Okay, so XFX is now becoming a fully fledged member of the motherboard community, that said and done what's next? XFX will most likely remain outside the R&D field when it comes to their motherboards and will let parent partner NVIDIA do the development and engineering side of the equation. BFG will also follow suit in this fashion in light of NVIDIA's tight control of the manufacturing quality of boards being released under their moniker. This ensures a much tighter rein on quality control than usually given to any said motherboard, but also ensures that random problems from design variations are kept to an almost non existing number. The bad things for us reviewers however in this case is how much more and different things can you say about the same exact board over and over? I mean if I review the Red Chevy S-10 and then need to review the Blue one, the differences are nil, except cosmetic. This is a great board hands down and even though the cosmetics may change a bit they are all the same quality board.
I stated previously in this review that when it comes to making a buying choice, in the case of the NVIDIA partner released motherboards, you are buying the company you choose as the boards are all identical, albeit a sticker or two. Everyone who knows this site knows we like both XFX and EVGA and love the pseudo we hate each other game they play, as in reality the friendly competition is great for everybody. ASUS has the name game thing down and many people are going to buy this chipset board from them just because they are ASUS, but if you are beyond the name brand cult, XFX and EVGA are the only other companies I would invest my cash in for an NVIDIA based board. I know some of you are like screaming at the PC now, but I have been in this business, a long time and have seen more companies come and go than I care to remember. There are other companies that have been around longer, I know, but XFX and EVGA have proven to our readers and me that they offer better than average customer relations and for American customers they are right here in sunny southern California, not based across the ocean.
They also both employ Americans to work at their companies and their tech support will understand you, and you them. My frustration level with techs overseas and here who cannot even speak Basic English is at an all time high and I am sure many of you know of that which I speak of. XFX and EVGA have translators for those outside of our countries native language, but everyone there from the janitor to the top speaks English clearly. I like that, sue me! NVIDIA without a doubt has taken over as the biggest threat to the Intel giant in the chipset market and everyday see's them gaining momentum and market strength. Right now is a very good time to be a NVIDIA partner, they have strategically positioned themselves to be in a business a good long time and this company know how to play hard ball and maximize business ties. Business is a war, just one that uses different weapons than guns and bullets. At the sales counter XFX is a company that can be trusted and that is the priceless equation when it comes to making a buying decision. I give the new XFX 680i LT SLI board a Hot Product Award as we all know it's a very solid chipset motherboard and XFX has great customer support. I would give it an Editor's Choice Award, but EVGA has the better warranty and that was what I based that award off of as both boards are otherwise identical.
