[First Look] DFI 680i LT NF-680i LT SLI (56K Warning~~~)

[worthIT]

Has anyone tested 4x1GBs of Corsair 6400C3DFs with this board? Those modules aren't in memory QVL on the DFI website.

I apologise if someone has already posted about this. I didn't have time to read through 30 pages of info at work. Thanks in advance..

[virtualrain]

I pulled out my Fluke DMM tonight and did a bit of measurement on some key voltages...

CPU VID:

BIOS...
Set: 1.6000V
BIOS Reading: 1.53V
Fluke DMM: 1.54V

Windows (Idle)...
Speedfan/SmartGuardian: 1.55V
Fluke DMM: 1.56V

Windows (PRIME Small FFT)...
Speedfan/SmartGuardian: 1.49V
Fluke DMM: 1.50V

Overall, BIOS readings and Speedfan/SmartGaurdian are close enough to actual Voltages to consider them legit.

VDimm:

Set: 2.34V
BIOS: 2.27V
SmartGaurdian: 2.27
DMM: 2.28V

Again, BIOS readings are close to actual at least when not under load.

NB:

Since I don't have a DMM measurement point for the NB, I just checked a variety of settings and BIOS/SmartGuardian readings...

Set / Get

1.60 / 1.47
1.57 / 1.45
1.54 / 1.42
1.51 / 1.39
1.48 / 1.37

There is a consistent droop of 0.12V on the NB... If the BIOS reading is correct (as it was with Vcore and Vdimm above) then this is very poor... keep this in mind when overclocking to a high FSB.

[Yay for Cheese]

This question has probably been answered before but I'm not going back and reading the entire thread.

How does the DFI 680i LT stack up against Evga's?

[vincey2kr1]

This question has probably been answered before but I'm not going back and reading the entire thread.

How does the DFI 680i LT stack up against Evga's?

I think the EVGA is alot more mature board. Been out for a while and with the quadcore GTL revision (A1 and T1) boards are alot easier to overclock.... Cant get my Q6600 to boot at 1333fsb thinkin about going back to my ASus p532-e sli .

[palese]

I pulled out my Fluke DMM tonight and did a bit of measurement on some key voltages...

CPU VID:

BIOS...
Set: 1.6000V
BIOS Reading: 1.53V
Fluke DMM: 1.54V

Windows (Idle)...
Speedfan: 1.55V
Fluke DMM: 1.56V

Windows (PRIME Small FFT)...
Speedfan: 1.49V
Fluke DMM: 1.50V

Overall, BIOS readings and Speedfan are close enough to actual Voltages to consider them legit.

VDimm:

Set: 2.34V
BIOS: 2.27V
DMM: 2.28V

Again, BIOS readings are close to actual at least when not under load.

NB:

Since I don't have a DMM measurement point for the NB, I just checked a variety of settings and BIOS readings...

Set / Get

1.60 / 1.47
1.57 / 1.45
1.54 / 1.42
1.51 / 1.39
1.48 / 1.37

There is a consistent droop of 0.12V on the NB... If the BIOS reading is correct (as it was with Vcore and Vdimm above) then this is very poor... keep this in mind when overclocking to a high FSB.

Great work virtualrain, thanks for the time and effort you have put into this board to make our life with it a hell of a lot less frustrating.

[palese]

Has anyone tested 4x1GBs of Corsair 6400C3DFs with this board? Those modules aren't in memory QVL on the DFI website.

I apologise if someone has already posted about this. I didn't have time to read through 30 pages of info at work. Thanks in advance..

I can test it with 2GB tonight after work for you, I lost 3 sets on the first Evga board before the revision I have been running cellshocks since then and never went back to running the corsairs again, but they are new in the box and I am now curious myself how they will fare on the DFI.

[Spazilton]

Just got my DFI in, Installed it, and guess what?

DOA. Will not post.


I am not a happy camper right now.

[Jobeo]

Just got my DFI in, Installed it, and guess what?

DOA. Will not post.


I am not a happy camper right now.

you wanna give any more details ?? what bios post code ??

[vincey2kr1]

Been getting BSOD's in LIneage II pulling my hair trying to figure out what it could possible be... Finally I swapped everything back (q6600,4gigs Patriotextreme, Thermaltake toughpower 1000w, 8800GTS 320mb) to my trusty Asus p532-e SLI and a seagate 320gig perp drive and no more stupid npkcrypt.sys errors

Waiting this long for this DFI board hoping all the bugs/kinks would be worked out of it is just a big Dissapointment Especially for the price >< Hoping i can get a refund I need something that works Now *sigh*.

Couldnt even get a 1333 FSB overclock on this DFI 680 with myQ6600, First try 1333fsb Overclock on the ASus p532-e with No problems

[virtualrain]

FYI, I put a post up in the memory/bandwidth thread asking for input on my memory performance on this board if you guys are interested and/or can provide some advice...

