NVIDIA 680i: The Best Core 2 Chipset?

Final Words

Russian novelists used to be compensated by the weight of their manuscripts, which is one reason why Tolstoy's War and Peace is so incredibly long. If we weigh NVIDIA's launch by the reams of marketing information and public relations materials from the company, the nForce 600i product family is an impressive product release. We said something similar in our review of the launch of the nForce 500 chipset family just 6 short months ago, and then concluded that the release was more evolutionary than revolutionary. Is this a similar case of much ado about less than you first think?

There are many innovations, reintroductions, and refinements with the new NVIDIA 600i family chipsets, and this review would have been hundreds of pages long had we explored all of the features in detail. No matter the marketing spin or the positive light on innovation, the bottom line is the answer to the question we asked in the beginning of this article. Is the nForce 680i the best chipset for the Intel Core 2?

This time around our answer has to be a resounding YES. NVIDIA has finally got it right on the Intel platform and the 680i is definitely worthy of being called the Hard-Core Enthusiast chipset. We still have questions about why some Core 2 Duo processors overclock to 525 FSB and others can barely reach 450 FSB on this chipset, but we have seen similar behavior with the same CPUs on Intel P965 platforms. Since we were able to personally test an X6800 Extreme 4MB Cache chip at 2100 FSB (525 quad pumped), we lean toward NVIDIA's explanation that different processors are capable of different maximum FSB, regardless of their base overclocking capabilities.

We found one X6800 which maxed out at 1900 FSB, and another that reached 2100 FSB, even though both overclocked with the right combination of multiplier and FSB to around 4GHz. There was no easy answer of the Revision or Stepping to explain these differences. It was also interesting that every 2MB Cache chip we tested reached over 2000 FSB, with our two E6300 reaching 2100 FSB.

The point is we can't tell you, as much as we would like to, why some Core 2 processors reach above 2000 FSB and why others won't go beyond 1800 at any multiplier - no matter how low. We wish we could, and when we do find answers to the question of which processors will do the magic 2000+ we will share them with you.

While we can't answer the processor issue, we are confident that the seriously reworked 680i chipset can take you wherever you want to go as an Intel Core 2 enthusiast. If you want a fast system that does most of the thinking for you, you have only to buy a 680i and SLI certified components. You can let the hardware make all your decisions for you and overclock the video card and memory. This can happen even at stock speed, or you can also overclock the CPU. For those "wannabee" enthusiasts this will be very appealing.

Hard Core enthusiasts often want to do it all themselves, and you can also do this with the 680i. In our own benchmarking we were able to turn off all the automatic overclocks generated by the 680i and dial in our own choices. Using this approach, performance was the most satisfying we have yet found with a Core 2 processor.

NVIDIA has made dramatic improvements in overclocking abilities with 680i. They have effectively moved the new chipset from the embarrassment of mediocre overclocking that characterized the 590 chipset to the 680i evolving into the best overclocking platform you can buy for Intel. When you add to this the proven features like dual x16 SLI video, FirstPacket, dual Gigabit Ethernet with Teaming, HD audio, and the full MediaShield storage array with dual RAID 5, you have a solid product that stands out from the crowd. The added option to run a physics video card with SLI is just delicious icing on the cake.

NVIDIA should also be congratulated for keeping one very significant feature, namely IDE. Intel may have been trying to drive the market to SATA in the 965+ICH8 chipset by leaving out IDE. The problem, of course, is you simply can't find the SATA optical drives you are supposed to buy to use on the 965 boards. Instead manufacturers are forced to add a chipset to support IDE devices on their 965 boards. Thank you, NVIDIA, for avoiding this same pitfall.

The NVIDIA 680i is the chipset we would choose for our own purchase right now. It is the best chipset for the Core 2 platform that we have tested. If you don't need or want all the high end features, the 600i family also offers the lower priced 650i SLI and 650i Ultra aimed at those looking for a more economical motherboard. We still expect ATI to release RD600 in the next few weeks - at least in limited release. It will feature dual x16 CrossFire for Intel Core 2. We are looking forward to reviewing those boards, but it will take some truly revolutionary performance to top the NVIDIA 680i motherboards. If you got the clear message we like the 680i, you would be reading us correctly.