may be the memory controller to make it worthwhile?
 
Not one of these people who always come on here and give the standard "Great Job" and "Way to go Kyle" but this was one of the best previews I have read anywhere. It was biased, you noted it as so, and gave perfect justification for that bias which is rare on these hardware sites...interesting to see how this board shapes out over the coming months for sure.

"Readers Gold Award" for this
 
Savoy said:
Oh and the paper bag was priceless, lol. Loved that part of the review. ;)
Click to expand...


Hey, hey , hey there bro. We don't use any of that cheap paper bag shit around here. That was a brand new cardboard box...ok, it was not new, but it was genuine cardboard. ;) Thanks for the kind words, they are appreciated.
 
supergrover said:
Not one of these people who always come on here and give the standard "Great Job" and "Way to go Kyle" but this was one of the best previews I have read anywhere. It was biased, you noted it as so, and gave perfect justification for that bias which is rare on these hardware sites...interesting to see how this board shapes out over the coming months for sure.

"Readers Gold Award" for this
Click to expand...

Could not have said it better. I liked your format and direct writing style on this one.

Stupid me found a X3350 *in stock* for $355 shipped retail box. Found myself in checkout before I realized what I was doing... I got carried away, to put it bluntly. Woke up this morning and realized I had no idea what to do with it. Thought about and was originally going to go Gigabyte EX38 DS4, but then thought about what 500 FSB will do with a X3350. Read your preview at work, and that kinda settled it.

I think anything that can survive the [H] oven test (tm?) is good enough for me. See sig :D
 
I really would like one of these, but I think I will wait for nehalem to move to ddr3. I want 8gigs, which would be like 800+ right now.
 
LibertySyclone said:
Kyle, honestly I thank you for your biased review.

I have been following this board through its sample testing and kept telling myself the same thing, "The 680i looked this good at its testing as well".

After I RMA'd my 5th, yes 5th 680i, I gave up and sold it. I bought a P5k-deluxe (kyle I love my on board wifi!!! its awesome when my PC travels with me, or gets moved to the TV room)

I havent looked back, the p35 has been the most stable chipset I have ever run.

Last week I bought a 780i with the notion that I was going to be disappointed, although it was better than the 680i it was still no P35.... I will probably be doing a step up on this 780i to a 790i.

Here is hoping that I will be able to drop my multi to a x7 or x6 and open up the FSB on my Q6600 (3.8Ghz on H20) and that DDR3 prices drop like rocks.
Click to expand...


This is easily the scariest review of any motherboard I had ever read (anywhere, not just at [H]).

The closest thing I have seen to what Kyle did are the Bowflex infomercials full of skeptics.

The very fact that it's *Kyle* (who got personally burned, badly, with nForce 680i, and has been rather vociferous about it), who then proceeds to put the XFX through Four Days in Satan's Hollow (what would YOU call that 110-hour marathon, with the last fifteen hours at a CPU-melting fifty degrees Celsius?), and still hasn't gotten the board to fail (despite the beta BIOS, which tends to be far more temperamental than a production BIOS), and you have a motherboard that would be a rather solid option for anyone, whether you want SLI or not. While SLI is pretty much the main reason for such a motherboard, the very fact that it's rock-solid stable in conditions on the far side of sane means that even in very ordinary non-SLI usage (say with a single 9800GX2/DDR3/Q9450 Yorkie when they finally become generally available at a decent price), the 790i Ultra won't be a bad alternative to even Skulltrail.
 
Hi folks, I am taking a short vacation (in Portugal), and while sitting on a cafe decided to read my email, and check out [H]. 2 things. My 780i evga step up came in, and your preview of the 790i.

To make a long story short, I am going to cancel my 780i step up, keep my "rare" overclocable 680i, and wait out for the 790i.

Oh yeah, thanks for all the warnings, not just Kyle, but all posters, as over the months, have warned me of possible dangers of nVidia boards.

BTW, did I tell you that many go topless here on the beach? Uhmm, off topic? Not really, it improves cooling specially under the shade. :p
 
So since this board seems to actually be good, what kind of capacitors did they use this time, and what power management?
 
Proxy said:
So since this board seems to actually be good, what kind of capacitors did they use this time, and what power management?
Click to expand...

The reference boards use the same electrolytic capacitors (except around the CPU) and 6-phase PWM found on previous models.
 
PGHammer said:
This is easily the scariest review of any motherboard I had ever read (anywhere, not just at [H]).

The closest thing I have seen to what Kyle did are the Bowflex infomercials full of skeptics.

The very fact that it's *Kyle* (who got personally burned, badly, with nForce 680i, and has been rather vociferous about it), who then proceeds to put the XFX through Four Days in Satan's Hollow (what would YOU call that 110-hour marathon, with the last fifteen hours at a CPU-melting fifty degrees Celsius?), and still hasn't gotten the board to fail (despite the beta BIOS, which tends to be far more temperamental than a production BIOS), and you have a motherboard that would be a rather solid option for anyone, whether you want SLI or not. While SLI is pretty much the main reason for such a motherboard, the very fact that it's rock-solid stable in conditions on the far side of sane means that even in very ordinary non-SLI usage (say with a single 9800GX2/DDR3/Q9450 Yorkie when they finally become generally available at a decent price), the 790i Ultra won't be a bad alternative to even Skulltrail.
Click to expand...

Sorry but 110 hours is still only 110 hours.

I went through several 680i boards and they all took a couple months before they flat out failed, fried ram, became way to erratic, ect. All of these boards were rock solid right up until that point.

On the other hand one of the 680i builds I have uses the Striker Extreme. Some times it won't turn on and just spits out CPU INIT, it sure as hell isn't stable and doesn't OC well. But they don't seem to fail like clockwork and it doesn't seem to up and kill memory as much.

