I am so pleased with this board and the 680 platform in general. NVIDIA has done a fantastic job with the LT version from the hardware to the BIOS and EVGA has done a stellar job preparing it for the masses from the packaging to the bundled extras. I have no complaints with anything other than the slightly frustrating tightness of the layout along the right edge of the board.
However, moving to the Lian-Li G70 case helped to alleviate some of the frustrations since I had didn't have my hard drives right in the way of the front-panel, SATA and ATX power connections. Through and through, this board is awesome.
The price is competitive, but this board seems like something of an orphan child. It's sitting squarely between the 650 SLI and 680 SLI, and is priced as such, but considering it's only (approximately) $50 more to get all that this board offers and more on a full-blown 680 SLI motherboard – and the 680 chipset is aimed at enthusiasts that want the best of the best – it seems as though anyone who would be considering this board would be more likely to spend a little extra and get all the additional features of a 680 SLI motherboard.
However, if all you want are the basics the 680 has to offer, have no need for dual gigabit LAN or any of the other arguably frivolous features, this board is a perfect fit. It has a full 32 PCIe lanes dedicated to SLI and gives plenty of overheard for overclocking, so for those gamers on a limited budget that would rather get the bare necessities the 680 platform has to offer and put the other money that could go toward a higher-end motherboard toward a better CPU, graphics card(s) or RAM, this board is exactly what the doctor ordered.
In a few months time, the price is likely to be even further below $200, making it an even tastier option. As it stands, even at $200, this board is fantastic. Don't let the lack of extra features fool you: this is a 680i board and is a serious performance powerhouse.
Thanks a lot to EVGA for the review sample!
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Note that EVGA nForce 680i LT SLI Socket 775 motherboards have appeared on our PriceGrabber feed from $174.99 and $159.99 with a $15 mail-in rebate.
