Where Are The Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 Motherboards?

[AstroDogg]

Originally posted by: Flankerspanker
Ok, so bottom line if I want to buy a board & processor now, and then later drop-in upgrade to a new quad-core "1333FSB" processor without having to know anything about overclocking, then the Striker is still the better choice?

Tangentially... (noob mode on)
(1) What do the words "native," and the "over" in "overclocking" actually mean?
If the DQ6 claims native 333 Base, isn't 325 max then some sort of a bug or failure to meet spec, rather than an "over"-clock? Or is "overclocked" just another word for "base speed?" I.e. if 325 is overclocking, what was the default, non-overclocked speed?

(2) Is the multiplier always understood to be 4x? Does this have anything to do with there being four cores? Because 4x seems to apply also to dual core.
Is this guy using a 7x multiplier, or is "CPU Clock Ratio" something completely different?
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=134000

(3)How can we tell if a quoted bus speed includes the multiplier or not? Until now, I always thought the suffix "FSB" implied the multiplier was included, e.g. "1333FSB", while "MHz" meant that it was not, e.g. "333 MHz."
(/noob)

Thanks for the prompt reply..

1) Native: means what a processor or memory runs at defualt with no tuning or overclocking implied. Overclocking means anychanges from defualt that speed up the hardware higher than rated(or native) specs.

2) I have not seen a 4x multiplier in years myself and no it is not alway 4x or any certain rate. The multiplier is hard-set into the design specs of each processor. Each model has it own multiplier rate and that will always be the same(e.g. Lets say a E6600 proc has a default multiplier of 9 and a rated speed of 2.4Ghz. Then all E6600's will have the same default(native) multiplier of 9. 266x4=1066fsb. Four being the Pentium4 quad pumped FSB, and then 266x9=2394core speed. 9 of course is the cpu clock ratio).
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9S8
These new Core2 Duo cpu's have an unlocked multiplier(never done by Intel(retail) in the P3 and P4 except with the recent P4 D 955 and 965 and engineering dies). Meaning: you can change it with a motherboard that offers that feature. The Core2 Duo processors(procs) allow a min of 6 or max setting of 11 changing of the 'FSB to Core Speed' ratio(cpu clock ratio). The silicon die(chip) is capable of so fast of a core speed depending on core stepping and the quality of the die this will vary from unit to unit. Luck of the draw will get you a good one or a poor chip, This only applies to overclocking as all retail chips will do what they are rated at. How much it overclocks for any given model depends on luck. Intel has a long history of the lowest die's being able to reach speeds as high as the top model with over clocking in the same series or close to it(this is about 90% true). This is not true with Amd you get what you pay for.

3) If it don't say overclock it is default(native). Front Side Bus F.S.B. is the speed that the processor comunicates with the northbridge.

Conclusion: Any of the 680i motherboards are going to support 1333 the problems they may incure now with the 1333 engineering chips, Will not be an issue on thier retail release of the proc. If your board has a problem return it for a new one but I dont see this happening with any of the boards.

I hope this answers some of your issues.

 

[AstroDogg]

Originally posted by: Flankerspanker
(2) Is the multiplier always understood to be 4x? Does this have anything to do with there being four cores? Because 4x seems to apply also to dual core.
Is this guy using a 7x multiplier, or is "CPU Clock Ratio" something completely different?
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=134000

(/noob)

Thanks for the prompt reply..

I just relized what your real meaning was here and where you were getting the 4x from. Intel with the introduction of the P4 started a process called quad pumping the fsb. The first P4's had a bus speed of 100 this is then quad pumped by the processor and the out come is a processor that can theoreticly achive a front side bus speed of 400. The P4's also come with a bus speed of 133, a few 166, 200 and now the 266 and in the near future 333; this results in FSB speeds of 533, 667, 800, 1066 and the 1333. Bus speed is not the same as front bus speed nor is it the same as the multiplier ratio(cpu clock ratio).

The bus speed(not the front side bus speed) times the mutiplier will give you the core speed.

P.S. Asking questions that make you smarter isnt being a noob(knob) it may make you a newb but not a noob.

