First nvidia 780i SLI review

[cookerjc]

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/600900.jpg

The main difference between 680i SLI and 780i SLI:

1. support PCIe Gen2

2. 3 x PCIe x16

3. support 3-way SLI

Because the 780i SLI is using the 680i SLI's south bridge and north bridge plus a BR04 chip, so there is no huge difference between 680i SLI, even the hottest topic: 3-way SLI is only an driver upgrade, doesn't need any architecture changes.(NV later will release a 3-way SLI driver for 680i SLI.)

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/c72art.jpg

Test bed:

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/platform.png

test reasult:

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/sysmarkt.png

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/pcmarkt.png

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/everest.png

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/3dmark1.png

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/3dmark2.png

http://www.expreview.com/img/review/780isli/quake.png

for more info & scores pls go to the source: Expreview.com (http://www.expreview.com/topic/2007-10-18/1192693101d6057_15.html)

[The0men]

Theyre pretty dissapointing scores, although totally expected, everytime they add more bling they slow things down.

[KTE]

That looks pretty backwards compared to the P35 in all but memory bandwidth. Good choice of boards in the test mix though. :up:

So, let me get this right; Nvidia is saying you get 1:1.68:2.6 scaling going from 1:2:3 GPUs?

[Nanometer]

So it all comes down to just having a new product name to help the marketing..:clap:

[ownage]

W00t, another upcoming D9 killing spree for nVidia!

[Colossous]

:shakes: Frankly thats just dissapointing !

[ineedaname]

If you ask me its disappointing for both 780i and x38.

[naokaji]

my personal conclusion when i see that review is as follows, simple and short: P35 ftw....

[JB87]

my personal conclusion when i see that review is as follows, simple and short: P35 ftw....

Just like the 965 days, high-end only great for multi-card configs..
Midrange chipsets FTW!!!

[Gunslinger]

Anyone know if it will come in a DDR3 flavor also? This is looking a little on the disappointing side, almost makes a guy want to sit it out and wait for SkullTrail.

[phelan1777]

So I should be satisfied with my two 680is?

As I like to use SLI it seems I should be.

[disruptfam]

is there any even any good reason for the 680i guys to upgrade...seem's like there isn't

[Darkatom]

Time for the double dashes of death again :rolleyes: .

[RADCOM]

A refresh rsther than brand new release. Darkatom do you have pics of your setup? I have a similar radiator on top thing g]on [one of my rigs :)

[Kunaak]

I'd bet theres alot more to this board, then just a few minor upgrades.

the stock Nvidia 680i has went through so many revisions its just a pain in the ass to figure out which ones the best now.

these will be everything they learned from the evolution of the 680i, so you will get much better Quad Core overclocking from these I bet.

also, with the ridiculous abilities of ram overclocking on the 680i, overclocking with a good 780i from a company like Asus or DFI, that doesnt just use the stock Nvidia reference board, but improves on it, and makes it their own, should make it even more fun to use.

SLI + better Quad Core overclocking + Ridiculous ram overclocking ability + Updated Featrures = Should Be one hell of a fun board, by the time it shows up here at XS, in the hands of Overclockers... not just reviews.

[JacKz5o]

Nice chipset :D

[Eddie3dfx]

They need to replace the post to 3 leds.
That way instead of the --
It can show SOL, LOL, BRK, CRP, ;-(
A$$, RMA, LZR, ELT
;)

[jokester]

Anyone know if it will come in a DDR3 flavor also? This is looking a little on the disappointing side, almost makes a guy want to sit it out and wait for SkullTrail.
Hopefully there will be sufficient work to integrate DDR3 that they completely redesign the chipset for 790i.

Jokester

[newls1]

my personal conclusion when i see that review is as follows, simple and short: P35 ftw....

Ditto:up: It will be a while before I get rid of my very favorite motherboard......P5K-DLX

[Slammin]

I'd bet theres alot more to this board, then just a few minor upgrades.

the stock Nvidia 680i has went through so many revisions its just a pain in the ass to figure out which ones the best now.

these will be everything they learned from the evolution of the 680i, so you will get much better Quad Core overclocking from these I bet.

also, with the ridiculous abilities of ram overclocking on the 680i, overclocking with a good 780i from a company like Asus or DFI, that doesnt just use the stock Nvidia reference board, but improves on it, and makes it their own, should make it even more fun to use.

