ASUS 680i SLI Striker Extreme Motherboard Review :: ASUS 680i SLI Striker Extreme Features

ASUS Striker Extreme Spec Sheet
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Part Number	Striker Extreme
Manufacturer	ASUS
Price Check	Find Best Price
Downloads	BIOS Drivers Manuals
Chipset	Nvidia nForce 680i SLI
North Bridge
Socket	LGA775 Socket
Processor Types	Quad Core, Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, Pentium 4, Pentium D
Number of CPUs	1
Front Side Bus	1333/1066/800/533 MHz
Memory Type	DDR2
Memory Channels	Dual
Maximum Memory	8GB
External Graphics	PCI Express x16
IGP	None
South Bridge	Nvidia MCP55
Audio	8-channel
IDE	133/100/66/33
SCSI	None
SATA	3.0 GB/s
RAID	0, 1, 0+1, 5
LAN	10/100/1000 x2
Firewire	IEEE 1394a
USB	USB 2.0
Expansion Slots
BIOS	AWARD
Form Factor	ATX

The 680i chipset supports all current Intel CPUs including the Quad Core QX6700 CPU that was announced on November 1st. I inserted a QX6700 in the board and it booted without issue, verifying it works as advertised with the new CPU. The 680i chipset also supports a 1333MHz FSB CPU. As there are no 1333MHz FSB Intel CPUs available, this is a feature for future CPUs.

There are four DIMM slots on the board, the normal amount for a high-end enthusiast board. This means the board can take up to 8GB of unbuffered non-ECC DDR2 memory. ASUS strongly recommends that you use memory that is on the Qualified Vendor list on their site, as otherwise the memory may not work as advertised. If you want to use a board like the Extreme Striker board I would suggest good memory.

Drive support on the board is interesting. The nForce 680i chipset supports 6 SATA ports natively. They are located sideways on the board instead of on top of the board. This allows you to install 8800GTX cards without difficulty or the cables getting in the way of the SATA drives. You can operate them in RAID 0, 0+1, 5, JBOD modes. NVIDIA's Media Shield allows the user to set up to 6 drives in RAID 0 (Stripping) mode or three drives in each of two RAID 1 (Mirroring) modes. Also present is a standard PATA port and a FDD port.

ASUS outfitted the board with three PCI Express x16 slots. The two outer slots are used in SLI mode with NVIDIA graphics cards. I tried installing two 8800GTX cards to see how the fit was. The cards fit without issue, as the space between the two slots allows for easy airflow in the case. The ASUS board differs slightly from the EVGA board in having the configuration: PCI Express x1 slot, PCI Express slot x16 1, PCI Express slot x16 2, PCI slot 1, PCI Express x16 slot 3, and PCI slot 2. The EVGA configuration is PCI E x1, PCI E x16, PCI Express x16 slot 2, PCI, PCI Express slot 3.

ASUS has started using audio riser cards like abit on their boards. This board has an Analog Devices SoundMAX high definition audio codec. ASUS put the riser card forcing you to use the slot for audio. I would have prefereed in some ways for ASUS to put another PCI Express or regular PCI slot in this position, as some people may like to use a SB X-Fi instead of the onboard sound. The SoundMAX CODEC supports Intel's HDA standard, offering multiple simultaneous audio streams and 7.1 surround sound support. The Striker Extreme comes with SoundMAX's SuperBeam directional microphone which can filter out repetitive noise like the sound of the motherboard fan and can take in sound from an area.

One of the unique features of the Striker Extreme motherboard is the two external SATA ports on the rear IO panel. Many boards have one port, or the port on the inside, but ASUS decided to give you two external SATA ports. The back panel also has a LCD Poster that indicates likely causes of POST problems with the board on boot up. Also on the rear are four USB 2.0 ports, two RJ-45 jacks for the onboard LAN, an Optical S/PDIF In and S/PDIF out port, a Firewire port and the button to turn on the LEDs on the board. Standard PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports are present as well. Two Marvell chips provide the PHY for the onboard LAN.

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