| XFX 680i LT SLI Spec Sheet |
| Powered by MOBOT |
|
| Part Number | 680i LT SLI |
| Manufacturer | XFX |
| Price Check | Find Best Price |
| Downloads | BIOS
Drivers
Manuals |
| Chipset | Nvidia Nvidia nForce 680i SLI LT |
| North Bridge | Nvidia nForce 680i SLI LT SPP |
| Socket | LGA775 Socket |
| Processor Types | Quad Core, Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, Pentium 4, Pentium D |
| Number of CPUs | 1 |
| Front Side Bus | 1333/1066MHz |
| Memory Type | DDR2 |
| Memory Channels | Dual |
| Maximum Memory | 8GB |
| External Graphics | PCI Express x16 |
| IGP | None |
| South Bridge | Nvidia nForce 680i SLI LT MCP |
| 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 |
|
- Windows Vista Ready
- NVIDIA nTune technology
- NVIDIA FirstPacket technology
- 6 SATA 3Gb/sec ports
- Sub-$200 MSRP
- Support for up to 800MHz/1200MHz SLI DDR2 memory
The new NVIDIA 680i LT SLI chipset supports all current LGA-775 CPUs including the Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Quad CPUs that were recently released by Intel. I was able to use the board with a Core 2 Duo E6700 CPU without issue. As our main testing CPU is the 3.8GHz Pentium 670, the Core 2 Duo CPU was only used to see if it would work on the new motherboard as advertised, and it did, and without any BIOS updates either.
The main focus of NVIDIA's high-end motherboards in the last three years has been SLI technology, and the 680 SLI LT board comes equipped with two PCI Express x16 slots for SLI mode compatibility. The 680i SLI motherboard from XFX comes with 3 PCI Express x16 slots with one reserved for future use, but the 680i LT SLI board is targeted towards the more mainstream price point and doesn't have the third slot. The third slot is irrelevant to most users in any case and most desktop users have no use for it at all, so no loss in that aspect.
NVIDIA introduced their MediaShield technology with their first nForce motherboard chipset quite awhile back now and it has matured a bit over that time period. The chipset currently supports up to 6 SATA ports natively with the ability to have two RAID 1 arrays with 3 drives each or a singular RAID 0 array using all six drives. The nForce 680i chipset also supported six drives in both of those modes, so there is no difference here in that respect in regards to the chipsets functionality.
The nForce 680i LT SLI chipset supports SLI-Ready memory with EPP. EPP stands for Enhanced Performance Profile and was something introduced by Corsair at the 680 launch to enhance performance on SLI based motherboards. This memory stores extra information above and beyond what SPD reports in unused data bits. The information stored includes memory voltage and the command rate of the memory. The 680i chipset supports up to 1334MHz in SLI mode using 2X 667MHz memory, the LT chipset supports up to 800MHz memory standard, but SLI mode remains the same This is bit of a hit for the hard-core overclocker on paper, but for those who just want fast and stable; this is an advantageous move from NVIDIA that seems to be working out well.
NVIDIA's FirstPacket technology allows you set priorities on your network traffic. For example a game that requires lower latency to play online successfully will have high priority compared to a download that doesn't necessarily require a low latency. Both can run at the same time with the lower latency application getting priority over the higher latency application. EVGA has equipped this board with a Gigabit Ethernet port, allowing transfer rates of a Gigabit/second. NVIDIA has pioneered many technologies for your network and its security, their Firewall functionality has matured over the last few years and offers many options to customize your gaming environment. The XFX 680i LT SLI motherboard has most of the gusto that its big brother has in its chipset, but with a more modest price tag attached for those who are on a budget.
