Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 Testing

[Bootsy]

I ordered this board today from CubIt.com overnight. I Have the Abit, Asus, and EVGA 680i boards. I hope this is where my search ends. I also have E6600, 3060 and X6800 to play with. I'll start a new thread with results and comparisons.

Nugzo, did you mean clubit.com? I checked there and couldn't find it. do you have a link? I am trying to be the first person in the world to run a raid array on a 680i chipset with Vista-64bit

[nugzo]

Nugzo, did you mean clubit.com? I checked there and couldn't find it. do you have a link? I am trying to be the first person in the world to run a raid array on a 680i chipset with Vista-64bit

yeah sorry
http://www.clubit.com/product_detail...mno=CA4830702#

I'm running raid on my evga and striker with 64bit vista..... I never knew there was an issue.

[serialk11r]

How much money is this board?

[nugzo]

How much money is this board?

I paid $329 + $46 Overnight shipping.. I would be suprised if you could find one under $300 in the coming weeks.

[Bootsy]

yeah sorry
http://www.clubit.com/product_detail...mno=CA4830702#

I'm running raid on my evga and striker with 64bit vista..... I never knew there was an issue.

Thanks nugzo! I am ordering tommorrow(payday) by the way I am in the CLT nice to see a fellow Carolinian on this board.

[Lestat]

I paid $329 + $46 Overnight shipping.. I would be suprised if you could find one under $300 in the coming weeks.

HOLY CRAP!!! $329!!! no freakin way!!!

[Bootsy]

At least its not 419.00 like the Asus Striker. I got a great deal on my striker(256.00) and still wound up ebaying that POS!!

[Lestat]

personally the 650i is a better chipset for me.
but i started with the EVGA 680i which we all know is STILL a p.o.s.

[Bootsy]

Yea I am hoping that Gigabyte delayed thier 680i so they can get it right!!!

[nugzo]

personally the 650i is a better chipset for me.
but i started with the EVGA 680i which we all know is STILL a p.o.s.

My 4th EVGA 680i board is one of the best boards i've ever had... It smokes my asus and abit 680i's. I love it. Don't give up on em. I didn't and am very happy atm. Every new bios update that has been comin out for the asus and abit has me pulling the EVGA out of my rig to test them. I keep goin back to the EVGA. It's more stable, higher clocks, more bandwidth, and No Raid issues. Maybe this Gigabyte can earn a more permanent spot in my case..
Hopefully i'lll know tomorrow.

[bingo13]

Maybe this Gigabyte can earn a more permanent spot in my case..
Hopefully i'lll know tomorrow.

You probably will not be happy with the shipping F2 BIOS. It is solid but they still have some fine tuning left to do.

[nugzo]

You probably will not be happy with the shipping F2 BIOS. It is solid but they still have some fine tuning left to do.

Are there any bios updates available yet?

[bingo13]

Are there any bios updates available yet?

I have six different ones, all beta. It is a toss up between F3A and F3B depending on your memory and processor. I just received a new one for improved Quad Core performance but have not tested it enough to talk about it yet.

[nugzo]

I have six different ones, all beta. It is a toss up between F3A and F3B depending on your memory and processor. I just received a new one for improved Quad Core performance but have not tested it enough to talk about it yet.

I sure would like an f3a. This board cant compete with my others with this shipping f2 bios. Strangely my gigabyte manual shows f3a bios as shipping.

[nugzo]

You probably will not be happy with the shipping F2 BIOS. It is solid but they still have some fine tuning left to do.

When overclocking (450+ FSB) system powers off 95% of the time on logo screen. Is this a bug with the shipping bios or is it something else. this cpu has gone alot higher on other 680i boards. I also upgraded today to Enermax 1000w PSU from Thermaltake 850.

[bingo13]

When overclocking (450+ FSB) system powers off 95% of the time on logo screen. Is this a bug with the shipping bios or is it something else. this cpu has gone alot higher on other 680i boards. I also upgraded today to Enermax 1000w PSU from Thermaltake 850.

That is one of the issues with the F2 BIOS. I never could get more than 470 out of it stable (game/application) but no issue with being around 500 and throwing out the occasional SuperPI score. I had better luck overclocking with the memory unlinked and around 800 than between 1000 and 1200. The board is also very picky about FSB, SPP, and HT voltages. You have a PM about the beta BIOS. Also, you might want to take a look at this thread and see if you agree with his results - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=134043
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[nugzo]

That is one of the issues with the F2 BIOS. I never could get more than 470 out of it stable. I had better luck overclocking with the memory unlinked and around 800 than between 1000 and 1200. You have a PM about the beta BIOS. Also, you might want to take a look at this thread and see if you agree with his results - http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=134043
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glad thats a F2 issue. The way it's turning off made me think i may have a PSU issue. PM'd u my email. Thanks alot!

[nugzo]

I've tried F3a and F3b. System still powers off when i try to OC over 3600 no matter what. (380*10, 420*9, 475*8) It turns off either as soon as i hit f10 to save bios settings, or sometimes it will start to post then power off. None of my other boards do this and my x6800 is 24+hours Orthos stable on EVGA at any of those above settings. Is this power off thing common to this board or should i look elsewhere. So far this DQ6 is giving me more trouble than any other 680i board. (asus, abit, evga) It looks like the old trusty EVGA is on its way back to active duty.

@bingo can you post your bios settings and voltages for us please? i wanna try everything b4 i give up. Thanks!

[FMT]

Good feedback on this new mobo, but you didn't say what CPU cooler you have used. Do you think Zalaman 9700 or Big Typhoon can be fitted on the mobo?

Thanks, and keep posting your findings.

[Benny Lodewijk]

Put Xeon 3060 on GA-N680SLI-DQ6 and still F3b BIOS (CPU-Z shows F2). Cooled with Gigabyte G-Power Pro.

Setting : FSB 465 MHz, Linked Mode with 3:4 divider.




will update soon when i have enough time to test

[MDboyz]

Nice board... This maybe my next upgrade board. However, I still would want them to take off 2 Nic ports and lower the price. How many people will have the need to use 4 Nic ports????

[revenant]

yeah - I just bit on this board.. I tried the Abit IN9 and a reference 680i board both of which had issues for me which made them unkeepable.. hoping this board is a keeper.

where are the beta bioses DL'd from?

[momomo6789]

newegg has them now

[Bootsy]

I am also thinking about this board, can some post a link to the beta bios.

[revenant]

[snip]

@bingo can you post your bios settings and voltages for us please? i wanna try everything b4 i give up. Thanks!

yes, please do.. I saw the comment about picky voltages.. that's the most tedious part of OCing sometimes for me.. finding all the right voltage combos... if I could get a leg up on that part it would be great. also, is one of the F3 beta bios worth loading up right off the bat? or will F2 work for 440fsb and lower??