 

[cdfire]

Hi All, New poster, long time reader. I have been watching this thread for weeks. I know theres allot of people who use raid and like to OC there pc's, but I was wondering if Gary or anyone who has this board can tell me if without the raid and oc-ing is this board stable out of the box? For starters I just want a board that works at stock speeds without issues and then after a while and a few BIOS updates, maybe try my hand at oc-ing, of which I have never done before. Basically a board that runs good at stock without goofy issues like my GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 REV 3.3 BIOS F9, which seems the SATA ports like to go to sleep after a while (programs load fast when first booted on pc, but then after using the pc for a little bit of time programs load slower then the comcast turtles), but leaves the door open for tweaking fun when I get confortable doing such. Thanks in advance for any such info.

 

[Execration]

Hi I just joined the forum so I could send you guys some info. I received mine and they wont accept any heatsinks that require a back plate on the back side of the m/b. The Silent Pipe in one big heatsink back there. There is the 4 holes that go through the m/b, but the back plate would have to sit up on the heatsink which is about 1/4" thick.

 

[Execration]

Oh and the zalmann has a back plate, looks like I will end up getting the arctic cooler 7 which is what I use now on my p4 3.6..

 

[Gary Key]

Originally posted by: Execration
Oh and the zalmann has a back plate, looks like I will end up getting the arctic cooler 7 which is what I use now on my p4 3.6..

Remove the backplate and the attached heatsink above the I/O panel, really cannot tell any differences in cooling with it off.

 

[TheBeagle]

I mounted a Zalman 7700 on a GA-965P-DQ6 which as the same type of back plate. I had to carefully cut the four corners off the Zalman plastice bottom mounting plate with a sharp knife. Then I used the cut off parts (with embedded nuts) to secure the top mounting unit. It worked very well, you just have to be patient, have a sharp knife, and keep your fingers out of the way of the knife blade. Contrary to our colleague Gary's opinion, I would NOT advise removing the underside back plate - since there is no need to do so. However, if you're going to leave the Gigabyte back plate in place, make damn sure you use 5mm mounting studs on your case, instead of the 3mm ones. Only the 5mm studs will give you enough clearance to mount the board without hitting the case mounting plate. Enjoy. TheBeagle

 

[AstroDogg]

Won't using 2mm higher studs give problems with the backplate? My Thermaltake Xaser III A2000 has always been very tight in the alignment of the backplate.

I personally will be removing all heatpipes and going with high flow after market coolers. I think the heatpipes is just another added pricey extra I wished was an option you didnt have to pay for.

 

[TheBeagle]

It doesn't usually affect the backplate. However, if you have a card that has extra plastic below the contact pins, you will likely have to take a very fine file and CAREFULLY reduce that extra material so that the card can seat deep enough into the slot, thus allowing the riser bracket of the card to be able to be secured into the backplate of the case. Just remember to be CAREFUL when you are filing down the extra material below the contact pins! TheBeagle

 

[TheBeagle]

Hello To Gary! It's now 11:50 PM, EST. Did the review editor for the article go home? TheBeagle

 

[cdfire]

Well I guess noob questions are not welcome. Oh well look forward to teh review anyways.

 

[AstroDogg]

cdfire I believe you asked for owners of this board to respond to your question. That may be hard since the first orders of this board were just sold a couple days ago making it hard for anyone to have them in hand yet and running.

Well anyone seriously into raid will buy a Tru hardware supported Raid card. Raid seems to be the last thing on the bios updates list of perfection. Get them up and running and thats what you live with most of the first year of the board and the final raid tweaks seem to come at the end of the bios updates.

