Which 680i board for running SLI with E8400?

[annihilat0r]

Okay, 780i is out of my financial grasp and therefore out of question.

But when 780i is indeed out of question, there is little to be recommended for a SLI configuration with an E8400, is there?

As far as I've checked:

Gigabyte N680i-DQ6: Doesn't support 45nm CPUs
Asus Striker Extreme: Supports E8000 series but is buggy with SLI enabled
MSI A6 Diamond: Weirdly doesn't support 45nm E8000's but supports Q9450
XFX 680i: Lots of issues reported with E8000+SLI

That leaves me with the only choice:

EVGA 680i SLI. Apparently this thing can overclock E8400 up to 4GHz and with no problems when SLI is enabled.

The problem is... The brand EVGA just entered my country and therefore there's no EVGA 680i to be found here.

So really, can't I possibly have an E8400 and run SLI with all those told?

Or am I wrong on ruling out some of the motherboards? Do you know something I don't?

I want SLI! Help me!

[politenessman]

dfi 680i lt.

or one of the 650i sli boards, ie ecs, jetway, asus p5ne sli, asrock penryn 1600-110db, msi p6n sli plat, or abit fatal1ty fp-in9 sli

or any of the 750i boards, ie asus p5n-d, msi p7n sli plat.

up to me, i get the dfi.

[Leeghoofd]

If you want SLI then buy a decent board and hold of the the 2nd Gfx card till you got enough money... Plz do not go with an 680i board... 780i runs way better and is far easier to setup with way less volts on the chipsets... I can heartly recommend the eVGA 780I as I messed with it this weekend and really it isn't much more expensive then the real 680i boards... eVGA at 215-230 euro's in Belgium...

Save yaself loads of hassles and get an 780i

I really don't see the point to run SLI if your budget is that tight... which cards are you gonna run , PSU you got ,.... ya gaming resolutions,...

[annihilat0r]

Gonna run two 8800 GT's with 700W FSP Epsilon. My gaming resolution is 1920.

Here I can get a Striker Extreme or an equivalent (used) 680i mobo for around 150 dollars, but as it's new no one sells an used 780i, and it's around $330. We're talking about $200 difference, and I don't have that kind of money right now.

In fact you're the one of the very rare people who praise the 780i, while the rest claims it's nothing but Triple SLI over 680i. It doesn't even support Yorkfields, just like the 680i's.

Anyway. I did a bit of research, and I think I'm gonna get a P5N-E and give it a try and see if I can reach 4GHz with E8400.

[Leeghoofd]

don't beleive rubbish peeps tell ya, I benched all weekend long on an eVGA 780i with P03 bios and my QX9650.... and that is my friend a Yorkfield...

680I is pure trial and error, there's no sure value there... and we struggled for over a year with it... believe me I know how painfull it can be to get a 680i dialled in...

Just buy a decent mobo and one 8800GTS 512 it will handle ya resolution fine with a CPU at 4ghz... no need for SLI unless ya want to run Crysis flat out...

and the P5N-E needs better cooling on the NB as many users here wore them out pretty rapidly... I can confirm you are heading into trouble alley... but you cannot say I didn't warn ya... and in the long run you will have wasted more cash then if you start from a decent foundation right now... but believe ofcourse what you want....

piccie of one of the runs, seems pretty yorkfield like to me :

[adamsleath]

750i boards are quite affordable imo; but i dont know how good they are...better than 680i maybe...?

[FlimFlam00]

750i boards are quite affordable imo; but i dont know how good they are...better than 680i maybe...?

I second that! 750i definitely. Plus I don't think all 680i boards support Wolfdales, but don't quote me on that.

[Leeghoofd]

wait the new EVGA 750i FTW , real 2x 16 PCI E lanes and seems to clock pretty nicely and lifetime warranty....maybe worth the extra cash..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188026

or if I may beleive the Asus P5N-D also has 2x 16 PCI E lanes