When the 680i first hit the market I, like most, touted the reference boards as being the best. Stable, solid, better OC's. All the after market boards weren't as stable, didn't OC as well, had memory issues out the ass, and were crap. Fast forward till today and it seems the finicky after market boards were the safest and the "rock solid" ref 680i was a time bomb.

I'm not going to call any nvidia board stable until a good six months after it's been out and we can see where things stand then.
 
Does the Intel Azalia sound chipset on these boards support Dolby Digital Live and/or DTS Connect?
 
You know who makes great chipsets to support a CPU? the same company who made the CPU.
Just my opinion, but i have a feeling they might know a bit more about how to get the most from it.

Maybe Nv should make a CPU to support their chipset. intel needs some competition...hey they could buy VIA :D
 
McCartney said:
you can't cancel stepup once you get it.
Click to expand...

Sorry, should have said, I am 0 on the queue and got an email with an RMA number.

I am going to cancel the RMA.

I certainly hope I can still do that. Or are you telling me that if I requested to be on the 780i upgrade queue now I have to send them my 680i?
 
Well you applied for step up and it's your turn to go.
I'm sure that you can cancel out of it but in any stepup unless you're american you have to send first.
But now it's your turn I dont think they "cancel" the stepup as if it was an original RMA since I think once you apply for it you have to take it. Plus I think even though eVGA is flexible on alot of things this is something that would require a bit of discretion. Plus to be eligible your board would have to be purchasedwithin the 90 days of the launch of the 790i date, because what they do if they cancel your 780i stepup is they will say that you can only step up things within 90 days of your 680i purchase, I don't know how close your 780i was to that, soo... yeah.

Basically if you got a 680i you had to get it before 780is came which was roughly late november. I can't imagine you would be eligible for the 790i on the grounds they will say that it came out 90 days after purchase and the 780i would be the only one eligible.

Either way, the 790i isn't useful for you if you can get a 780i and be happy. So far running my 790i I'm a bit pissed my qx9650 is seen as an x9650 AND I can't oc properly but I'm gonna see what happens before I comment further. You're in a safe spot just take the 780i, for some reason I think they'll just add the days to your invoice for step up timeout if you cancel the 780i meaning all those days you wasted waiting in queue will just be subtracted to the remaining 90 days from purchase.
 
SpeedyVV said:
Sorry, should have said, I am 0 on the queue and got an email with an RMA number.

I am going to cancel the RMA.

I certainly hope I can still do that. Or are you telling me that if I requested to be on the 780i upgrade queue now I have to send them my 680i?
Click to expand...


Get the 780i and sell it off and then go by a 790i.
 
Managed to sell mine for decent price axp.

So far I love how quiet this board is comparison to our old 780i, but I'm pissed I can't oc my QX!
 
McCartney said:
Managed to sell mine for decent price axp.

So far I love how quiet this board is comparison to our old 780i, but I'm pissed I can't oc my QX!
Click to expand...

A couple of you have stated you can't overclock a QX. Could you elaborate? Kingpin has gotten very good OC's with the QX9650 on _air_. On LN2 its even better.

There are also many other people having great success with the QX9650.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=180875
 
I have personally been waiting for things to mature on the SLI and DDR3 front for quite some time. I disagree about the intel chipsets allways being rock solid, I remember the 440lx chipset having all sorts of issues. And remember, back before Nvidia started making waves in the chipset market (as well as VIA), Intel didnt allow any tweaking whatsoever. Im still running my 480n DFI lanparty with an AMD springdale chip and this thing has done everything Ive asked of it (including playing crysis, but albeit low settings). This rig has run stable overclocked since I found its happy spot some years ago.

Not to say that its starting to show its age or anything, but it sure has been one of my most stable builds (the other one was a Supermicro Server board and pentium 3 setup). Hell, my previous Epox nvidia board still gets up and boots, but its been parked on the obsolete shelf.

I really want this board to shine. I think that SLI has such a promising future, as long as the gaming companies ramp their engines to take advantage of it. Its starting to happen. Of course, Microsoft has to throw out an even more bloated and slower operating system to help keep its margins in the green... (rant)

Now I might take a chance on this board, just cause dangit. I really hate when Intel is controlling the cpu market like it is right now. When AMD was on top, the world was a better place, and we all benefited from the competition.
 
I disagree about the intel chipsets allways being rock solid, I remember the 440lx chipset having all sorts of issues. And remember, back before Nvidia started making waves in the chipset market (as well as VIA), Intel didnt allow any tweaking whatsoever. Im still running my 480n DFI lanparty with an AMD springdale chip and this thing has done everything Ive asked of it (including playing crysis, but albeit low settings). This rig has run stable overclocked since I found its happy spot some years ago.
Click to expand...

We live in the market of today. And nforce doesn't stack up on intel platforms, and intel has tweaking chipsets.

I really hate when Intel is controlling the cpu market like it is right now. When AMD was on top, the world was a better place, and we all benefited from the competition.
Click to expand...

Fanboyism. The benefits from the competition are the better chips intel is selling today. When the P4 was getting creamed by the AMD64 prices were higher for good parts. Things are extremely cheap today.
 
not a bad preview. i just got a 680i board and am aware of potential issues, and hope i don't have any. i will overclock but nothing extreme, i'll try 3500mhz on a Q6600. if this board is good in 6 months i'll build a yorkfield rig :)
 
Extremely promising. I wonder though if the orientation of the motherboard will effect its cooling performance if one were to install the board into a Lian-Li "upside down" mid tower. I've always heard that the type of heatpipes used can adversely effect the cooling.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top