I think any of the 680i boards are going to beable to run out of the box. As you stated this is a favorite site of overclockers and gamers alike. The reviews are solid and not rushed resulting in accurate ratings. It dont do any good to rush out a review and in the next week or two the board manufactors come out with a bios or two that totally turn the board around and nobody ever knows it because the review is already done. Gary has a great deal of stress I'm sure trying to comunicate with several Tech and R&D departments and probley does more for the sales of thier products than he's credited for. While all the time being fair to us with uninfluenced opinions or leanency of the manufactures. Wow what was I talking about oh ya the compitition seems to be very close with the 680i chipset the boards. The differnt manufacters target differt users and that is mainly what you should focus your purchase on. Ask yourself are you going to be streaming video across the intenet/lan, or a massive number of drives for storage, or running windows based applications or just some internet surfing and/or gaming? the different boards are targeted at different groups of users. I'm looking for the most reliable power and overclocking potential for a gaming rig. The reference boards have more features than I'll ever use. So based on that I should be buying the Asus Striker but the price is outlandish to me when I have never paid over 250 for a motherboard and I have alway bought flagship boards. I mean the motherboard is the heart of your system It souldn't be the cheapest part, But it shouldn't be no where near a half a thousand dollars either. Lets face it you can buy a complete budget pc with monitor that would allow you to game online for that much. The lifetime warranty on the EVGA board is a hard thing for me to pass-up, But on the other hand personally I have only ever had 1 mobo fail and it was self induced(when inserting ddr dont let anyone tell you its imposible to mount it in backwards with both ends locked a thin board and spread out mounting holes and being upside down in a tight spot is all it takes)
This board seems to have the same troubles the other 680i boards have had. Which is whats causing all the delay. But I think Gigabyte is smart working the problems to a min before releasing it.If you want the most relieble boards now I'd tell you to buy one of the first boards out with the 680i chip. They have had the most time to get the bios straight. Oh Oh I'm staring at a Striker Sales page right now..

 

[AstroDogg]

Originally posted by: TheBeagle
It doesn't usually affect the backplate. However, if you have a card that has extra plastic below the contact pins, you will likely have to take a very fine file and CAREFULLY reduce that extra material so that the card can seat deep enough into the slot, thus allowing the riser bracket of the card to be able to be secured into the backplate of the case. Just remember to be CAREFUL when you are filing down the extra material below the contact pins! TheBeagle

Why would 2mm effect Pci-e and Pci cards but not the backplate? When the backplate is an exact fit and the analog audio sockets need to fit into the holes in the backplate. They fit tightly and have no room to move around one way or the other. You would have to remove the backplate all together or take the dremel after it. My case forces me to push down on the audio sockets to poke them thru the holes in the backplate there is not studs it just has risers built into the mounting suface, there is no way the board can raise up 2mm and still fit in the backplate. I have yet to see a backplate with adjustable positioning in any case not even in a case with a removable tray.

Why do you have to use the backplate with the Zalman at all it has a front plate that will help in the aid of board warpage especially when your talking about the 7000 and 8000 series that are low profile where most of its weight isn't extented away from the board. I wouldnt even worrie about this with the 9500 but the 9700 may be a problem depending if the stock back cooler gives any kind of support to stengthen the board from flex. The 9700 drops a few more degrees C over the CNPS9500 it may be hard to not go with the bigger is better theory when Newegg is selling them for practically the same price, but the lower profile of the 9500 will certianly blow more air across the stock heatpipe sink as it exits the case thru the mandatory rear exhaust fan(s). Starting with the Intel Prescott it is also mandatory to have a side fan. I like one blowing air under the video card and one blowing directly on the memory. I guarantee you with this setup you'll have more than enough air blowing across the heatpipe. The farther away the psu is from the cpu HS the better as it can cause an air flow disruption of the tunnel effect thru the CNPS9500 and 9700. This can only be acomplished the best with a full size tower case. An exhaust fan in the top of the case and 1 or two fans in the front of the case blowing on the drives. I have seen a case where the psu is in a compartment at the bottom rear of the case this setup maybe the best way to go. If the floor of the motherboard area doesn't restrict air to the bottom card of a SLI setup on a two slot wide card exhausting out the rear of the case. Remember these cards really need three slots of room making a two slot wide card use the third slot to get a clean flow of air. this is truely the ideal airflow all the heat exhausting immediately out the rear from the cpu, northbridge, video card(s) and powersupply. none of the hot air swirling around inside the case. What little heat is left in the case will be extracted out the fan in the top. Now your ready for some serious air cooled over clocking.I always use aluminum cases I have never put my hand on an aluminum case and had it feel warm to the touch its always cool to cold. This is not so with a steel case they can get quite warm and stay warm never cooling off holding heat rather than dispursing it like an aluminum case will. Supposedly this make no differance at all in overclocking and doesnt effect the air temp inside the case according to some overclocking experts but does a case with a surface temp 30F-40F degrees cooler makes sense to you.

