Where Are The Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 Motherboards?

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Kaptdeath

Member
Jun 22, 2007
64
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Jaggerwild,

Hmmm, I tried and tried. I can't get the "NVStrap" tab to appear. This tab isn't pecular to 2.09 is it? (Perhaps it is a limitation of my video cards?) Thanks for the tips though.

The Kapt
 

justinburton

Member
Feb 5, 2007
122
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Mr. AK,

Only High Resolution gaming like 2560x1600 and 1920x1200 benefits from 3-way SLI. Many review prove this if you read them. Same with 3dmark06, 2 way SLI and 3-way SLI with the same cards will have the same score at 1280x1024, but at 2560x1600 and 1920x1200, 3-way will perform a lot better.

I do regret getting the third card, as it takes up another PCE slot, creates a lot more heat, and takes more power. In the future I will only do 2 way SLI.
 

MraK

Senior member
Oct 12, 2003
417
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0
Justinburton,

Thanks for your info regarding SLI as i do agree with you on the the topic of resolution, thats why i plan on getting a bigger monitor to benefit from SLI, heck maybe even Tri-SLI.
 

jaggerwild

Guest
Sep 14, 2007
430
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Originally posted by: Kaptdeath
Jaggerwild,

Hmmm, I tried and tried. I can't get the "NVStrap" tab to appear. This tab isn't pecular to 2.09 is it? (Perhaps it is a limitation of my video cards?) Thanks for the tips though.

The Kapt


Good morning all!

Mr. Kapt,
It maybe your cards are Lazar cut or just plain locked not sure? I usually try pocking around or google stuff to find what I'm looking for, that is why I said in the posting it may or may not work for others.
Try going back to the older version may help you out.......
Good day all:D
 

Blazer7

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,136
12
81
Hello guys,

GB has been quite busy this weekend and they've released new audio & SATA drivers for our board. The new audio driver is ver R1.92 and the new SATA driver is ver 1.17.36.00. The drivers are available for both revs of our board.

On a side note Realtek has released driver ver R1.94. I will post on how the R1.94 perform after I spend some more time with them.

There're also some new (leaked) nVidia beta drivers (175.80) over at expreview

Cheers :beer::cool:
 

Zdenal

Junior Member
Mar 26, 2008
12
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@Colin Gigabyte
- hello Colin, can you provide us some update(s) regarding the new board(s) with nforce 790 chipset? Or all infos are still "confidential"?

Thanks!
 

Blazer7

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,136
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It seems that GB did some work on the 790 as the board in this photo is slightly different that what I've seen in previous photos. For one the DIMM slots have been moved slightly away from the 1st PCI-E and that's a good thing as this may allow the use of RAM coolers like Corsair's Dominator and OCZ's XTC mem cooler. Some of the capacitors have been changed (purple ones) and the 12pin TPM header next to the 4th PCIE x16 slot has been removed.

On a side note Realtek's R1.94 function perfectly on the 680 but as always Realtek released yet another driver (R 1.95). What a surprise.
 

justinburton

Member
Feb 5, 2007
122
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You're right. Well at least they are doing something over there. I guess nVIDIA just release some new bios code to all motherboard makers of the 790i to fix some issues. I don't have the actual article link though.
 

gpalsi

Junior Member
Jun 9, 2008
3
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0
Hello everyone, I Argentina.p

My pc is as follows:
Micro: E1200 1.6GHz Celeron
Mother: Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 rev 1 - BIOS F5
Memory: 1GB 800MHz ST (future OCZ Reaper X 800 Cas 4)
etc. ...

I buy the mother with the Bios F2.
Problems adjustments CPU fan in the beginning and some bad readings of temperatures, led me to decide to update the BIOS to see F5. Pretty good up there.

The problem of adjusting speed of the fans of this system were resolved with bios f5, but the problems of bad readings of temperatures remain above all in the OS. Already the probe everest, cpu fan, easy tune 5 and 6 and can not find a program that read either the temp chipset.

