NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Preview
Performance Summary: The nForce 680i SLI performed very well throughout all of our testing. In every benchmark we ran, our nforce 680i SLI-based system performed on-par or better than a reference system based on Intel's flagship 975X Express chipset. It also outpaced an Asus P5N32-SLI Premium motherboard, powered by the older nForce 590 SLI Intel Edition chipset, in every test.
NVIDIA clearly is bringing a winning product to market with the nForce 680i SLI. The chipset supports all current and some future Intel processors, its performance it top notch, and it's a very good overclocker. The nForce 680i SLI is also arguably the most feature-rich chipset to ever be released for the Intel platform. NVIDIA is the only company to offer a solution for the Intel platform with true, dual PCI Express x16 graphics slots, it has six native SATA ports with RAID support, dual-Gigabit LAN, HD Audio, and a flexible memory controller. And let's not forget that the only way to get SLI support with an Intel processor is with an nForce SLI based motherboard.
The nForce 680i SLI is impressive in just about every category concerning features and performance. The proposed price point puts motherboards based on this chipset in a higher bracket, but since when do enthusiasts not pay top dollar for flagship products? Power consumption was also relatively high versus Intel's 975X Express, but that too is to be expected considering the nForce 680i SLI has more PCI Express lanes and features in general. Overall, we really liked the nForce 680i SLI, and we're giving the EGA reference board we tested high marks on the Heat Meter; a 9 to be exact. Anyone looking to build a high-end, SLI capable rig, powered by an Intel processor will likely be pleased by the nForce 680i SLI.
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