SLI + better Quad Core overclocking + Ridiculous ram overclocking ability + Updated Featrures = Should Be one hell of a fun board, by the time it shows up here at XS, in the hands of Overclockers... not just reviews.



Thank you for the positive read. Not sure why everyone is so negative about this mobo but I personally think it's going to be a fun one too!

[Zytek_Fan]

ehhh, I'm skeptical with this board, given NVIDIA's failure with 680i (yes I deem it a failure)

[phelan1777]

Thank you for the positive read. Not sure why everyone is so negative about this mobo but I personally think it's going to be a fun one too!

Not saying it won't be fun, but being one of many that has had to RMA 3+ times.............I think we have some right to be skeptical, especially the few that are honest about the board dying due to faulty hardware.

[Zytek_Fan]

Shall we take a count of how many D9's were killed by 680i? :rofl:

[phelan1777]

that too.

[cookerjc]

to remind you guys..coz the lack of the special 3 way bridge and the PCIe Gen2 graphic cards and drivers, the PCIe Gen2 3-way SLI trick remain untested.

[afireinside]

Shall we take a count of how many D9's were killed by 680i? :rofl:

No more than my xbx2, p5b, and c51xem2aa killed...

[FlimFlam00]

I'd bet theres alot more to this board, then just a few minor upgrades.

the stock Nvidia 680i has went through so many revisions its just a pain in the ass to figure out which ones the best now.

these will be everything they learned from the evolution of the 680i, so you will get much better Quad Core overclocking from these I bet.

also, with the ridiculous abilities of ram overclocking on the 680i, overclocking with a good 780i from a company like Asus or DFI, that doesnt just use the stock Nvidia reference board, but improves on it, and makes it their own, should make it even more fun to use.

SLI + better Quad Core overclocking + Ridiculous ram overclocking ability + Updated Featrures = Should Be one hell of a fun board, by the time it shows up here at XS, in the hands of Overclockers... not just reviews.

That is more pragmatic thinking and forecasting rather than disparaging it in its pre-market reference state. I always liked Kunaak's perspective.

[mdio1234]

I don't know if it matters but like I wish the 780i boards could have had all solid capacitors to extend their life

[The0men]

Well I've had no problem running D9 in mine (tested ballistix and run OCZ)

Like kunnak said, if its got the issues of the 680i board sorted then it should be alright. And it does run tight timings and 1t command at wicked speeds for ram overclockers.

All solid would be nice. That might come down to the manufacturer of the board.

Even though the scores are a fair bit slower in most scenarios, hopefully the features outweigh that, and hopefully it has good FSB capability.

If all that works out, then even with the slight dissadvantage, it might just be good to use.

[linflas]

They need to replace the post to 3 leds.
That way instead of the --
It can show SOL, LOL, BRK, CRP, ;-(
A$$, RMA, LZR, ELT
;)


That is friggin funny, nice one.

ya, keeping 680i, will not be going three card sli, two barely works in Vista as it is, 3 will just be driver not responding hell

[Cronos]

Can anybody confirm the memory controller in 780i has the same defficiency as 680i when paired with Quads -i mean huge drop in memory bandwidth then there are two or more threads simultanioisly trying to read from the memory?
On 680i, total bandwidth drops dramatically, being less than 1/2 of what P35 has.

[cowie]

if they could just make sure it would clock cd2/quads better than p35 it would be nice.
nothing else would matter

[Cronos]

At least, this should be advertized openly that 680i/ and possibly 780i has poor memory performance with Core 2 Quads. This may not be that important for gamers, but can seriously affect some HPC applications.

[Roch]

Any more news on this yet? :)

[tet5uo]

I'm on my 3rd 680i board now... they keep dying :(

I haven't got much faith left, starting to wish I didn't use SLI or i'd have gone p35 or x38 by now ..

[Drag]

i don't know if 3 cards are really usefull for main stream, somebody explain?

[IanY]

Its a masterpiece. Can't wait.

[Omastar]

Its a masterpiece. Can't wait.