Those who tested the Bios F6B I can not comment on whether tubieron problems.

I have a desire to overclock precisely why I have this micro, but without accurate readings of the temp will be imposbile.

PS: by the way, the chipset tells me 41 º without oc. And it's almost impossible to touch the finger for a long time because burning. How's that nomarl them to preguntop udstedes having this mother?.

greetings to everyone.
sorry if my English is bad: p jejeje


Thank you very much cordial greetings to all!.
Sorry if my English is bad: p
Gracias y un saludo!
 

Blazer7

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,136
12
81
Hello Mr gpalsi and welcome aboard!

You may want to try the F6b beta. You can find a link to it in one of Gary's posts on page 105. I've been using it since day 1 and had absolutely no problems with it. I know that this is a beta but it may be worth a shot.
 

gpalsi

Junior Member
Jun 9, 2008
3
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0
Originally posted by: Blazer7
Hello Mr gpalsi and welcome aboard!

You may want to try the F6b beta. You can find a link to it in one of Gary's posts on page 105. I've been using it since day 1 and had absolutely no problems with it. I know that this is a beta but it may be worth a shot.

Hello

Thank you for your welcome!

Ready! Because the probe and I'm using the F6b, found in the post by Gary, a teacher!
All ok for now, has been the OC for these sides.
I recognize all too well ... I have some problems even with the temperature readings ... NB's on everything, but you already gripping the hand ...
Greetings.

Un saludo!!!
 

MraK

Senior member
Oct 12, 2003
417
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Hello Everyone,

The rig that I have, I will be upgrading (see sig), before i leave it with my younger sister. Since i had this, I have not flashed the mb, i believe it is on an f2 bios.

My questions are:
1) Will Dual SLI GTX280s work ok with this board (based on what you guys know)
2) Do I still need to flash my bios for my board, if i am still on F2 to run on a q6700?
3) Since there will be few games (aside from supreme commander) that use up more than 3GB of memory, just so I could futureproof it for another year or 2, add 4 more gigs to make it 6GB? *I will install Vista into this rig*
4)Change my psu from 850W to 1000W to keep up with my motheroboard and all the other stuff???

I personally believe this board still has the power to be better:thumbsup:

Oh btw, for those who have read about me getting another rig, the money spent on upgrades for this rig is from my younger sister, basically I'm helping her out on what things to get, since she told me that she wants the computer (which is my current) to be up to par with my next build that I am planning to get soon.

Thanks in advance
 

GigabyteColin

Member
Mar 31, 2008
35
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Hi Guys,

Just a quick message. The 790i board has been delayed one week, so we are looking at mid July. The reason for the delay is due purely to scheduling.

Best Regards,
Colin
 

Blazer7

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,136
12
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Thanks Colin. We really appreciate the info.

@ MrAK

1) I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to go SLI with 2 GTX280. We know that the board is capable of even 3SLI (Thanks to Mr justinburton)
2) The F2 is the 1st official BIOS for this board. I'm using the F6b and it's definitely better so I suggest you go for it (Gary's post on page 105).
3) I do not know if 2x1GB + 2x2GB modules will work. Even if they do I do not know what will happen in terms of latencies and mem speed. If you'll be running Vista 64 you'll benefit from the extra mem and even if you can't use all 4 DIMMs you'll still have 4GB and 2 free DIMM slots. With prices of DDR2 being what they are you can always go for an additional 4GB kit for a total of 8GBs. That will be enough for another 2 years or even more.
4) If you'll be going for 2xGTX280 a 1000W PSU may come in handy. If you go for it do not go for a cheap one. Just make sure to get a quality PSU. After all you'll be plugging a lot of money on it.
 

MraK

Senior member
Oct 12, 2003
417
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Originally posted by: Blazer7
Thanks Colin. We really appreciate the info.

