*** Official NVidia nForce 680i Thread ***

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: lopri

Originally posted by: nealh

Originally posted by: lopri
My board performs better with E6400 than with E6600 (Xeon 3060).

If anyone managed to get 1T working @800MHz and beyond, please do share your secrets!

could this be cached related?

Could be. Or it could be just an immature BIOS. Beats me.

Edit: Correction - 4MB L2 CPUs are waaaayyyy better in 3D.

So the 4mb are faster in 3D... Any clue as to how the extra cache might affect programs like SETI and Folding@Home? I'm still trying to decide between the E6400 & E6600... Machine will be running DC programs 24/7 when it's not gaming.

Also, anyone know when any other 680i boards are coming out? I can't find anything regarding future releases...

 

[BoboKatt]

In regard to those IDE drivers, when I had the board running, I had no issues installing any of the drivers. I installed the Nvidia 680i chipset drivers first thing, then DirectX from Oct, then video drivers and then got the CD that came with the mobo and installed the audio. That's it. Worked well and never crashed or hung. Had everything onboard in the BIOS enabled so all LAN and audio etc.

Benchmark wise, honestly I never checked. I did do some major moving around of very large ISO files. That seemed to be speedy but nothing to shock or wow me into believing it was faster than anything else I have had. My biggest shock was in the 3D speed and CPU raw power of the e6600 paired up with this mobo (oc'ed of course).

Will love it even more when I get another eVga 680i, as I killed my first one.

 

[JackFlack]

Has anyone had the SATA errors that they are discussing on the boards at the eVGA site? Seems like there are at least several that are having rampant SATA issues. I'd hate to plop a bunch of money on a system only to suffer data loss.

 

[lopri]

JackFlack, do you have a link to the thread on EVGA site? In my case, when NV IDE drivers were installed system used to hang in the middle of booting. Upon safeboot and checking Event Viewer, I found tons of disk controller errors/warnings.

Chocobo, I'm not sure how E6300/E6400 compare with E6600/E6700 in F/H. Maybe you can ask in Distributed Computing forum.

 

[lopri]

Originally posted by: BoboKatt
..when I get another eVga 680i, as I killed my first one.

How?

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: lopri
JackFlack, do you have a link to the thread on EVGA site? In my case, when NV IDE drivers were installed system used to hang in the middle of booting. Upon safeboot and checking Event Viewer, I found tons of disk controller errors/warnings.

Chocobo, I'm not sure how E6300/E6400 compare with E6600/E6700 in F/H. Maybe you can ask in Distributed Computing forum.

I tried... No one knew...

Originally posted by: lopri

Originally posted by: BoboKatt
..when I get another eVga 680i, as I killed my first one.

How?

IIRC, he used Liquid Metal TIM, and it flowed onto the motherboard... Here's the post in Cases & Cooling

 

[JackFlack]

Here's one thread about the SATA problems with the eVGA board:eVGA board SATA problem link

 

[Madellga]

I got an EVGA and it's running fine. I swapped mobos without reinstalling Windows (coming from an AW9D) and it worked without Blue Screens. I cleaned Intel Drivers and installed the Nvidia.

On the BIOS, I had to "learn" it. It helped to see Lopri's settings, I used Sync instead of 1:1 and my problems were gone.

I'm running FSB 425 4-4-3-12 and it's fine. I will not try more as the CPU most likely is the bottleneck. What I will try is to used 9x and lower FSB, reducing timings, perhaps 379 3-3-3 will do the trick.

My real challenge was to install a Thermalright Ultra 120. I used insulation tape on the back of the mobo to cover the electrical components interfering with the backplate, I used an extra padding (these pink foams that sometimes come under mobos) to mechanically protect them from crushing and mounted the Ultra 120. The beauty of Thermalright is to use spring loaded bolts - no crushing and loads are balanced.

I used SLI with this board for a week, 2x MSI 7900 GTO. And a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 between them. No problems detected.

One good thing also is that there is extra room between RAM sockets.

The mobo does not power down / up when overclock fails like the Asus line was doing before. If overclocking fails, it normally resets to low FSB and reboots.

Overall its a good board, there could be some layout improvements (backplate and housing headers location) but I can't think of a reason to need any other mobo for the moment. Even the DFI version - as it most likely would not increase substantially my CPU speed.

 

[TBSN]

Madellga - I see that in your sig you're running an E6400 and E6600 at the same clock speed; maybe you could comment on the difference between having 2m and 4m cache? (Since the two chips are running at the same speed anyway...)

