The current highest-of-high-end nForce 6 chipset, the 680 SLI, with both Intel and AMD flavors, is a beast of a motherboard as most any owner would tell you. The boards pack a lot of features and performance onto that ATX-sized PCB and all of that carries a somewhat hefty price tag. With the cheapest models retailing around $250, the much cheaper 650 SLI chipset is a more viable option for many enthusiasts.
That is, until now.
NVIDIA brings the most important features of the 680 SLI chipset to the masses with the introduction of its newest motherboard, the 680 LT SLI. With a MSRP of $199, NVIDIA has made the much sought after overclocking potential of the 680 SLI chipset to those who are not willing or able to pay more than $200 for a motherboard.
For this review, the EVGA's offering of the nForce 680i LT SLI has been tested and examined to see just how well nForce family's newest member stacks up.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
EVGA kept the box relatively simple with an attractive and somewhat abstract design. The box looks very professional and slightly mysterious all the while boasting the some of the board's biggest/most important features on the front - "800MHz DDR2," "2 x16 SLI" and of course, "PCI-E" support. I really like the design and the afterburner effect on the tailpipes is a foreshadowing of what is to come.
EVGA nForce 680i LT SLI External Box
Upon removing the motherboard and accessories from the box, I was very pleased with the overall look and feel of EVGA's package. The included cabling (standard IDE, SATA, FDD, etc) were all black and sleek.
They share a uniform look which is important for case mod enthusiasts and anyone looking to have a professional looking case interior. Also included is a driver CD, RAID drivers on a floppy diskette, the back panel cover, SLI bridge, and a well-written and illustrated user manual.
Box Contents
Compared to the frivolous contents in the box of my previous ASUS P5N32-SLI Premium motherboard (nforce 590), I was a little disappointed. But then again, ASUS went over the top for their premium board and the 680i LT is more of an entry-level offering with a lower price tag.
