EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:03:03 PM)
So let me introduce who we have ....

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:04:10 PM)
Drew Henry - Motherboard General Manager

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:05:37 PM)
Matt Wuebbling - Motherboard Product Manager

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:06:07 PM)
Amit Thakar - Chipset Product Manager

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:06:21 PM)
Bryan Del Rizzo - Motherboard PR Manager

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:06:44 PM)
Hey all EVGA and NVIDIA fans

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:07:08 PM)
Hello EVGA users. Welcome to the chat!

Silencer (Nov 16, 2006 4:10:08 PM)
How does the newly released EVGA/NVIDIA 680i motherboard help the user push his/her hardware to new levels?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:10:08 PM)
It allows you to unleash the power of your CPU and memory by overclocking them both to a large amount.

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:10:36 PM)
so the first question was asked by Silencer and answered by Matt....this is how the format works for those of you new for Moderated Chat

levilyn (Nov 16, 2006 4:11:14 PM)
Your products are primarily purchased by males. How do you appeal to your female buyers and as a female, why should I buy your products?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:11:14 PM)
We're gender neutral! :-) Really all our products are for everyone, male and female. We're also CPU neutral. You can get a great NVIDIA nForce board for AMD and Intel

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:12:17 PM)
Vista will fully be supported on the EVGA 680i motherboard. We're not announcing tuture products at this time.

J1Burn (Nov 16, 2006 4:13:14 PM)
I'm curious, will I see a big difference in ping in games with FirstPacket if I'm just playing the game and nothing else, or does it mainly help with multiple apps going, prioritizing one over the other?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:13:14 PM)
Good question. FirstPacket is mainly useful when you have other networking apps running at the same time.

magic168 (Nov 16, 2006 4:18:19 PM)
What's a typical post time for the new evga 680i board? I currently run a 975xbx and the board's diagnostics and other pre-Windows load times can last quite awhile...

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:18:19 PM)
Good question. We've measured it around 4 seconds, but it will depend on how much memory you have and your configuration.

DuckieHo (Nov 16, 2006 4:20:03 PM)
What do you envision for the industry in the upcoming year? ATI/AMD merger, Intel isolating themselves, nVidia ect

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:20:03 PM)
Lots of excitement. Specifically we plan to turbocharge highend motherboards. That segment has been boring for way too long. Intel and AMD are really fighting for growth, which drives down prices. This is good for everyone.

EVGAJKohl (Nov 16, 2006 4:20:29 PM)
When will the 680a be released?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:20:29 PM)
Keep an eye out over the next few weeks.

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:21:43 PM)
Anymore quetsions anyone? Go ahead and submit them

darksaint420 (Nov 16, 2006 4:22:05 PM)
How effective is the third pci-express lane when compared to an ageia physX?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:22:05 PM)
You're correct that a potential use for the 3rd PCIe lane is for physics, however we're not prepared to announce anything at this time, or how it may compare to Ageia. Stay tuned though!

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:22:22 PM)
If you have a follow up question to any of the answers please let us know that also

Aniv (Nov 16, 2006 4:23:27 PM)
Question: Do NVIDIA Motherboards go through strict QA? Why are issues always discovered by users ( base level users) and not by the QA folks? Especially with the 680i, which is a great motherboard as far as design and features are concerned; but there are some major issues with SLI and audio (both onboard and addon) which havent been resolved yet. I understand the reference motherboard was designed by Nvidia and not EVGA, but in short its giving EVGA a bad name. Are we going to see more mature products in the recent future? I spent close to 7K USD in parts ...1700 of which is based on Nvidia Chipsets(Motherboard/GFX Card).

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:23:27 PM)
Great question. We're definitely working on the SLI and audio issue. As you can imagine 8800 just launched and the drivers are very new, even to NVIDIA's internal QA team. We're working on the issue though and will have a fix!

Cikster (Nov 16, 2006 4:24:50 PM)
Are there any plans to make a nVidia benchmark as that might be a great community building tool which could help people see how different configurations compaire to each other?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:24:50 PM)
Good question! We definitely have a few new things around the corner. Stay tuned!

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:25:05 PM)
OK, guys, we have about 5 more minutes, if you have any last questions please go ahead and submit them now

EVGAJKohl (Nov 16, 2006 4:25:12 PM)
When will it be possible to run a 3rd PCIe Nvidia card with SLI to run as a PHYSICS card on the 680i???

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:25:12 PM)
Good question. But we're not ready to announce anything yet. Stay tuned!

