Review: EVGA NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI - Mainboard - HEXUS.net

BIOS thoughts

Jumping straight to the adjustments possible.

Item	Adjustment
CPU bus frequency	100 to 625MHz in 1-2MHz steps
CPU multiplier	6x to 60x in 1x steps
DRAM frequency/multis	DDR2 400-1400MHz, increments vary
HT reference clock (SPP-MCP)	200 to 500MHz in 2MHz steps
HT multiplier (MCP-SPP)	1x to 5x in 1x steps
HT reference clock (MCP-SPP)	1x to 5x in 1x steps
CPU voltage	0.8V to 1.6V in 0.00625V steps
DRAM voltage	1.800V to 2.5V in 0.1V steps
FSB termination voltage	1.2 to 1.4V in 0.1V steps
PCI-Express frequency, slot 1	100MHz to 200MHz in 1MHz steps
PCI-Express frequency, slot 2	100MHz to 200MHz in 1MHz steps
NB voltage	1.2 to 1.4V in 0.1V steps
Intel Speedstep Control/EIST	Yes

Discussion

NVIDIA isn't selling the LT version of the 680i on its overclocking functions, as they did with its big brother. Instead it vaunts the "Great Overclocking" and says you can push the limits of the FSB. Hmm.

Although it may not have all the extra technology that its big brother has, it still has the high-end underpinnings of the 680i SLI. All you're missing is the third PCIe graphics/physics slot, a surplus Ethernet connector, and a couple of USB ports, really.

Below are a number of photographs detailing some of the options present.

BIOS Images

Overclocking

The nForce 680i SLI managed a stable FSB of over 500MHz. Our sample LT version however topped out at 360MHz (1440MHz quad-pumped). We managed to get the board to POST and boot at 400MHz, but it wasn't stable in general Windows usage. We also managed to get the system to simply POST at 450MHz.

nTune

Just like its big brother, the nForce 680i LT SLI also comes with a new version of nTune. What's special about this is the way that it's now fully interfacing on these new NVIDIA motherboards. Previously nTune would only show a couple of board settings, like FSB. On the 680i boards, though, every setting and readout is relayed through nTune for overclocking on the fly.