My thoughts are still with Gary's remove the back cooler plate all together it is not needed. There isn't any air movement back there anyway and the heatpipe is more likely to distribute heat to the rear than it is to remove it.

 

[AstroDogg]

Oh I forgot I got the call back from excaliberpc at California's closing time and they said they were going to cancel the order. He said something about wavering shipping on my order. I didn't quite understand.
I questioned him about matching lowest price on the EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR(lifetime) he's calling me back monday now. Looks like I'm going this way and with the money I save I'm getting a raptor drive. Oh and for your convienence I spotted the Zalman CNPS9700 at newegg for 54 dollars.

 

[Murderlove]

@AstroDogg:

You stated that you were going to replace the heatpipes on the board, and replace them with aftermarket coolers. Are you going to do the same with the EVGA board if you're going to buy that one?

If so which aftermarket coolers will you be using then, for the North and Southbridge etc.?

I do hope that these coolers will also be available in Europe

Thanks

 

[AstroDogg]

Well thermaltake makes a mini blower style chipset cooler A1899.
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/2005/coolers/chipset/a1899.htm
Don't forget to click where to buy at the top of the page.
I love this cooler the blower style fan moves air entirely across the the sink hits every where with great force. No deadspots like in the center of a conventional fan. Which is the worst thing because you want to cool the center the most its the hottest. So that is why this cooler has been my choice for the last six years. Buy two because in time it will get noisy and drive you nuts give it away or throw it out its not worth your sanity. Its not brushless or BB but works awesome. Ballbearing has many downfalls im not going to go into(radio noise). If you know any thing about the pyhsics of hydrodyne buying a bushing fan won't bother you. Thermaltake only states its life will last a year but I have gotten twice that with extreem overclocking on the hottest chipset to date. For a while in the the development of the chipset drivers it would run up to 80C. I only have one left out of three. One locked up an good reason to buy two and one got to noisey they both ran for two years. Tthe current unit has been running over two years now and seems great but the other two were great the day before they puked too. Man I really hope I can find the thermaltake A1899 again I can literally blow dry my hair with this thing, No punn. They have an aluminum base so if I can find a copper base this time and use the blower on it. Altough I never had any problem with the aluminum base on my IC7-G 875P board. It has three speeds silent, barly audiable, and crazy.
I had these ordered from excaliberpc but was canceled with the motherboard
http://www.excaliberpc.com/Cooler_Maste...RR-NCW-L4E1-GP/partinfo-id-570348.html
If I cant find that model I'll be looking for something 100% copper. Zalman makes a gpu heatpipe cooler, but I think that will be to big to fit into this area. I really cant make a desision till I have the board and see how exactly it mounts and the spacings, But the general plan is to put the blower on a copper sink. If i do go with the EVGA I may not want to use a thermal compound as this would probley void the lifetime warranty forever. So that would leave the crystal orb and the ice products to look at next. Most chipset coolers are aluminum. Try to find a copper base.
These looks interesting
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835116018
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556037323.html
The striker has dropped in price so I may go with it now. On the striker I know for a fact I wont use the heat pipe. I don't like the way the heat pipe coolers are facing so they surly would be pulled off. Looks like it relies on air flowing thru the psu for cooling. The EVGA would get tweaked and tested, but probley taken off also. I like the heatpipe on the Gigabyte the best and it maybe salvageable. Read the edit I did a few posts back. I would try that before I pulled it. I think the gigabyte could be made to work. Needs air directly on the northbridge some how though. I doubt the snap on optional cooler that it comes with would move the amount of air to make me happy since they are made to be silent.
Overclocking on a hot chipset useally fails at the northbridge and with this chipset there is no doubt thats going to be tru. So removing heat from the chip as fast as possible is going to critical to over clock this board well. This will require a large amount of air directly on the chip cooler itself not 8 inches away on the end of a heatpipe. If a high cfm fan can be fitted dirctly to the fins of the northbridge we would be in buisiness. but I cant list parts till I have the board and can see what will or will not work.