EVGAJKohl (Nov 16, 2006 4:25:31 PM)
will the 680A be a 4x4 platform??

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:25:31 PM)
Yes, 680a is the base of the 4x4 platform.

slugbug (Nov 16, 2006 4:26:08 PM)
What exactly is the third PCI-E graphics card slot for on this motherboard?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:26:08 PM)
You can plug ANY pci express card into it. It is a physical x16 slot wired with 8 pci-e lanes. Our purpose is to let you plug in a 3rd gpu! Use it today for graphics or next year for game physics.

Silencer (Nov 16, 2006 4:26:39 PM)
Is RAID Morphing on the 680i going to become the new standard for all new NVIDIA boards with its ease of use and the virtual elimination of backing up data the old complex way?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:26:39 PM)
We're definitely considering new RAID technology going forward.

DuckieHo (Nov 16, 2006 4:27:11 PM)
Does nVidia have any plans for PCIe 2.0? Intel is rumored to plan to support it later in 2008. How much longer until 16x PCIe is a bottleneck?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:27:11 PM)
Can't comment on TOP SECRET stuff. :~)

magic168 (Nov 16, 2006 4:27:22 PM)
Does the nTune application change voltages/overclocking features on the fly in Windows, or does it require a restart for changes to take effect?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:27:22 PM)
On the fly! It's a great tool. No reboot needed!

jlewis02 (Nov 16, 2006 4:28:09 PM)
Is there going to be a 680 board for AMD?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:28:09 PM)
Yep. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks.

kombayah (Nov 16, 2006 4:30:20 PM)
The third PCI-E slot does it interface with the SPP or the MCP and what is the transfer rate?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:30:20 PM)
The third PCIe slot is x8 electrical. And it does not interfere with any of the SPP or MCP operation.

Silencer (Nov 16, 2006 4:30:57 PM)
Does the 680i motherboard allow the unlocking of Conroe's multipliers? (IE E6600, and E6400)

EVGA Jacob Freeman (Nov 16, 2006 4:30:57 PM)
On CPU's other than the e6800, you can decrease the multiplier for high FSB's.

Reinvented (Nov 16, 2006 4:30:57 PM)
Since the 680i and 680a are follow-ups to the nForce 5 series, can we expect a wider range of other chipsets which cater to those who aren't quite ready for SLi? And why was the nForce 590 scrapped for the newer 6 series now?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:30:57 PM)
we have lots of products available now that you can choose from. Check out the etail sites and search for "nForce".

DuckieHo (Nov 16, 2006 4:31:49 PM)
Will nVidia be including the eSATA in the future?

EVGA Jacob Freeman (Nov 16, 2006 4:31:49 PM)
Definetely! eSATA will be a continuing technology on nForce boards.

Major.Lag (Nov 16, 2006 4:32:14 PM)
is there any support for esata on 680i?

EVGA Jacob Freeman (Nov 16, 2006 4:32:14 PM)
Yes, the 680i supports eSATA. You just need to configure the SATA as an eSATA device in BIOS.

magic168 (Nov 16, 2006 4:32:41 PM)
What is the fan size over the northbridge? Is it possible to change that out yourself and replace it or is the fan built into the black frame doohickey?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:32:41 PM)
Great question. The current black fan bracket doesn't support a removable fan, but this may be supported in the future

darksaint420 (Nov 16, 2006 4:32:54 PM)
Are there any plans for Nvidia to create their own CPU

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:32:55 PM)
We do GPUs and MCPs ... that's enough already.

Major.Lag (Nov 16, 2006 4:33:22 PM)
Has the cause of the sound issues with onboard or creative audio when using sli been found and if so has a solution been discovered?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:33:22 PM)
Engineers are hard at work on solving this. Expect an update soon!

Major.Lag (Nov 16, 2006 4:35:17 PM)
I remember upon the release of conroe that a lot of intel chipset motherboards had compatibility problems with high quality ram, does the new evga 680i have any such problems and if so what solution do you recommend?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:35:17 PM)
Look for SLI-Ready memory. Enthusiast memory certified as SLI-Ready will work on this board.

Aniv (Nov 16, 2006 4:35:44 PM)
Thank you, do we have an ETA on Vista RTM Drivers for 680i Motherboard and G80 based cards? I am a MSDN Universal Subscriber and I am already running Vista RTM to ensure compatibility of my usual applications. It would be nice if Nvidia moved ahead of the rest and supplied bleedingedge drivers to match the bleedingedge hardware :)

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:35:44 PM)
we have beta vista drivers available today. check our www.nzone.com

Cikster (Nov 16, 2006 4:35:44 PM)
I see you placed the Clear CMOS button in a good place but are there any plans for a "Soft Clear" (doesn´t post 3 times in a row then it clears CMOS) or a detachable button users could place on the outside of the case?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:35:44 PM)
Good question! Look for new items like this in future products!