@ MrAK

1) I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to go SLI with 2 GTX280. We know that the board is capable of even 3SLI (Thanks to Mr justinburton)
2) The F2 is the 1st official BIOS for this board. I'm using the F6b and it's definitely better so I suggest you go for it (Gary's post on page 105).
3) I do not know if 2x1GB + 2x2GB modules will work. Even if they do I do not know what will happen in terms of latencies and mem speed. If you'll be running Vista 64 you'll benefit from the extra mem and even if you can't use all 4 DIMMs you'll still have 4GB and 2 free DIMM slots. With prices of DDR2 being what they are you can always go for an additional 4GB kit for a total of 8GBs. That will be enough for another 2 years or even more.
4) If you'll be going for 2xGTX280 a 1000W PSU may come in handy. If you go for it do not go for a cheap one. Just make sure to get a quality PSU. After all you'll be plugging a lot of money on it.

1)just refreshing my memory, the new GTX280 will be a single gpu videocard right? so tri SLI with 3 GTX280s is possible?
2)quick question base on what i saw, with the new bios we could upgrade to a 1333mhz cpu?
3)so my safest bet is getting not 4 but just 2GB of memory for this board?
4)sad to know that my current 850W most likely would not handle Dual GTX280s
 

Blazer7

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,136
12
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Originally posted by: MrAK

1)just refreshing my memory, the new GTX280 will be a single gpu videocard right? so tri SLI with 3 GTX280s is possible?
2)quick question base on what i saw, with the new bios we could upgrade to a 1333mhz cpu?
3)so my safest bet is getting not 4 but just 2GB of memory for this board?
4)sad to know that my current 850W most likely would not handle Dual GTX280s


Hello MrAK,

1) The GTX280 will be a single GPU card. I believe that one could use 3 of them for 3SLI on this board but I can't see the reason why. The price/performance ratio for anything past std SLI is simply ridiculous. Not to mention that in order to see some difference you'll need to run at 1920x1200 and above with everything turned on (AA, AF etc) and still this won't justify the overall cost of the cards and the monitor if you need one. More to it you'll need driver support for 3SLI and this can prove to be quite a pain in the @$$. I believe that you should go for one, two if you can afford them but even two should be considered overkill. The initial price for the GTX280 will be quite high as supply would be scarce at the beginning. If nVidia?s yields are as low as is rumored then expect a single GTX280 to cost as much as 600$ at launch time. Do the math. It ain?t worth it. If you are willing to spend the money you should consider a brand-new 790 board instead of 3SLI for sure.

2) Since the F4 official, our board supports all 1333 Core2Duo 65nm cpus. These are the E6540, E6550, E6750 & the E6850. These are the only 1333 procs that are board?s gonna support. AFAIK support for any of the new or upcoming cpus with FSB 1333 or 1600 is out of the question.

3) I didn?t say that. What I said was that there is the possibility that the board will work with 2x1GB+2x2GB sticks but I do not know how well and at what mem speed/settings. It is always better to run 4 identical sticks. Mixing different size/speed/brand sticks, or even different revs, will often cause incompatibility issues. In case that the board won?t work with 2x1+2x2 then you?ll be stuck with 4GBs, BUT, with current DDR2 prices you can always get a 2nd 4GB kit for a total of 8GBs (4x2GB sticks). Our board?s specs are for a max of 8GBs so this is possible. You should also have in mind that you may run into incompatibility issues even with 4 identical sticks. The element of risk is always involved when populating all 4 DIMM slots except from the case that GB have already tested the specific mems and they?ve added them in their QVL list. Still, with so many different DIMMs out there QVL lists are always limited.

4) A quality 850W PSU may be capable of running dual GTX280 cards. nVidia list some 750W PSUs as capable of running dual 9800GTX cards so it may be possible. Still I would say that it would be a good move to get at least a 1000W PSU if you?re planning on running 2 GTX280 cards. These babies will cost a lot and it would be best to play it safe.

nVidia : Certified SLI-Ready Power Supplies

If I were in your shoes I would wait for the actual launch of the GTX280 and then keep an eye on the early reviews to get a better understanding of the power requirements of the GTX280 for both single card and SLI setups.
 