Maybe Gary can contribute to attaching a high cfm fan directly to the northbridge chip's stock cooler. How exactly does the cooler mount to the back. Maybe provide us a pic of this. Is it flat against the board? does it have plastic pins and springs? Could it be mounted with threaded studs and washers securely to the board with out shorting or crushing anything?

EDIT
Don't let the rated cfm fool you on the A1899. I do not understand this rating at all. Maybe thats the rating at a low noise setting. I can't believe the amount of force that comes from this fan on high is only 3.5cfm. Hooking this fan up to a motherboard fan pin with temp control set to run at fullspeed as soon as the cpu warms up from entering 3d apps is the best solution as it is to loud on full speed for relaxing surfing of the net and to much of a pain to reach the pci slot controller everytime you go into or out of a 3d program. In the summer I needed it on high to still game at highest clock.
These prices are not the cheapest I could find they were just the first place from a google search or a online store page I already had open.

 

[Arctucas]

I have followed this thread from the beginning, eagerly anticipating Gary's review. It appears that Gigabyte's 680i offering is not much different from all the others (except for the backup BIOS and four Ethernet ports). I am not particularly impressed with this board, so I bought a Striker ($338.55 USD shipped).

 

[justinburton]

REVIEW FOR DQ6 FROM ANANDTECH POSTED AT http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2936. THANKS GARY!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[justinburton]

By the way Arctucas, the DQ6 also has an extra normal PCI-66 slot and superior cooling than the other 680i boards. The striker is pretty nice but way too pricey and missing the 3rd pci slot. The striker does have the power and reset button on the board and error checking feature, but missing the 2 ethernet ports...

 

[Murderlove]

@ AstroDogg

Thanks for your reply and information. I think I'll stick to my Abit AW9D-Max for now. Perhaps when DFI will launch their board I might upgrade to the 680I chipset.

I'm pretty scared to remove those heatpipes, afraid I'll loose warranty on it. And I've also never removed a North or Soutbridge Chipset fans. But yea, if I were to replace them I would defenitly buy this one, for Both North and South:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835116018

or this one:
http://www.excaliberpc.com/Cooler_Maste...RR-NCW-L4E1-GP/partinfo-id-570348.html

However, I'm afraid that they'll interfere with my CPU cooler, Zalman 9700 and my Graphic card, 8800GTS. Especially the first one looks really big.

I do want to remove the heatpipes on my current mobo, Abit AW9D-Max, but like I said, too afraid. Unlike the other boards, the DFI 680I doesn't have the heatpipes, so it would be a lot easier for me I think. Easier as in: "I would dare to remove those North and Soutbridge Chipset fans". I really don't know if it's even that difficult to remove(it does look so to be honest).

Anyway, I'll wait for DFI and see if have the guts to remove the fans

Thanks AstroDogg and thank you Gary for your review!

 

[TheBeagle]

Hello Murder Man. I should have the board and a 9700 to plop on it by Wednesday. I'll let you know if there's a problem getting it all to work correctly. TheBeagle

 

[Murderlove]

Hello Beagle,

I have no doubt that a 9700 will fit the board, I was/am afraid that if I would place for example this chipset fan for both the North and Southbridge:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835116018

that the new chipset fan would interfere with the 9700's fin and a huge graphic card like the 8800gts. Perhaps not enough room between them.

But please let me know if everything will work correctly.

 

[TheBeagle]

You got it Murder Man!

Look for a posting on Wednesday evening - unless, of course, God calls me by then; OR, the UPS screws up and doesn't deliver the parcel as scheduled. However, and with no disrespect to our other forum colleagues, I would suggest that you NOT screw with the heatpipe assemblies that have been designed and engineered by Gigabyte for this board.

Think about it, do you really think that folks like Gigabyte, with their collective level of experience and expertise, would just Willy-Nilly produce this board with a thermal solution that's not worth a damn? Sure, there are lots of folks out there that are ALWAYS looking for the "greener pasture." Well, you and I both know the true story about that crap.

