EVGA 680i help

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flashpoint603

Weaksauce
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Jun 6, 2007
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I am about to build a new gaming rig. Looking into the EVGA 680i mobo. However I dont know which one to get. I hear the A1 is focused on the quad core user. I am going to be focusing on mad over-clocking of a C2D. Which EVGA 680i is focused towards the C2D user?
 
they all are. A1 is the revision that address some quad issues. it is still fine for C2D dual. they jsut fixed a few things cause the initial run boards had issues with quads and were getting crappy OC's.

if it were me I'd get the cheaper LT version or an T1 save a few $ and put someplace else in your case.

good board though.

BTW: never run your ram over 2.2v the 680i kills ram at anything over that. SOme may not have that issue but my friend at OCZ says to due to the rma rate he is seeing and the feedback he gets from users. said the trend is anything over 2.2 on 680 and has a tendency to fry ram. runing mine at 2.150 right now
 
Good to know (about the RAM voltage). I expect to be receiving mine today (A1), which will be replacing my P5b Deluxe/AP-Wifi, that is running my RAM at 2.3 to get 1171mhz stable (firestix pc2-8000). I guess it will be a re-Orthos (stability test) when I get the new board installed.
 
The A1 is the full retail board, the T1 is the same product but minus the printed manual and extra cables. Also, the A1 has a lifetime warranty as opposed to the T1's 2-year warranty (provided you register it within 30 days).

I've RMA'd a T1 before, and found that both had T1 serial number stickers simply placed over an A1 serial number sticker. It's evidently the same product.

DON"T get the TR or AR. These are the old boards that had problems.

Also, as soon as you get the board, update the BIOS to P28 (you can download an ISO image from EVGA). The load all your defaults, and you're all set to start.

I cannot say enough positive things about the A1. I replaced an Asus P5B Deluxe Wifi-AP with the 680i A1 and am delighted. It is much more stable and EVGA/Nvidia support is really good.
 
flashpoint603 said:
can this board be pushed over 500mhz?
Click to expand...

Many EVGA 680i SLI boards can. It's all related to luck of the draw. There is nothing in writing that says if you buy one then you will be able to do 500MHz+ FSB speeds.

flashpoint603 said:
I am about to build a new gaming rig. Looking into the EVGA 680i mobo. However I dont know which one to get. I hear the A1 is focused on the quad core user. I am going to be focusing on mad over-clocking of a C2D. Which EVGA 680i is focused towards the C2D user?
Click to expand...

It's not focused on the quad core user. All of the boards are basically the same. The A1 and T1 have fixes that correct the problems overclocking quad core CPUs. I actually have an AR board and an A1 board. I've ran my quad core on both. Side by side, there are no differences outside of whatever was changed to fix the quad core overclocking issue. The AR and TR will still work fine with quad core CPUs at stock speeds.

RayDaddy said:
BTW: never run your ram over 2.2v the 680i kills ram at anything over that. SOme may not have that issue but my friend at OCZ says to due to the rma rate he is seeing and the feedback he gets from users. said the trend is anything over 2.2 on 680 and has a tendency to fry ram. runing mine at 2.150 right now
Click to expand...

I've had no issues up to 2.3v. I've run ram for months at that voltage. OCZ ram in fact. I have heard of the ram dying at higher voltages, I guess I have just been lucky.

gnf said:
The A1 is the full retail board, the T1 is the same product but minus the printed manual and extra cables. Also, the A1 has a lifetime warranty as opposed to the T1's 2-year warranty (provided you register it within 30 days).

I've RMA'd a T1 before, and found that both had T1 serial number stickers simply placed over an A1 serial number sticker. It's evidently the same product.
Click to expand...

Exactly right. They are the same product and the main differences between A1 and T1 part numbers is the bundle and warranty.

gnf said:
DON"T get the TR or AR. These are the old boards that had problems.
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No. Tho earlier boards that came with BIOS versions prior to P23 were the ones with the hardware issues. The AR and TR boards just don't overclock quad core processors past 1300MHz FSB speeds. Otherwise there is nothing wrong with them.

gnf said:
Also, as soon as you get the board, update the BIOS to P28 (you can download an ISO image from EVGA). The load all your defaults, and you're all set to start.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
RayDaddy said:
BTW: never run your ram over 2.2v the 680i kills ram at anything over that. SOme may not have that issue but my friend at OCZ says to due to the rma rate he is seeing and the feedback he gets from users. said the trend is anything over 2.2 on 680 and has a tendency to fry ram. runing mine at 2.150 right now
Click to expand...

Anyone know of any info out there that goes along with this? Been looking at getting a 680i myself with memory that required 2.3v to run... And it sounds very odd that it would only kill memory at above 2.2v...
 
