EVGA nForce 680i SLI 775 A1 Motherboard

It’s been a good while since I’ve built a PC, so when I decided that it was time, I figured that I should start with a solid motherboard. The problem, of course, is to decide how to choose. I mean it’s not like there is only one motherboard out there, after all. So I did what any sensible person ought to do and I start reading. A good place to start might be somewhere like this post from Jeff Atwood at Coding Horror.

Though not specifically about building a computer, Jeff has put together a number of good posts on the subject that are worth reading if it’s something you think you might do one day. Or even if you think you might want to do it one day. That, plus he shows that he has a good head on his shoulders by not automatically buying the top of the line anything. That’s not to say that he doesn’t – just that it’s not always the best decision. It’s just that it’s a good place to start.

Contrast that with John Chow, who seems to take the other extreme. That’s not to slight John, either. If I had those sort of parts lying around, I might do what he did, but most of us probably don’t. It is just a different approach, that’s all, so you can get a couple of different ideas on where you might find your own muse for the process.

For me, there were a few necessities.

In the first, I have to agree with Jeff again, and say that three monitors is the way to go. I’ve worked with one, I’ve worked with two and I now have three. Going more than three would not only require me to buy a larger desk, but I’m not sure that I would really get much more productive, so why bother? Having three monitors allows me to focus my attention in the middle (something that two doesn’t – I get distracted on either side), while having plenty of space on either side to spread out.

To get three monitors meant that I needed dual PCI express slots, and while that’s getting more common, it meant that the number of motherboards from which I could select would drop dramatically. At newegg.com, which has an awesome search function for this sort of thing, going from a selection of “any” to a selection of “2”, “3” or “4” PCI express slots dropped the choices by three-quarters. There are still some 56 motherboards in the running, but that’s a large drop.

The next choice is really a personal one (and I’ve already integrated it into the search results), and that is that I want an Intel processor. It doesn’t have to be an Intel board, but I have already decided to go with a Core2Duo processor because they can overclock well.

Sorting the results by rating indicates that there are really two sorts of boards left in the running. Those with the 650i chipset and those with the 680i chipset. So what is the difference between the 650i and the 680i? Actually, it seems that there is very little at this point. The difference is mostly theoretical for now, except in price. The 680i is primed for the future, with support for a faster front side bus.

Generally, the 680i boards will have more features, such as an extra LAN port or better audio (8 channel vs. 6 channel). But if you’re looking to save some money, you probably won’t go wrong with a 650i motherboard, and you will likely save $120 or so. While a lot of people support the 650i, and rightly so, I decided that I would choose the 680i, as I’m a big fan of buying bigger now and holding on for later. Hopefully this means I’ll be able to upgrade the components within, such as the CPU, without having to buy a new motherboard. But we’ll have to see how that works out.

The next choice was simply to decide which motherboard to pick, and after sorting the list on rankings, I decided to pick the EVGA nForce 680i SLI 775 (A1 revision) from Amazon.

Why Amazon, after researching at newegg.com? First and foremost, I often research at newegg.com because they have good reviews. Amazon has a solid review system for books (for the most part). But for electronics, and especially computer parts, it stinks. But moreover, once I know what I want, Amazon can get it here a lot faster. If I order at newegg.com at 6pm on Thursday, even with the extra charge for fast processing and overnight shipping, it probably won’t arrive until at least Monday. At Amazon, I ordered on Thursday at 6pm, paid for overnight shipping, and the motherboard arrived early Friday afternoon. That’s just too good to pass up.

As to the motherboard itself? It’s nice. Just make sure that you get the A1 revision. The earlier AR revision had some issues. Also, make sure that you register online within 30 days of your purchase and you’ll get a free upgrade to the EVGA lifetime warranty and their extended RMA procedure, where you can get cross shipping. You have to pay to ship your board back, but they will ship the replacement to you. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until they receive your board. And if you don’t register in the first 30 days, this option is not available.

With two PCI express slots (and a third for “expansion”, whatever that may mean), I have three monitors going full-bore. I can actually run a fourth, but I don’t have room for one right now. Of course, the video cards you use have to support dual monitor ports. The four banks for RAM currently have two sticks in them, to give me 2GB, which are humming along nicely. I am using only three of the four built-in fan headers on the motherboard, and there are loads of built-in headers for other expandability as well as ports galore.

Thus far, I’ve had only one problem with the board, and it was actually related to the power supply, though I suspected the board because seriously – when was the last time the power supply went bad? I’ve heard about people that had problems with this board, but I suspect they were using earlier versions. This one seems fine. In fact, I think I’m going to order another one.