BFG 680i - initial impression and gripes

[dworley]

Purchased from Compusa for $279 with a $30MIR ($249)

Configuration:
Lian Li V1000B
BFG 680i
C2D 6400 w/Zalman 9500
8800GTX
2GB Corsair 8500C5
X-fi
Enermax Liberty 620W PSU
(2) 72gb Raptors (Raid0)
NEC DVD/RW 3540A


The bad:

My first issue started when there was no floppy included with raid drivers to load with Windows install (F6) and I could not locate the drivers anywhere on-line! I finally decided to install on a spare 160gb drive and just re-do the install once I could locate the drivers to put on a floppy....(I know they come with the eVGA 680i MB)

Next I had issues with frequent BSOD and lockups that turned out to be caused by BIOS auto setting the memory voltage to 1.85V instead of 2.2V. (I am using 2x1024 Corsair 8500C5). I believe the included BIOS on my board may be 17??

My final gripe is that I am unable to control the CPU fan speed via BIOS settings or NTUNE. CPU fan is always 100% regardless of BIOS settings using manual or smart fan and the NTUNE options for direct control are greyed out. Anyone else have this working with their 680i - if so what BIOS version MB?


The good:

I was able to easily overclock this board to a modest 2.8ghz with no issues. I did not try pushing it any higher until I have time to read up on the overclocking "best practices" for this board

My 8800GTX screams with the mild CPU overclock - after running the 8800GTX on my previous AMD platforms I was definitely very CPU limited! I was able to easily surpass my old 7900GTX SLI scores from my C2D E6600 P5N32-SLI SE setup.

3DMark06 = 10516

3DMark05= 16003

I had to do some minor dremelling on my Zalman CPU bracket to clear some of the components on the back side of the motherboard, but the 9500 is working great with just enough clearance from the case bottom to fit.

The 680i seems to work fine so far inverted in my V1000B. NOTE: I had issues with my previous P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe inverted as it would not boot after it got warm. (I had to install extra fans to cool the NB / SB heat pipes.)

Interesting note that the Motherboard manufacturer is reported as eVGA NF-68 in CPUZ


I contacted BFG Tech support about my issues and they pointed me to a PDF on the driver CD for instructions on the RAID.The tech also let me know BFG is supposed to be meeting with NVIDIA later today and would discuss my BIOS concerns for fan control and get back to me.

 

[Nom Anor]

what are your temps?

 

[FrgMstr]

The bad:

1. My first issue started when there was no floppy included with raid drivers to load with Windows install (F6) and I could not locate the drivers anywhere on-line! I finally decided to install on a spare 160gb drive and just re-do the install once I could locate the drivers to put on a floppy....(I know they come with the eVGA 680i MB)

2. Next I had issues with frequent BSOD and lockups that turned out to be caused by BIOS auto setting the memory voltage to 1.85V instead of 2.2V. (I am using 2x1024 Corsair 8500C5). I believe the included BIOS on my board may be 17??

3. My final gripe is that I am unable to control the CPU fan speed via BIOS settings or NTUNE. CPU fan is always 100% regardless of BIOS settings using manual or smart fan and the NTUNE options for direct control are greyed out. Anyone else have this working with their 680i - if so what BIOS version MB?

1. You can find the F6 RAID drivers in any extracted NVIDIA chipset driver pack. Also, some CDs will have a Make Disk utility, but this is few and far between if you can then get them to work on a machine other than the specific board purchased.

The F6 files will be located here if you just double click the exe and let them extract on any machine then cancel before install.

C:\NVIDIA\nForceWinXP\9.53\IDE\WinXP\sataraid

2. At stock settings, I am sure that RAM is not 2.2V, and I think the board set the voltage correctly. I think there might be an issue with the ram if it will not run stock at 1.8V. And obviously you should not be OCing during an OS install.

3. On the eVGA board (same board) I am not seeing these issues with the P17 BIOS, but I have NOT tested them either, but they are not grayed out.

I will make sure our buddies over at BFG see this thread.

 

[ChrisRay]

BFG should be posting a bios tommorrow on their website which will fix the issues noted in this thread. I would watch the BFG website and flash accordingly when it gets posted there. It should help with the problems experienced here.

http://www.bfgtech.com/nForce680i_motherboard.html

Chris

 

[SoniCraze]

having the same fan problem, any updates?