Where Are The Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 Motherboards?

[cdfire]

The only issue I have with my 8800GTX in XP Pro is all black screenshots in UT2004. Other then that, it works great in XP.

 

[Smitty1705]

Gary -

Still no update from Gigabyte on the F4 bios? Do you have a new ETA for us on the review of this bios or any future bios releases that they are working on? With the lack of boards available and the lack of info they are giving you I'm starting to get impatient with them.

Thank you again for your efforts on trying to inform us though..

Smitty

 

[gvayl]

nevermind

 

[ALV7]

Would a Windows XP x64 OS work with this board??? coz i somehow have a copy i had since November of 2005 that i really didnt use.

any help or info would do me much help and besides it saves me time and money to by a new OS for my new Rig Im currently building hehehehe

 

[dlbetz]

Yes

 

[ALV7]

are you currently using the 64bit version of Windows XP in your system??? if so, are you currently having any minor problems with using it?? and if no, do you know some sites or forums that discuss about Windows XP 64bit in current high end systems???

anyways Thanks tho dlbetz

 

[dlbetz]

ALV7, Yes i did use win64 when i first got the board. I didn't have any issues except lack of driver support for my external components I.E. printers, scanners, ETC. cannon was the worst for driver support then I dont know about now. I ended up going and getting Vista Premium. Its ok Cant get it to overclock as well as XP and loads alot slower then XP but I dont have any driver issues yet. Yet being key word.

 

[ALV7]

oh cool tnx ^_^ i just needed to make use of this OS (so i could load up my rig finally) until i find the interest in going straight to Vista (thats when everything thing works)

 

[TheBeagle]

Good Easter Morning Mr. ALV7.

Since you are interested in a 64 bit Windows OS, may I suggest that you consider Vista 64 bit. Although the Vista OS is rather new, its support for 64 bit is far superior to WinXP-64. Microsoft didn't do a very good job of supporting XP-64, and the vendors did even a worse job of providing drivers for that OS.

However, Vista-64 is quite a different matter. Although I wouldn't personally go there right now on my new machine, I sure would consider it in the future, especially since it handles mega RAM memory in a MUCH better fashion. The bottom line seems to be if you're intent on using a 64 bit OS, then you likely won't be any worse off with Vista-64 than XP-64. This is primarily due to the fact that the development of drivers, etc for 64 bit Windows OSs, is going to focus on the new (Vista-64) OS, rather than a 6+ year old (WinXP-64) OS.

If I were a vendor and considering development of a 64 bit driver, I sure would have to think long and hard about dumping money into that old an OS (XP-64). Don't forget that the internal structure (kernel, etc) for the new Vista-64 is completely different than the one employed for the old XP-64 OS. If there's going to be development of a 64 bit driver for some product (and there surely will be such development) then it's most likely to be forward looking, not backward to an almost abandoned OS (XP-64). Think about that for a moment, and you'll see the $ logic of it all.

Either way, we all hope you get it working to your satisfaction. Enjoy. Happy and Blessed Easter to you and everyone. TheBeagle

 

[manguni]

this is my first post here ^_^

hopefully someone can help...

i have a Zalman 9700 and ocz memory cooler...

will it fit on a GA-N680SLI-DQ6 ???

cause the clearance area between the processor and the RAM slots are not very big...
i'm afraid when i install the zalman 9700, it will lie on top of the ram slots, and that way, i would not be able to install the ocz memory cooler...

any1 with a zalman 9700 and a GA-N680SLI-DQ6 got pics of their rig ???

if it doesn't fit...then i have to go with a SAD *commando*

thanks guys

 

[TheBeagle]

Hello Mr. Manguni.

There is approximately 3/4" of clearance between the closet edge of the first memory slot (with a Crucial Ballistic memory stick in it, with a heat spreader) to the front edge of the Zalman 9700 cooling fins. You will have to measure how much overhang is involved with the OCZ memory cooler beyond the front edge of the first slot in order to make that final evaluation. Since I don't have that type of memory, I can't give you a firm answer on that question. However, I do believe that some of the other forum contributors may well have that configuration, so you might want to scan some of the previous 5 or 6 pages to see what setup someone else is using. If you find that combo, send them a PM to inquire. Good luck, and hope that's of some help. TheBeagle

 

[manguni]

thanks a lot mr. TheBeagle...

do you have any pictures of your rig ??? did you install the zalman 9700 with the fan facing the memory slot ???

i've read that there's difficulty in installing the zalman 9700, which requires the removal of the bottom...

read some excellent reviews of this board...
good thing i didn't buy the troubled commando yet

thanks before...

 

[TheBeagle]

Hello Mr. Manguni.

I'll try to take a picture for you. Yes, the fan on the 9700 is facing the memory slots (BTW, that is the recommended direction of mounting). By mounting the 9700 with the fan facing the memory slots, the fan exhaust will then be drawn out the back of the case by your exhausting case fan.

It is NOT a problem mounting the 9700 on this board. DO NOT remove the bottom Crazy-Cool2 heatsink, as that is totally unnecessary to mount the 9700. Read back several pages in this thread, and you will find an explicit note written on April 2, 2007 by me which details just how to go about mounting the 9700 WITHOUT removing the bottom heatsink.

Enjoy your new rig. TheBeagle

 

[eklock2000]

Manguni,

Here are some pics of the 9700 on the DQ6

top... http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t275/eklock2000/Pic2.jpg
side... http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t275/eklock2000/Pic1.jpg
closeup... http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t275/eklock2000/Pic4.jpg
back... http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t275/eklock2000/Pic5.jpg

I had a lot of luck with this zalman bracket...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118219

...even though it says for the 7000 series coolers, it works great for the 9700 because the heights are so similiar.