That would be a correct statement. Just because the ram is *rated* at a certain voltage doesn't mean it has to run at it.

For example, I run 4x1gb Ballistix Tracers @1.85 volts, which they are very happy at, even though the rated voltage is 2.2v
 
WintersFury said:
Anyone know of any info out there that goes along with this? Been looking at getting a 680i myself with memory that required 2.3v to run... And it sounds very odd that it would only kill memory at above 2.2v...
Click to expand...

I've run OCZ ram at 2.3v for months without issues on 680i boards. I also run overclock testing on 680i boards all the time and I've had to increase memory voltages to 2.3v or even higher.

BTW Corsair Dominators don't like 2.5v. I found this out the hard way.
 
I ran 2.3v on my Ballistix, and they fried in about two months. I now run them at 2.1v, same OC and stable now...

Newegg RMA = FTW
 
I run my Titanium Alpha VX2 PC8000 ram underclocked to 880Mhz (synced to FSB) 4-3-3-12-1T 1.85v on my NF68-T1 and get faster speed than 1100+ Mhz with 2T and with a FSB/Memory divider anyway.

And that ram is rated 2.35v at PC8000... So it's not realy a problem.
 
I've since knocked my ram down to 2.1v as well and I've had no issues. For along time they were set to 2.3v and I didn't even realize it.
 
gnf said:
The A1 is the full retail board, the T1 is the same product but minus the printed manual and extra cables. Also, the A1 has a lifetime warranty as opposed to the T1's 2-year warranty (provided you register it within 30 days).

I've RMA'd a T1 before, and found that both had T1 serial number stickers simply placed over an A1 serial number sticker. It's evidently the same product.

DON"T get the TR or AR. These are the old boards that had problems.

Also, as soon as you get the board, update the BIOS to P28 (you can download an ISO image from EVGA). The load all your defaults, and you're all set to start.

I cannot say enough positive things about the A1. I replaced an Asus P5B Deluxe Wifi-AP with the 680i A1 and am delighted. It is much more stable and EVGA/Nvidia support is really good.
Click to expand...

I am doing the exact same swap, so this is very good to hear. And don't worry about the BIOS flashing...I've already got it on disc, and my stuff is moved to my storage drive, and all my voltages are recorded from the old board....oh, I'm ready alright!
 
sabregen said:
I am doing the exact same swap, so this is very good to hear. And don't worry about the BIOS flashing...I've already got it on disc, and my stuff is moved to my storage drive, and all my voltages are recorded from the old board....oh, I'm ready alright!
Click to expand...

Good luck with your swap. Hopefully if I get some time I'll be doing some work on my machine this weekend. I've got to switch out my Nautilus for a Swiftech Apex Ultra H20-220 and a pair of Danger Den 8800GTX water blocks.
 
Motley said:
I ran 2.3v on my Ballistix, and they fried in about two months. I now run them at 2.1v, same OC and stable now...

Newegg RMA = FTW
Click to expand...

Same here im about to rma my ballistix next week to newegg. I contacted Crucial and they warned that undervolting this RAM may result in a strain to the chips...causing damage. Anyone wanna explain that last part? Go into your BIOS and set ram voltage manually to 2.2v or less, dont leave your ram voltage to auto, thats what happened to my ram, I left it on auto and 2 months later it got fried, sigh.
 
Dan_D said:
I've since knocked my ram down to 2.1v as well and I've had no issues. For along time they were set to 2.3v and I didn't even realize it.
Click to expand...

My ram is undervolted as well and OC'ed.....go figure? The Corsair RAM (check my sig) is exceptional to say the least. I have read the horror stories of OC'ing with this MB, but I am in disbelief. This is the best MB that I have ever owned and it is stable. I love it! Just my 2.
 
theseeker said:
My ram is undervolted as well and OC'ed.....go figure? The Corsair RAM (check my sig) is exceptional to say the least. I have read the horror stories of OC'ing with this MB, but I am in disbelief. This is the best MB that I have ever owned and it is stable. I love it! Just my 2.
Click to expand...

The Corsair Dominator modules are pretty awesome. Which ones are you using? I use almost the entire line in motherboard testing at times.

Right now I've got PC8888, PC9136, and PC10000 Dominators that I'm using on the test bench. We don't ever use the PC6400's for obvious reasons.
 
WintersFury said:
Anyone know of any info out there that goes along with this? Been looking at getting a 680i myself with memory that required 2.3v to run... And it sounds very odd that it would only kill memory at above 2.2v...
Click to expand...

2 x 1gb g.skill hz @ 2.35 vdimm for around 7 months on this board.
 
d44ve said:
dont get the LT, at least get the T1
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with the LT. Functionally, it's mainly missing a PCIe x8 slot in the middle. Otherwise it's pretty damned close to the full blown 680i SLI.
 
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