MraK

Senior member
Oct 12, 2003
417
0
0
thanks for the tips Blazer, as you already know this is for my younger sister and that I am currently building a new gaming rig for myself. I too am waiting to see the results of how the GTX2xxs and 4xxxs do and then decide which I will go for. Right now my sister has around $800 to spend on her future rig (which is mine currently until i get my new build up) but may add some cash to her budget, its just after what she had seen (the specs for my new rig) she insisted on upgrading to whatever this board is capable of doing.
 

MraK

Senior member
Oct 12, 2003
417
0
0
Before I surrender my rig to my younger sister, I was planning to upgrade the processor to an e6850, with my current bios at f2, could my board still accept the cpu without a problem?

need to know asap!
 

Blazer7

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,136
12
81
Hello MrAK,

I'm running an e6850 @stock and I'm very pleased with it. You need to update your BIOS to at least ver F4 official for this proc to work but from what I can remember the F4 did had some issues. I strongly suggest that you use the latest beta (F6b) as it seems to be the best BIOS released for our rig yet.

Regards

Blazer
 

Blazer7

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,136
12
81
Hello guys,

You may want to keep an eye on this thread over @ Video Cards and Graphics.

Latest Forceware: 177.35 WHQL / 177.39 Beta (Updated)

So far that thread is only 4 pages long but with time it will grow so you may wanna read it from the start now that you can and get a glimpse of what's happenings with nVidia drivers. You should always check the 1st page as jaredpace updates it frequently and the last pages to keep up with the latest drivers and driver related news from nVidia.

Right now it seems that the 177.35 drivers can run on older hardware ( GeForce 8 & 9 series cards) with the addition of a moded inf file. nVidia have also released ver 8.6.12 physX drivers which seems to be working fine with the 177.35 bringing physX capabilities to older cards without the need of a discrete physX card. The 8.6.12 physX drivers also work with Ageia physX cards.

Right now nobody can verify 100% that these drivers really bring physX support to GeForce 8 & 9 series cards. The only cards that feature official physX support are the new GT200 and maybe the new 9800GTX+. In time nVidia will release new drivers that will officially enable physX support for GeForce 8 & 9 series.

So for now whoever uses the 177.35+modded inf+ 8.6.12 physX drivers like yours trully does so on his own risk

You can find links for the latest drivers (WHQL, betas, leaked betas & physX) for Win XP32/64 & Vista 32/64 on the 1st and last page.

Enjoy. :beer::cool:
 

Kaptdeath

Member
Jun 22, 2007
64
0
0
Blazer7,

I'll have to check that out as it looks like the XFX 8800 GTs are "fused" or "lazer cut" such that the NVStrap capabilities cannot be enabled :(. I would like to see more performance than I think that I will get by bumping the GPU speed a few %.

I am at 175.16.

The Kapt'n
 

Blazer7

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2007
1,136
12
81
Hello guys, It's been a while since anybody posted here.

Ref my last post on the GT200 drivers + modded inf. Take notice that my DPC latencies went in the 2500-3100 range with those and this may result in audio and/or video playback stuttering so take care.

On a side note Realtek's latest (ver R1.96) appear to be quite stable and functional as their predecessors. I'm also trying GB's easy tune 6 utility but not all option are active. Anybody else noticed that?
 

lopri

Elite Member
Jul 27, 2002
13,215
598
126
Hi.

This has been such a long journey, and I'd like to thank everyone involved in this thread.

Said that, I am kinda doubtful there are many people who will find this thread useful at this point. You guys can certainly make a new thread discussing matters different from "Where Are The Gigabyte GA-N680I-DQ6 Motherboards?".

I will lock this thread tomorrow. If anyone wants to leave a final word, feel free to do so. ;)