Silencer (Nov 16, 2006 4:37:56 PM)
I'm just so utterly jealous of your job and what you do for a living... How do I become placed into a position such as yours at NVIDIA?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:37:57 PM)
Thanks! It rocks.

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:38:55 PM)
It's a great chip! Plus the new innovation is really in the northbridge (SPP)

Reinvented (Nov 16, 2006 4:39:26 PM)
Does eVGA/nvidia strive to use the best components possible to produce the 680i motherboard?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:39:26 PM)
Yes! Only top quality components are used on this board.

slugbug (Nov 16, 2006 4:40:38 PM)
speaking of PCI-E cards, what's happening with pci-e 1x and 8x cards? I've barely seen any being made at all.

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:40:38 PM)
Good question. Hopefully you'll see more of these soon, but it's up to the vendors to support PCIe.

Aniv (Nov 16, 2006 4:41:11 PM)
Are there any plans to revamp the layout of enthusiast boards? The PCI slots are rendered useless since the goliath gfx cards cover them. I have a PHSYX card which I am not able to use.

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:41:11 PM)
There is an open PCI slot with the EVGA board even with 2 2slot width gpus, but perhaps you want 2 PCI slots. The layout was revamped, so now you have 1 pcie and 1 pci slot available if you use 2 dual width cards.

Major.Lag (Nov 16, 2006 4:41:12 PM)
could you use 3 video cards 2 in the pcie 16x lanes and 1 in the 8x lane for 3 card sli?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:41:13 PM)
That is definitely one future usage scenario.

leondurham (Nov 16, 2006 4:41:30 PM)
what other 680i mainboards will be available?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:41:30 PM)
Keep and eye out.

alebrige (Nov 16, 2006 4:42:06 PM)
on the race to gain the performance crown graphics cards have started to use a lot of power. I believe that a future processes like 80nm and 65nm will help a little to lower power consumption. Is NVIDIA trying to work on this in some other way?. It just seems incredible how one of the first troubleshooting questions around help forums is "what power supply do you have?"

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:42:06 PM)
We're always working to decrease power consumption. This is a top goal of the company.

magic168 (Nov 16, 2006 4:42:30 PM)
In three words, explain why I should buy a 680i?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:42:30 PM)
SLI Overclocking itisdamnfast ... how's that! :~)

darksaint420 (Nov 16, 2006 4:43:15 PM)
How do you feel about the 3dmark06 record getting smashed utilizing nvidia hardware?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:43:15 PM)
Things like this truly make my day!

DuckieHo (Nov 16, 2006 4:43:57 PM)
any plans for other nF6 form factors?

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:43:57 PM)
At this time the board is only ATX

Reinvented (Nov 16, 2006 4:44:17 PM)
How does EPP work with the new 680i motherboards, compared to either manual custom overclocking or overclocking with nTune? Is it better? Worse?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:44:17 PM)
The benefit of EPP is that it allows automatic overclocking, so there is no need to manually overclock the DIMMs. However if you choose to manually overclock EPP is still great because it gives you a place to start. You can then improve your timings from the default EPP settings.

WHerkins (Nov 16, 2006 4:45:32 PM)
Would would be you main selling point when trying to convince NForce 590 owners to upgrade to the 680i?

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:45:32 PM)
Performance and having the newest in technologies from NVIDIA and EVGA

DuckieHo (Nov 16, 2006 4:45:41 PM)
Will other companies be partnering with nVidia for SLI certification? I see there is SLI PSU.... and now SLI memory, SLI cases now

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:45:41 PM)
You can definitely expect more SLI partnerships in the future. It's a great way to ensure the components you purchase will work well together

slugbug (Nov 16, 2006 4:46:30 PM)
One thing I would like to see is improvements made to some of the existing technologies such as sata and usb 2.0. Is anything being done to improve these technologies so theoretical speeds become a reality?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:46:30 PM)
We're always working to improve current technology. Stay tuned!

EVGAJKohl (Nov 16, 2006 4:47:25 PM)
Would it be possible for EVGA/Nvidia to give the 680i a Windows based BIOS UPDATE Utility, like ASUS has?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:47:25 PM)
Try out NVIDIA nTune. This is a great utility that give you near complete access to the BIOS from Windows and the ability to change settings on the fly without reboot. You can find it on nvidia.com.