Unless you intended to push this board to the absolute outer limits of performance, aka "the true bleeding edge," then stay with the Gigabyte design and equipment, and find thermal solutions that are compatible with the manufacturer's equipment. Again, with no disrespect to our forum colleagues, some folks never seem to get enough. In the service there were always a couple of guys that had to mess with the ordinance, and sooner or later they blew themselves up.

What the hell good is a system that runs like a raped ape, but crashes with regularity, and has its life shortened exponentially. As I said, THINK ABOUT IT! As Always, TheBeagle

 

[Arctucas]

Justin,

The cooling may be somewhat better, but, with the CrazyCool backplate it seems some modification is necessary for most after market coolers. As to the 3rd PCI slot, I can't really think what I would use it for? And anyway, who needs four ethernet ports? By the way, I just checked ZZF, the DQ6 is up to $369.99 USD (in stock).

 

[AstroDogg]

That seems like pretty strong words. But you have no idea what your talking about beagle. If your implieing my machine runs like crap or I dont know how to overclock your sadly mistaken, and to implie that Gary doesnt know what hes doing just seems stupid to me, And thats what I think about IT. Now I maybe nobody or at least seem like it, But switching on my first comp over 28 years ago and I'm not talking no play-toy like a commador64 but a real PC. I think will arguable grant me some knowledge. If I'm playing in a heated battle of Battlefield2 and my gamebox crashes or studders or loads up this is not acceptable in my house. So to accuse my equipment of not being as sound or solid performing as what you use is again ignorent. When in fact I'll bet mine will not only out perform yours but also run longer without a problem because I obviously pay more attention to the fine print then say someone like yourself. Improving the cooling above a manufactures guidline is a choice and if you chose not to then simply state what you are going to do or did do. To try and influence the action of other with lies and accusations is discrediting, You chose what you want to be knowen for. I believe people have the intelligence to make thier own decisions with correct and the right amount of information collected and presented. If this is not true then they shouldn't/wouldn't be in this forum looking for help/information on what they will do in the future. That is what forums are for after all discussing information, sharing secrets and insights.

P.S. Gigabyte is a buisiness needing to make sales to stay in buisness, and if that means standing on thier head preaching Leo Laporte how-to's then they'll do it. Just like any buisiness would. I think adding a little eye-candy to make a board sell is not beyond a manufacturer's realm of do's, And it would be ignorent to think otherwise. Have you ever thought the motherboard's box that you throw in the garage or the garbage after 10 minutes or maybe putting 4 giga eithernet ports on one board or 4 bios chips instead of a port 80 LED as overkill or more color on the board than Technicolor has in its studio just to make it more appealing.
I'm not out to bash any products or person's here, But come-on you think your not nieve then think again. Your opinion is your opinion and I'll respect it till it incompasses myself or some poor sap that doesn't understand it or can't aurgue as a guidline to thier job security. If you disagree then good for you thats your choice don't get angry and start bashing me from behind a curtain and pointing your finger nowhere.
To simply answer your absurd question yes I do think Gigabyte will slap on something thats not worth the spit that polished it to make some sales.

And beagle how many cpu's have you popped/burnt out fried from overclocking or not-overclocking and where is the proof that it shortens life my 2.8bP4 is over five years old and in my moms pc now and still clocked to the gills and Her Celeron D is in my Dads PC clocked to an incrediable 3.8 from 2.4 and my old box is running 3.96 from a 3.0cP4 and soon my sister will be getting my dads old 2.0 celeron that clocks up to 3.1 all without crash EVER all on air and all well over 2 years old. How old is you cpu how long does it need to last? 5 years 10 years? Really?? If your not overclocking you need a new cpu every year to stay competitive if you disagree your not the best in your clan or they arent very competitive. Do you have a processor in a system that is 5 years old that you use everyday as a desktop? I personally have never burried a componet due to wear, time or overclocking with the exception of disc drives before WD came to our rescue with reliable drives, actually I still use that too it just runs in pio 4 mode(ata33).