Really? The enormous NB heatsink, the non-integrated PCI-E v2.0 chip, the generally lackluster performance. What's not to like? :p:

[IanY]

Really? The enormous NB heatsink, the non-integrated PCI-E v2.0 chip, the generally lackluster performance. What's not to like? :p:

Its the single SLI solution in the marketplace. That's all I have. I'll pounce on it on day one. In fact, I need two of them.

[GAR]

so is this board delayed??? or is it still coming on the 12th.

[Omastar]

Its the single SLI solution in the marketplace. That's all I have. I'll pounce on it on day one. In fact, I need two of them.

There's always the Striker Extreme. :p:

Hopefully, the 780i boards will have fewer quirks in general.

[BiFfMaN]

With few PCI 2.0 vid cards out there..makes me wonder if two 8800gt's would even be worth it. Would the extra PCi bandwith even help....or needed?

[IanY]

There's always the Striker Extreme. :p:

Hopefully, the 780i boards will have fewer quirks in general.

Unfortunately, that avenue is already explored. Typing this on a Striker Extreme :p:

[GAR]

With few PCI 2.0 vid cards out there..makes me wonder if two 8800gt's would even be worth it. Would the extra PCi bandwith even help....or needed?

not yet, an 8800GT is the same on pci-1.1 and 2.0

[newls1]

here is a thought:confused: Since this board has 3 PCIx slots, I would think that once Nvidia releases a dual GPU single card GFX card (like the old 7950GX2's) this could open the doors for 6 GPU's in 1 PC:yepp: That would be a nightmare for drivers, but if nvidia "SUPPORTS" it better then the "QUAD SLi" of last year, this could make for 1 hell of a gaming rig. Hell, maybe Crysis could finally get 50+FPS now:rofl: . This is just my thought, and woould actually buy this board if something like this is possible.

[d44ve]

that was a bit of a let down

[BiFfMaN]

not yet, an 8800GT is the same on pci-1.1 and 2.0

Yah i would have figured that the Difference in PCIe 1.1 and 2.0 would have been like the last days of AGP vs PCIe 1.0. I was kinda waiting on the Software and Vid cards to catch up with the new technology...guess im waiting longer...:(

[bingo13]

for more info & scores pls go to the source: [FF not friendly..:(] http://topic.expreview.com/2007-10-18/1192682447d6049.html

1. The 780i chipset has been delayed.
2. Stick a QX9650 in it and show the results or do we not discuss why it has been delayed in the first review. ;)

[railmeat]

Theyre pretty dissapointing scores, although totally expected, everytime they add more bling they slow things down.

rofl sadly agree.

[disruptfam]

Will my ek blocks i have on my 680i fit this board seeing it looks almost exactly the same layout wise..?

[Noob.com]

Hello everyone :)

Am new here, and as my name says...am noob to this :)
Am car mechanic, and studying mechanic ingeneering, but i LOVE hardware :)
I was waiting fot the 780i, cause i heard some birds talking about it and how cool it will be, but after i read this thread i come up with: it is not as cool as i imagned?

Again, hello all... and happy to be here :)

EDIT: My english is not that good!

[emu002]

i'm still having nightmares about the "- -" of death

[Gunslinger]

Anyone heard/speculate about the release date yet?

[jabski]

some say 12/12/07. that would be nice. Also read the 19th

[Crazypinoy9]

Soft launch on the 16th @6am with no inventory to AIB partners till probably mid jan.

It actually might get pushed back again

[jabski]

the 16th a Sunday ??

[ShoNuff]

Soft launch on the 16th @6am with no inventory to AIB partners till probably mid jan.

It actually might get pushed back again

Have you heard anything with respect to performance of this chipset? Most of what I read leads me to believe that we can expect more of the same?

[Gunslinger]

This was officially released today on Nvidia's website.

[Truckchase!]

Have you heard anything with respect to performance of this chipset? Most of what I read leads me to believe that we can expect more of the same?

Looks like it is pretty much the same thing, save the obvious new features....

[railmeat]

[QUOTE=cookerjc;2497089

."(NV later will release a 3-way SLI driver for 680i SLI.)"

is that a fact:confused: if so... :D :) anyone confirm this?

nvidia cards can run tri sli chipset supported? =0

[memory]

Does the 780i chipset has Memory Hole issuse as 680i??

[GAR]

Tri SLI for 680i has been released since 169.25 drivers