Congratulations for having a trouble-free 680i!

 

[skrewler2]

Originally posted by: Madellga
The mobo does not power down / up when overclock fails like the Asus line was doing before. If overclocking fails, it normally resets to low FSB and reboots.

an awesome feature on this board.. makes you not want to rip out your hair when you try something too high. also like the power on by key combination, as right now my board isn't in any kind of case, I don't have to bust out my trusty pocket knife everytime I need to power on the board.

 

[lopri]

Is anyone able to run Orthos Large FFT over 8 hours, with 1600+FSB? Not Small FFT, Not Blend. Large FFT and Large FFT only. (i.e. nothing else running but Orthos Large FFT) If so, please share a screenshot. I think the SPP has an overheating problem even with the optional fan.

If it turns out to be so, I'm going to be very disappointed. Because buggy BIOS (It's very buggy from what I see) can be fixed with updates but burning hardware can only be replaced.

 

[Madellga]

Originally posted by: TBSN
Madellga - I see that in your sig you're running an E6400 and E6600 at the same clock speed; maybe you could comment on the difference between having 2m and 4m cache? (Since the two chips are running at the same speed anyway...)

Congratulations for having a trouble-free 680i!

I can bench them at same speed and timings, but not on the same mobo. I'm using the cooler Thermalright Ultra 120 and it is not exactly easy to take them apart. To test on the same mobo, I would have to take both rigs apart. Doable but still time consuming.

I did run the E6400 on this mobo before but the only benchmark I tried was Superpi 1M. It's hard to say now, I didn't do a screenshot - if I recall correctly, the E6600 is something like 0.5 to 0.7 second faster than the E6400 for SuperPi 1M, both at 3.2GHz FSB 400 4-4-4-15. The number should be 18s for the E6400, 17.3 for the E6600.

The E6400 was not going higher than 3.2GHz. Last week I tried once more 3.4GHz and it started to work. The only difference was the Corsair C4 memory. I tried both OCZ Gold and Plat before. I have tried also Corsair C4 before (other sticks), without luck.

Overall, the E6600 is faster but its hard to notice on desktop, without doing a benchmark.

I got the E6600 because the I had no luck running the Abit AW9D with FSB higher than 379 - thus I needed a higher multiplier.

Other than that, the E6400 is a much better value for the money. Save the 100 bucks and get a better video card would be my advice.

 

[Madellga]

Originally posted by: lopri
Is anyone able to run Orthos Large FFT over 8 hours, with 1600+FSB? Not Small FFT, Not Blend. Large FFT and Large FFT only. (i.e. nothing else running but Orthos Large FFT) If so, please share a screenshot. I think the SPP has an overheating problem even with the optional fan.

If it turns out to be so, I'm going to be very disappointed. Because buggy BIOS (It's very buggy from what I see) can be fixed with updates but burning hardware can only be replaced.

I can try that for you, but only when I'm home - I want to keep an eye on the temp - no wish to fry the thing....... What voltages do you have on the NB?

Leaving on AUTO switchs it to 1.4V in my case. I went manual with 1.3V and it works also. Same for the FSB. The other 2 I left at 1.5V (default) and 1.2V (default) also.

I can run the blend for 24h. Temp was high without the coole (68C), so I installed the cooler and it is now 48C under load. It's not that noisy, but I try running it with 7-10V also.

 

[lopri]

Thank you. I currently have the SPP @1.35V. For higher memory clocking I set it @1.40~1.45V. Higher than that (1.50V+) didn't do any good. Generally I keep it @1.30~1.45V.

 

[lopri]

My E6400 also tops @3.2GHz first. Then @3.76GHz+. Nothing in between. :disgust: Did you try lowering the multi and jumping to 1900FSB?

 

[Madellga]

No, I stopped trying things for the moment. There are so many things to tweak and it's so time consuming....

What VCore do you have at 3.76GHz?