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=144822

[worthIT]

I can test it with 2GB tonight after work for you, I lost 3 sets on the first Evga board before the revision I have been running cellshocks since then and never went back to running the corsairs again, but they are new in the box and I am now curious myself how they will fare on the DFI.

That would be much appreciated. I've also killed two kits of this RAM on my STRIKER. 2GBs I can get running no problems, but 4GBs never sat well with this board and I have to loosten off pretty much everything just to get the board stable.

If 4GBs with this board is an option, I might try that, otherwise I will just change my board to the EVGA just to end the pain..

[Lood007]

Don't give up this board so soon. Took me a long time to get things stable and to get a feel for what the board likes and doesn't like.

I have gotten my ram up to 950MHz 1T, 4-4-4-8, 2-1-1-7-7.8us on this board. Mem bandwidth is 5600MB in memtest86+!

[century child]

As obvious as this should be, it probably still needs to be said in plain words. If you do not enjoy tweaking, you should not be looking at this board. If you want plug and play, instant overclock, look elsewhere. The multitude of settings here require a time investment, and no small one at that, to master and get a feel for as Lood007 said. But, if you are willing to invest that time, this board will reward you.

[palese]

As obvious as this should be, it probably still needs to be said in plain words. If you do not enjoy tweaking, you should not be looking at this board. If you want plug and play, instant overclock, look elsewhere. The multitude of settings here require a time investment, and no small one at that, to master and get a feel for as Lood007 said. But, if you are willing to invest that time, this board will reward you.

Sorry but that spin does not wash anymore, the issues with this board is not lack of user know how, it starts with poor instruction from DFI
Example: GTL But aside from that this 680i offering from DFI offers no better results in the end then any other 680i offering out there, so tweak your brains out all you want.

Make it a point to read the review on Hot Hardware as they could not reach the FSB numbers that DFI claims to have reached, Yes you could just say the Hot Hardware folks did not understand the time and tweaking you need to put into this board to reach Mecca but Hot Hardware enlisted the help of DFI engineers to reach the goal but DFI could not make it happen as well.

I have no doubt that in time with updated bios releases that this 680i could stand out above the rest of the pack but it maybe to little to late and what is wrong with plug and play easy OC anyways Who cares how you get there

[Lood007]

Make it a point to read the review on Hot Hardware as they could not reach the FSB numbers that DFI claims to have reached, Yes you could just say the Hot Hardware folks did not understand the time and tweaking you need to put into this board to reach Mecca but Hot Hardware enlisted the help of DFI engineers to reach the goal but DFI could not make it happen as well.

But nowhere did DFI state that EVERY board would be able to reach 2000 MHz FSB. They claimed it was possible, and showed as such in their demonstrations.

I am not here to defend them blindly, as I do own and like many other motherboards, but I like the tweakability of this board... and I take marketing with a grain of salt... every board, CPU, RAM set, video card, etc is different, and your results will never match exactly what someone else has gotten.

[Jobeo]

regardless of the tweak factor... the PWM overheating issue cannot be overlooked. DFI designed a board for overclockers, a LANPARTY board, and doesn't expect people to be verifying their system prime stable ??

its a serious design flaw and hopefully one they address. the PWM heatsink is clipped on the board so they could release a better solution for us early adopters.

[Apollonas]

Extra tweacking on the Nforce series of DFI was justified by the extra performance that you could get compared to the other boards.Thats why users loved them. They had a long and hard way with them but in the end of the day they got rewarded for that.

Nowadays in the conroe era there are thousands of boards that can do same or better performance with less effort. After all what counts is the money and time you spend to reach your aim. I agree that the procedure has all the fun to OC but it should be interdependent to the results you get, otherwise it would seem stupid spending so much hour and effort when somebody else can make it easier and faster than you.

I love DFI as I own two boards of them. But then again I see other manufactures with less experience than DFI making it better nowadays.

[xTr33m sammich!]

Well, all I have to say so far, Ive had this board for just over 24hrs and absolutly love playing with it

I'm not saying that other 680i boards are better or worse and this one is probably avg in terms of performance, I just haven't got that far with it.

I do have som odd inconsistancies regaurding different programs and how they report voltage and temps (I'll let the pic do the talking) What should I believe?

This board has achieved me a more stable overclock so far than my P965-s 3200MHz stable, 3400MHz at these settings would fail orthos after 3 min.

I will be pushing it harder as long as it passes 8hrs orthos.. got 4.5hrs so far

[Jobeo]

What should I believe?

i trust the smart guardian numbers... they are very similar to the levels reported in the BIOS which are the most accurate thing we have to go by.

[century child]

Sorry but that spin does not wash anymore, the issues with this board is not lack of user know how, it starts with poor instruction from DFI
Example: GTL But aside from that this 680i offering from DFI offers no better results in the end then any other 680i offering out there, so tweak your brains out all you want.

