NVIDIA 680i: The Best Core 2 Chipset?
by Gary Key & Wesley Fink on November 8, 2006 4:45 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
nForce 650i SLI & 650i Ultra
For buyers not interested in the top-end features or top end price of the 680i, NVIDIA will offer two additional models at lower price points.
The 650i SLI, which will sell in the $150 to $199 price range, will support a single x16 PCIe video card, or SLI with two video cards driven by two x8 PCIe slots. PCIe lanes are reduced to 18, SATA-II ports from 6 to 4, USB 2.0 from 10 to 8, and it comes with a single Gigabit Ethernet port instead of the two with teaming on the 680i.
The nForce 650i Ultra, designed to sell in the $99 to $149 price range, offers a single x16 PCIe slot in 18 total PCIe lanes. Features are otherwise the same as the 650i SLI.
While there is some overlap in market segments, the 680i is designed to compete with the Intel 975X premium motherboards while providing dual x16 SLI graphics compared to dual x8 CrossFire on the 975x. The 650i SLI should compete with premium Intel 965 boards, while the 650i Ultra will compete with low-end or entry-level P965 motherboards.
For buyers not interested in the top-end features or top end price of the 680i, NVIDIA will offer two additional models at lower price points.
The 650i SLI, which will sell in the $150 to $199 price range, will support a single x16 PCIe video card, or SLI with two video cards driven by two x8 PCIe slots. PCIe lanes are reduced to 18, SATA-II ports from 6 to 4, USB 2.0 from 10 to 8, and it comes with a single Gigabit Ethernet port instead of the two with teaming on the 680i.
The nForce 650i Ultra, designed to sell in the $99 to $149 price range, offers a single x16 PCIe slot in 18 total PCIe lanes. Features are otherwise the same as the 650i SLI.
While there is some overlap in market segments, the 680i is designed to compete with the Intel 975X premium motherboards while providing dual x16 SLI graphics compared to dual x8 CrossFire on the 975x. The 650i SLI should compete with premium Intel 965 boards, while the 650i Ultra will compete with low-end or entry-level P965 motherboards.
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davidos - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - link
Great Review... When can we expect the cheaper 650 boards?Gary Key - Friday, November 10, 2006 - link
December for 650i SLI and January for 650i Ultra.
jackylman - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - link
Why no power consumption tests? I mean, we know the NFurnace is a power hog, but numbers would be nice.A review from another site has the NFurnace consuming about 25W more at idle than a P965. Buy one now and save on your heating oil bill!
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - link
The upcoming 8800 review reports power consumption of the 8800 on the 680i. We figure a 680i with 8800 SLI and phyics processor should draw enough power to light San Jose :-) ALL the first DX10 video cards will likely require huge amounts of power.We will compare 975x, 965, and 680i chipset on power consumption and add it to the review later this evening.
jackylman - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - link
Awesome, thank you!Gary Key - Sunday, November 12, 2006 - link
Hi,I decided to run the power tests with a typical high-end setup in a case. We are still working on getting down to the board level properly but these numbers should give you a good indication of the results to date.
X6800, 2GB Memory, 8800GTX, 2 Optical drives, 2 320GB Hard Drives, USB Floppy, Cooler Master Stacker 830 case with 4 120mm Fans, Tuniq 120 Cooler, SB X-FI.
Idle - Power Savings Off
680i SLI - 242W
590SLI - 236W
975X - 221W
P965 - 218W
Full Load -
680i SLI - 324W
590SLI - 331W
975X - 313W
P965 - 309W
We should have some overclocking and SLI numbers by the end of the week.
gramboh - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - link
Been waiting for this chipset/mainboards to come out for a while, might finally be time for C2D build (with G80!)Thanks for the review.
BladeVenom - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - link
Nice review. Any idea as to when these should start to shop up at retailers?Wesley Fink - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - link
The EVGA boards are supposed to go on sale today. We have reports they were on the shelves at Frys last night.nVidia says partner boards will be available beginning today, and ODM boards should start appearing in early December.
hubajube - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - link
They're on sale at Newegg right now. $270.