EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW Motherboard Review :: Layout

The layout of the board is typical of an SLI motherboard in most ways. There are two PCI Express x16 slots on the board, allowing for two video cards to be installed improving performance over a single card. The spacing between the two slots is adequate for proper cooling of two 9800GTX cards, as there are two PCI slots in the middle. Outside PCI Express x16 slot 1 is a PCI Express x1 slot, outside PCI Express x16 slot 2 lies the third PCI slot.

To answer the usual questions about an SLI motherboard about whether this board supports two video cards running in x16 mode? The answer is yes. The nForce 750i SLI chipset supports 18 PCI Express lanes, meaning that two video cards would have to split the 18 lanes into two x8 lanes and two x 1 lane available for expansion.

EVGA went with passive cooling on the Northbridge with a cooling fan installed by the user. The nForce 750i SLI chipset has a heat pipe that leads out from the NB to a external fin heatsink. This effectively keeps the chipset cool with the fan (I suggest using the fan on any NVIDIA based chipset). The SPP (Southbridge) is cooled by a large heatsink.

EVGA outfits this board with a Power and Reset button which allows the user to turn the computer on and off without having to use the buttons on the case. The other benefit of these buttons is the ability to turn on the computer without it being in a case. I tend to run a first boot with the memory, CPU and video card installed to get an indication of problems with the motherboard before installing Windows, or running tests.

SATA port positioning is rather important, especially on an SLI board. EVGA decided to take a different approach with their nForce 750i SLI board by including four ports on a sideways slant. This prevents the problems of a video card like the 9800GX2 blocking the port, preventing use. The sideways SATA port has the additional advantage of clearing up wiring in a case, allowing the SATA cables to be routed around the back of the motherboard instead of over other components.

A single IDE port is on the rear bottom of the board next to the SATA ports. The nForce 750i SLI board also has a Floppy port for those needing a floppy drive. The inclusion of the IDE port is understandable but I wish motherboard manufacturers would do away with the FDD port. With the release of Windows Vista, the need for SATA F6 floppies has all but vanished with the native support of SATA in Vista.

The positioning of the 8-pin power connector is in the perfect placing for a motherboard on the top of the right hand side of the board below the PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports. This location provides easy access to the PSU power cord without having to reroute the cable around the CPU cooler as on some boards. The 24-pin power connection is on the rear of the right hand side of the board right where it should be.

The rear I/O of this board is typical with one exception. The nForce 750i SLI FTW board has six USB ports, up from the four that most motherboards have on their I/O. A IEEE1394a Firewire port, six jacks for the onboard audio, a PS/2 Keyboard, PS/2 Mouse and a SPDIF connection. A RJ-45 port provides support for Gigabit LAN connection.