- Monday, 16 November 2009
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My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me - Disraeli
Nvidia 680i chipset fails future-proof test
IT HAS LONG BEEN rumoured on Internet forums, but now a moderator at EVGA forums has appeared to confirm that Nvidia's Nforce 680i chipset fails to support all 45nm processors from Intel.
In a weird flashback to Nforce4 SLI shenanigans, with its lack of compatibility with the Pentium D 820, the tide has now turned on the Nforce 680i.
It seems Nvidia ran into some compatibility problems with upcoming Intel processors. It declined our request for a comment on the matter earlier today.
Given Intel's less-than-stellar history with Socket 775 motherboards, the SNAFU is not so surprising. Since their release in 2004, the Socket 775 chips have continuously required motherboard revisions, even though pin-to-pin compatibility existed. One of the messier changes was with the Bad Axe motherboard, with new releases for Pentium EE 955, 965, Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad. Some backwards compatibility existed, but in most cases you would be stuck.
We have used an EVGA Nforce 680i motherboard as our reference ever since it came out so we're quite disappointed in the turn of events. While the chipset heatsink design left something to be desired, overclocking capabilities are top notch, stability with different memory modules has been exemplary, and it works at DDR2-800 CL3 and DDR2-1310.
Sadly, this lack of forwards compatability hits all of the motherboards designed around the chipset: EVGA, BFG, XFX, Galaxy, Inno3D, etc., along with numerous third party motherboards.
Basically, it seems there is no escape. If you own a 680i motherboard and want a non-Kentsfield, quad-core, you can either migrate to AMD Phenom or wait for a X48 motherboard.
The hiccough is the latest in a bundle that have chip-buying customers pullng their hair out.
Intel keeps the same Socket, but has problems with compatibility, Nvidia has chipsets with problematic CPU support, and "customer centric" AMD has become k nown as Socket 754-940- 939-AM2 -AM2+-AM3. At least, these last three are in-between compatible, if your AM2 motherboard has 8Mbit BIOS.
It's all getting a bit messy. ยต
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While I don't know about eVGA, and I can tell you with 100% certainty that the Asus P5N32-E and Striker Extreme 680i motherboards both post and run the QX9650.

Designed by Nvidia is a joke.
...but is X48 SLI-compliant?? :-?
You only need to check if its the same socket.. then... it WILL WORK.

Even if its a new processor.. you plug it in and it BOOTS.. even if it says "unknown processor" you can install windows this way, then upgrade the BIOS so its correctly detected. 

But you have a functional computer. On the other side, you need to previously check on a big compatibility table what CPU goes on with each chipset/mobo... or else it wont boot...
To use a non-kentsfield quadcore (yorkfield) one does not need to wait for x48. x38 certainly supports it and even p35 chipsets as far as I know.
So the sentence "if you own a 680i and want yorkfield, you need to wait for x48" is not very accurate, or at least implies that one wants SLI?

In this case I can only repeat the question of another poster above: 
will x48 even have SLI?

Thanks
When I first saw socket 775 and it's flimsy little pins, I decided then and there that this was a single insertion socket - if the CPU works when I plug it in, it stays there for the rest of it's life. 3 CPU's and 3 motherboards later I continue in this practice. Ergo when I buy a Yorkfield I expect to buy a motherboard for it. This is part of the price of doing business with pinned sockets. AMD will soon be in the same boat.
/\/()()b
"100% certainty that the Asus P5N32-E and Striker Extreme 680i motherboards both post and run the QX9650. " Apparently Mister Chris hasn't been reading Asus forums because it no worky
I'm running a Penryn on a 965 board, with no problems at all. I like the older board because it is the best overclocker that I've ever had.
.. at least the Gigabyte DQ6-models iv'e tested. If it support QX9650(yorkfield) then Wolfsdale/Penryn shouldnt be a problem.
Chris : From what I've read somewhere else, the issue is not that the system won't boot and run...it is that, due to some mysterious reasons, the processor will run as if it had a lower frequency...I've read somewhere that it'd run as if it was running at 1 Ghz instead of the stated 3 Ghz...

By the way, I really hope that these issues will be solved soon and that the 780i mobo will be available...or may be a SLI-compatible X48 mobo...I'm waiting for these to buy my new pc...
Well, I'm one of those poor suckers who bought a 680i motherboard because it is was supposed to support the 45nm quad cores. I won't buy another motherboard just for this incremental upgrade. I'll wait for the Nehalem processors in 2008 and buy both a new CPU and motherboard then. DDR3 should be a little cheaper at that time also. In the meantime, I think I'll be happy with my Q6600 (G0 stepping) running at 3.6GHz. Thanks for nothing Intel; you just lost a sale.
"Basically, it seems there is no escape. If you own a 680i motherboard and want a non-Kentsfield, quad-core, you can either migrate to AMD Phenom or wait for a X48 motherboard."

BS. P35 and X38 chipsets support 45nm, in fact Asus has even validated P965 for 45nm. http://event.asus.com/mb/45nm/

Stop being such an AMD fanboy Theo, our choices are not only between an overpriced, rebadged X38 aka X48 or a POS Phenom as you claim, though you certainly would WANT it to be, wouldn't you. Then your beloved AMD may actually get some Phenom sales, LOL!
Theo, please check yourself before making conclusionary statements.

"Basically, it seems there is no escape. If you own a 680i motherboard and want a non-Kentsfield, quad-core, you can either migrate to AMD Phenom or wait for a X48 motherboard.
"
This is just false, pure and simple.

P35, X38, and even the 965 chipsets will accept a 45 nm quad core.... your statement takes on the correct meaning if you state 'a quad core with a 1600 Mhz bus' which is simply the highest bin quad Intel will offer. All other 45 nm quads ar 1333 Mhz, and the P35 chipset was released months earlier to establish a working infrastructure.

nVidia's failure to produce a future proof chipset is just that a failure, but it does not mean that there is not ample choice.
Having both in my dirty hands, its a known fact that a new updated BIOS is needed. With the quad chip installed cpu speed is shown as 4cpu's clock speed at 1.99MHz.

Had to put back my E6600 2.4 proc that is overclocked @ 3.37 on air.

Very SAD day for all Asus owners.
waiting for any early Christmas in the form of a new BIOS or mobo.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
I bought the Asus Striker Extreme based on the website claiming support for 45 nm. My QX9650 will not POST and the processor is identified as a 2.0 GHz. 

Asus has yet to step up and replace my board even though they acknowledge that the 680i is not compatible with the QX9650.