PS: CPUZ 1.38 IS OUT !!! Shows the 680i correctly.
Starting the Orthos Large right now. I will report later in the evening or tomorrow morning. Will try also a screenshot with CPUZ 1.38

 

[5uperGlu3]

Originally posted by: lopri
@SuperGlue

Disregard CPU-Z voltage reading. Also try giving more Vcore. Vdroop is anywhere between 0.04~0.06V on this board, so 1.48V might not be sufficient for 3.6GHz after the drop. How many USB devices are you using? Try disconnecting them and re-connect them once you're in OS. (especially thumb drives) I find the optimal SPP voltage to be 1.30~1.45V on my board. Sometimes giving just 0.05V more caused instability so you'll have to play with it a bit. Vdimm is approx. 0.05~0.06V higher than what you set in the BIOS. Other voltages aren't really important so you can leave them on auto. But don't be afraid with playing with voltages - They won't do any harm for testing purposes. Once you find your sweet spot, you can adjust voltages accordingly. It's much safer than, say, fiddling with memory timings. I also disable Linkboost, C1E Halt State, and Spread Spectrum. Under memory configuration, make sure you set Command Per Clock @2T until you become comfortable with certain frequencies. I find the board will often attempt to set 1T when left auto. Last but not least, if 1600FSB doesn't work, try between 1500~1700FSB with an incremental of 20.

 

[5uperGlu3]

Originally posted by: lopri
@SuperGlue

Disregard CPU-Z voltage reading. Also try giving more Vcore. Vdroop is anywhere between 0.04~0.06V on this board, so 1.48V might not be sufficient for 3.6GHz after the drop. How many USB devices are you using? Try disconnecting them and re-connect them once you're in OS. (especially thumb drives) I find the optimal SPP voltage to be 1.30~1.45V on my board. Sometimes giving just 0.05V more caused instability so you'll have to play with it a bit. Vdimm is approx. 0.05~0.06V higher than what you set in the BIOS. Other voltages aren't really important so you can leave them on auto. But don't be afraid with playing with voltages - They won't do any harm for testing purposes. Once you find your sweet spot, you can adjust voltages accordingly. It's much safer than, say, fiddling with memory timings. I also disable Linkboost, C1E Halt State, and Spread Spectrum. Under memory configuration, make sure you set Command Per Clock @2T until you become comfortable with certain frequencies. I find the board will often attempt to set 1T when left auto. Last but not least, if 1600FSB doesn't work, try between 1500~1700FSB with an incremental of 20.

just to let you know, i am stable at 3.6 hehehehe. i just had to grow a pair and up the voltages. 1.52v is working great. i'm not too sure how far i can take the voltages. i'm sure this cpu and mobo can do more as i am only at 1600FSB and people have been reporting >2000FSB. my temps are still really low under load <40C. also, i'm only using 3 UBS devices, keyboard, mouse, and a nostromo n52. as far as my setting go, i had most of the things done already that you suggested. but with my temps where they are, do you think its really a good idea to go as high as say 1.6v?

 

[drjman]

Anyone have trouble with the sound on this board? Specifically the mic inputs. I am getting really low mic levels and i have tried many different headsets and but front and rear panels have the same problem.

My set up
EVGA E680i
E6700 Core 2
EVGA 7959 gt Ko
2Gb OCz Plat
blah, blah, blah

 

[Madellga]

Sorry, using SB here.

Did you try a different microphone?

 

[lopri]

Originally posted by: Madellga
What VCore do you have at 3.76GHz?

PS: CPUZ 1.38 IS OUT !!! Shows the 680i correctly.
Starting the Orthos Large right now. I will report later in the evening or tomorrow morning. Will try also a screenshot with CPUZ 1.38

I set 1.65V for 3.80GHz (1900FSB) and then it's not Orthos stable. I set 1.65V in the BIOS and the actual voltage should be something like 1.60V, and that's where everything else seems fine. (3DMark, Super PI, games, etc.) Of course I'd like to have it stably @3.6~3.7GHz, but the damn FSB hole is huge on my board so will have to wait for a better BIOS.

I installed Xeon 3060 back and started to toy around memory timings, and the results are promising so far. While flaky, tighter timings improved Super PI times by A LOT. This is a good news because once we get a mature BIOS, we'll see the true potential of this board. I will try to post some numbers later on.

 

[Galadul]

Hey, I have the same system, e6600 and evga 680i, corsair dominator 2gb 4-4-4-12 (the ones with DHX), BigTyp 120VX HSF

I had two questions...
1. First, my Hiper 580w PSU, which I thought was pretty kick ass, and certainly was on my AMD system, has a 4 pin ATX connector, not an 8 pin. Is this a real issue? Should I not be overclocking until I get a 8 pin atx PSU? For now I'm running 3600 @ 1600 fsb, mem 1:1 synch. Seems stable, but haven't had time to run any comprehensive stress tests, and this weekend I'm whisked away for work. (Any free stress test programs to recommend?)