Otherwise, search a few pages back for theBeagles tutorial on how to mod the 9700 backplate to work. Basically, you cut the four corners off because the crazy cool plate doesn't allow for anything else.

To theBeagle...I am very happy with the new system, purring along nicely. Thanks for all your help along the way.

EK2K

 

[TheBeagle]

Hello Mr. EKlock Man.

Those are some nice pics of your new board with the 9700 mounted on it. That Zalman bracket assembly is likewise a very good alternative for mounting that cooler, and presents a nice clean install. Best of luck with that rig! Enjoy. TheBeagle

 

[bravo36]

Good Morning All,

Nice discussion on this particular board. Now that you all have convinced some of us this is the way to go, could anyone please tell us where one of these could be found? I have searched high and low. It's hard to believe that they have disappeared from virtually every dealer/vendor on the entire Internet.

Was there a recall?

Thanks,

KB

 

[Curr]

No recall, just a very popular enthusiast board. It's one of the first 680SLI boards that has gotten across the board thumbs up to my knowledge, so people are snatching them up (rightly!).

 

[TheBeagle]

Good Morning Everyone.

I'm told that our friends over in Taiwan are busy making another batch of these boards in their little workshops, and that there should be a shipment to the States before too long. Considering how long we waited for the initial shipment to arrive, I suppose the second production run should be much easier (we can all hope for the sake of our colleagues that want one of these great boards). We will all keep a lookout for the arrival of the next batch and post any sightings here. TheBeagle

 

[ALV7]

speaking of the subject, how i got my board was kinda funny in a way. When i began (around 2 months ago) building my new computer piece by piece, i searched high and low for the very best motherboard in the market, looked at the Asus Striker Extreme, seemed like the surest deal at the time and yet there were alot of bad reviews about the board, dispite it have some cool reviews, the board still didnt catch my attention. Then one day out of the blue, i saw the Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6. Took a gander at it for a second then BAM! i chose the board, first for all its goodies, then second coz its a freaking kick ass board compared to some other highend boards.

And now when theirs hardly any vender selling the boards, it goes to show that this board really sold out, showing that this board can really do miracles.

Just wanna say congratulations to all of you cool people who bought this board, its well worth it!

 

[Andrei80]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum but I've been reading all your postings since the thread started.You guys pretty much convinced me to buy the gygabite GA-n680sli-DQ6 motheboard (was deciding between asus striker and gigabyte) and i am very pleased with my decision.The board is awesome,lots of features and great overclocking potential. I just built my 2nd system and I'm loving it (especially the board). I'm still a noobie

I do have one question though, hence the reason for my post. According to Gigabyte, the ram that i purchased is listed on the motherboard QVL - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066. The ram is rated at 2.2V so i raised up the voltage by adding 0.4V in BIOS (I flashed the bios to F3 version). Under the PC HEALTH STATUS option, Bios shows that the ram FAILED at 1.8V. IS THIS NORMAL? It kind of makes sense since i raised up the voltage, but i'm still a bit worried. So every other test shows as OK except the RAM. I ran memtest for about half a day and i don't get a single error (thank god). If I lower the voltage at .3V lets say instead of .4V, than the ram test shows as OK. So what do you guys think i should do?

 

[Curr]

Hello Andrei80,

Yes, that is the motherboards way of telling you that the DDR2 voltage is not 1.8V, it's not saying that the RAM failed, but just that the voltage you have set is "out of spec" for 1.8V even though that RAM is very happy at 2.2V (I have the Dominator version of the 1066 / 8500C5D). I wish we could turn that off, but alas, we just have to live with the red-flashy thing when on that page of the bios.

 

[Smitty1705]

Beagle

I'm not an expert on PC memory, so please excuse my ignorance on this..

So... if I buy the same Crucial memory you have (PC 8000) it's rated at 1000 speed wise?! Basically if the board is a 1066 board and capable of 1333 will memory rated at 1000 be fast enough? I know i have the terminology wrong and the numbers in the wrong place but I HOPE you get my point. If these boards are capable of 1333 FSB will your memory (which i'm about to hit buy on) be capable of these speeds down the road?

I hope these boards are back in stock soon! Anyone heard ANYTHING of an ETA by chance?

Thanks again for your help..

Smitty

 

[TheBeagle]

Hello Mr. Smitty.

The highest memory rating for this board is presently 1066. However, as with most other things associated with a high performance board, lots of components are destined to be OC'd, to some degree more or less. That is true with memory. Fortunately, this board allows you to unlink, via a BIOS setting, the memory speed from the CPU speed. At the higher CPU speed settings, you'll most likely want to use the unlinked, or even the "auto" setting for the memory speed.

Of course, you can presently buy some "super-speed" memory sticks from a few of the bleeding edge vendors, but the cost of those darlings is presently the value of a mortgage payment or two, or three! If you want to future-proof your memory purchase to some degree, and if you can afford it, then go with the fastest stuff you can get. Otherwise, the Crucial Ballistic sticks that I purchased will give you very good service. Best regards. TheBeagle

 

[justinburton]

Smitty,

Currently there is no memory that runs at 1333 mHz FSB. That is what the new quad cores coming out later this year will run. This new memory will be know as DDR3. I do believe the DQ6 supports DDR2 and DDR3, for the pins are the same size. Only the speed and quality of the memory is better.

About your first question PC-8000 runs at 1000mHz and that will be fast enough. True 1066mHz is PC-8500. The only benefit of having this high end memory is overclocking. I believe PC-6400 800mHz is the fastest memory rate because 800mHz Front side bus (FSB) is the fastest clock rate for a cpu that is covered under warranty.

 

[sd]

Is this baby gonna be around in a few weeks when the E6600 price comes down? I've been researching MBs for about 3 weeks now, and I think this is one.