Make it a point to read the review on Hot Hardware as they could not reach the FSB numbers that DFI claims to have reached, Yes you could just say the Hot Hardware folks did not understand the time and tweaking you need to put into this board to reach Mecca but Hot Hardware enlisted the help of DFI engineers to reach the goal but DFI could not make it happen as well.

I have no doubt that in time with updated bios releases that this 680i could stand out above the rest of the pack but it maybe to little to late and what is wrong with plug and play easy OC anyways Who cares how you get there

Blow it off as spin if you must but, based on my personal experiences with this board and those of other forum users, it's the truth whether you want to hear and/or believe it or not. You obviously belong to the group that doesn't so much enjoy endless hours of tinkering with BIOS settings and there is nothing wrong with that. Nor was I trying to imply there is something wrong with plug and play easy OC. I was simply making the statement that this board, as with most other boards in the history of the LanParty series, are best suited for people who enjoy and have time for endless tweaking and experimenting.

[Spazilton]

Blow it off as spin if you must but, based on my personal experiences with this board and those of other forum users, it's the truth whether you want to hear and/or believe it or not. You obviously belong to the group that doesn't so much enjoy endless hours of tinkering with BIOS settings and there is nothing wrong with that. Nor was I trying to imply there is something wrong with plug and play easy OC. I was simply making the statement that this board, as with most other boards in the history of the LanParty series, are best suited for people who enjoy and have time for endless tweaking and experimenting.

I'm going to have to agree with you here.

As it stands right now, this DFI board is already beating my BX2 in terms of Quad FSB overclocking. It is leaps and bounds better at Quads than my IN9 32X.

With some minor adjustments to LDT, and the GTL settings, I have already hit 3.2 Prime Stable and climbing on STOCK Vcore. BX2 required 1.4125 with Enchanced Power Slope, IN9 refused to boot periord at this speed regardless of voltage(Board topped out at 300 FSB on quads regardless of settings.

This board has massive potential.

[virtualrain]

i trust the smart guardian numbers... they are very similar to the levels reported in the BIOS which are the most accurate thing we have to go by.

Yes... Jobeo is correct. Read back to Post #952.

[virtualrain]

As far as DFI vs. EVGA or others, I think if this boad had come out at the same time as the EVGA board, there would probably be very few EVGA users right now... that board had so many problems initially. (Although I suspect that DFI probably avoided teething issues with this chipset by delaying so it's not black and white).

However, the fact is that DFI is very late to the party and EVGA has done an admirable job of making an outstanding overclocking board with it's revs and bios updates (from what I've read). DFI is playing catch-up in that regard.

The EVGA board (these days) has the benefit of a large installed base and a huge community which makes it easier for noobs as well. With the DFI board being so new, that installed base and collective wisdom hasn't yet developed, but will over time.

At any rate, given that my stable quad overclock requires fairly radical GTL settings, I suspect I would not get the same level of overclock on a board that did not provide GTL tuning. I think those guys that get the same overclock on both boards are just fortunate to have a "typical" CPU that fits the profile to which the EVGA board was designed. If you don't have such a CPU, then what? You either get a board like the DFI or you suffer with a low overclock. Remember, Not all EVGA quad owners are hitting 3.6GHz... who knows what they might achieve if they put their quad in a DFI and spent time tuning it?

One final thought... sadly, by the time DFI gets this board rocking and the collective user community has it nailed, it will probably be obsolete.

[xTr33m sammich!]

question
How hot is too hot for the NB on this board? Virtualrain, it seems youre NB is running somewhere between 40 and 50c, what are you cooling your NB with? Past 440fsb I need to crank up NBv to 1.6v or better, results in my NB running at approx 80c I don't like that..

I am going to try to re-arrange my rig a little, the ultra120 extreme with 2x 120mm and 2x8600gt vid cards it gets a little cramped and can't get a fan on the NB... holding a fan pointed in the general direction of the nb drops it to approx 75c.. still too hot for me, but better.

[virtualrain]

question
How hot is too hot for the NB on this board? Virtualrain, it seems youre NB is running somewhere between 40 and 50c, what are you cooling your NB with? Past 440fsb I need to crank up NBv to 1.6v or better, results in my NB running at approx 80c I don't like that..

I am going to try to re-arrange my rig a little, the ultra120 extreme with 2x 120mm and 2x8600gt vid cards it gets a little cramped and can't get a fan on the NB... holding a fan pointed in the general direction of the nb drops it to approx 75c.. still too hot for me, but better.

Wow... that seems way high... Perhaps try remounting the NB sink.

I just have a basic 120mm fan leaning up against the NB cooler. I guess it's pretty effective since it cools the top and base together. I'm working with it open on the bench though so that helps as well. I'll be water cooling it when it eventually goes in the case.

Here's pics... http://virtualrain.blogspot.com/2007...-dfi-680i.html