2. My ram, Corsair Dominator TWIN2X6400C4D 2048MB. Anyone have any experience overclocking these babies? Currently running them at 4-4-4-12 2T @ 2,1 volt as per factory specs. Now, I'm only interested in gaming performance, not how long it takes to convert wav to mp3 or various memory benchmarks or any of that. So basicly I guess what I'm asking is if there's any point to raising Mhz or lower the timings on these babies if I'm mainly concerned about gaming?

 

[drjman]

Yeah, i have tried 4 different mic sets that i know work, and still no luck. Does anyone know if this is related to the HD audio? I know that a lot of other boards have HD audio and a regular sound driver (realtek, etc). I noticed that this board *only* has HD audio. I find that kind of strange.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[lopri]

OK I spent some time after eating half a turkey testing the mysterious Super PI numbers on this board. My conclusion: 680i will be eventually faster than 975X, provided NV will perfection the BIOS. This board has so much potential in it and right now the buggy BIOS really rains on the parade this board deserves. See below my test results (and comparision with 975X) and you be the judge.

CPU: Xeon 3060 (E6600) @3.60GHz
Memory: Crucial 10 Year Anniversary DDR2-667 2GB (1GBx2)
Motherboard: P5W-DH (975X), EVGA NF 680i (680i)

SP 8M

975X | DDR2-800 (3-3-3-8-2T) | 2m 54.860s
975X | DDR2-1000 (4-4-3-9-2T) | 2m 51.562

680i | DDR2-800 (3-3-3-8-1T) | 2m 53.922s
680i | DDR2-800 (3-3-3-8-2T) | 3m 02.922s
680i | DDR2-1100 (4-4-4-9-2T) | 2m 57.672s

SP 32M

975X | DDR2-800 (3-3-3-8-2T) | 13m 58.875s
975X | DDR2-1000 (4-4-3-9-2T) | 13m 47.641s

680i | DDR2-800 (3-3-3-8-2T) | 14m 28.187s
680i | DDR2-1000 (4-4-3-9-2T) | 14m 01.188s
680i | DDR2-1100 (4-4-4-9-2T) | 13m 56.078s

When I first got this board, I couldn't understand why the PI times were so slow on this board. It turns out the board's subtimings are way loose, not to mention that the BIOS is quite messy. But as you can see, this board has a huge advantage when it comes to memory. Not only it clocks memory better than 975X, but also gives much more freedom for users. To maximize performance, one can;

• 1) Overclock memory to sky high, or
  2) Configure memory timings as tight as possible should the memory not be capable of high frequencies.

This board has a lot to be explored and has a lot going for it, IMO. I can't wait to see what DFI will bring to the table with the same chipset!

 

[Madellga]

Originally posted by: lopri

Originally posted by: Madellga
What VCore do you have at 3.76GHz?

PS: CPUZ 1.38 IS OUT !!! Shows the 680i correctly.
Starting the Orthos Large right now. I will report later in the evening or tomorrow morning. Will try also a screenshot with CPUZ 1.38

I set 1.65V for 3.80GHz (1900FSB) and then it's not Orthos stable. I set 1.65V in the BIOS and the actual voltage should be something like 1.60V, and that's where everything else seems fine. (3DMark, Super PI, games, etc.) Of course I'd like to have it stably @3.6~3.7GHz, but the damn FSB hole is huge on my board so will have to wait for a better BIOS.

I installed Xeon 3060 back and started to toy around memory timings, and the results are promising so far. While flaky, tighter timings improved Super PI times by A LOT. This is a good news because once we get a mature BIOS, we'll see the true potential of this board. I will try to post some numbers later on.

Ouch, my limit is 1.50V for testing and 1.45V for 24/7. I go as far as the system allows me within this voltage. I try always to run Orthos/Prime95 - it's overkill sometimes but it a stable machine should work it out.

I get to 3.4GHZ with minimum VCore increase. Above that, the bar raises dramatically for a marginal gain. I decided not to be greedy, 1 GHz increase for free is enough for me.

Here you can find my Orthos LARGE run - 11 hours 16minutes.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7355/680ie6600vcore140vdim21yo3.jpg

I just stopped it (I have to move the rig to another desk), so I hope this is ok for you.

The CPU did get warmer that a Blend run, 3 or 4C higher.

Nvidia monitor is borked somewhat, look at the speeds - CPUZ is correct in this case. VCore is set at 1.45V on BIOS, shows 1.40V on CPUZ. The other voltages are correct on the Nvidia monitor.

This CPU was running at 1.375V on the AW9D, it needs more juice here. But overall the machine runs better and now suprises so far (freezing, blue screens, failed hibernating, etc).