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:47:35 PM)
Ok, guys Matt and Drew are answering the last couple of questions. Right after the answers are posted I will unlock the room so everyone can chat and we will have EVGA guys in the room to talk with and help answer your questions. Thank you everyone for showing up and participating.

Aniv (Nov 16, 2006 4:48:15 PM)
Yes the other slot is taken by my X-Fi card, i would like to add a Dell Perc Raid Controller but not enough slots alas....any plans for riser based motherboard design?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:48:15 PM)
We're not announcing any new products today, but stay tuned.

DuckieHo (Nov 16, 2006 4:49:01 PM)
What process is the nF6 built upon? 130nm? 90nm?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:49:01 PM)
The 680i SPP is on a 90nm process

LSag (Nov 16, 2006 4:49:12 PM)
How many fans can be added to the 680i for enhanced cooling?

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:49:12 PM)
There is a total of 7 fan headers. 1 for CPU and 1 for Northbridge fan and then 5 left open

Aniv (Nov 16, 2006 4:49:42 PM)
Is it true that mounting heat pipe based motherboards in a BTX case is not recommended? ( Inverted Motherboard Mounting).

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:49:42 PM)
In general this is true, but EVGA's 680i motherboard heatpipe actually includes a wicking structure that allows for intervted mounting.

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:50:08 PM)
If this is for the northbridge, currently Danger Den offers a waterblock solution.

Major.Lag (Nov 16, 2006 4:50:53 PM)
I noticed the 680i has a 8 pin cpu power plug port , will this still work with a power supply with a 4pin plug?

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:50:53 PM)
yes, but we do recommend 8pin plugs.

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:51:10 PM)
The PCIe slots are full bandwich x16

Aniv (Nov 16, 2006 4:51:27 PM)
Thank you EVGA and Nvidia for taking time out to chat with us. This is definitely great Customer Experience.

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:51:28 PM)
our pleasure. You guys rock our world.

EVGAJKohl (Nov 16, 2006 4:51:47 PM)
Thank You MAtt, what I was reffering to was a BIOS Update Utility

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:51:47 PM)
Ahh, yes, this does exist. It's on the EVGA mobo CD. It's called System Update tool.

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:53:08 PM)
OK, everyone i will open the room for user to user chat. The EVGA guys will stay around to help answer questions and you can tell the NVIDIA team thank you

magic168 (Nov 16, 2006 4:53:29 PM)
Thank you for this!

magic168 (Nov 16, 2006 4:53:36 PM)
It's been really fun!

Silencer (Nov 16, 2006 4:53:45 PM)
Thank you for taking time and discussing the new motherboard with us!

Silencer (Nov 16, 2006 4:53:52 PM)
Is it true that the Evga/Nvidia 680i motherboard supports up to 8gb's of DDR2 RAM modules? Was this designed to work with Windows Vista's ability (like XP PRO 64bit) to detect more than 3.6gbs (XP 32bit) ?

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:53:52 PM)
The board does support 8 GB of DDR2 RAM. The board is fully Vista compatable as well, so it will certainly meet the Vista memory specs.

Reinvented (Nov 16, 2006 4:54:02 PM)
Thanks for sharing this with us. Always will Insist on Nvidia. ;)

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:54:02 PM)
Agreed! :)

Reinvented (Nov 16, 2006 4:54:09 PM)
Thanks for sharing this with us. Always will Insist on Nvidia. ;)

NVIDIA Drew Henry (Nov 16, 2006 4:54:09 PM)
Thanks. So do I. :~)

darksaint420 (Nov 16, 2006 4:54:15 PM)
thx for your time guys, nvidia rocks

bmadonna (Nov 16, 2006 4:54:25 PM)
Dang I missed it? :(

EVGAJKohl (Nov 16, 2006 4:54:25 PM)
THANKS again guys for helping the EVGA customerS. We Look forward to your next Visit!

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:54:51 PM)
Thanks for all your questions!

DuckieHo (Nov 16, 2006 4:55:15 PM)
have a good day guys and go home... it's getting late!

NVIDIA Matt Wuebbling (Nov 16, 2006 4:55:41 PM)
Thanks guys. Thanks EVGA!

darksaint420 (Nov 16, 2006 4:55:48 PM)
yeah, evga rocks to =]

kombayah (Nov 16, 2006 4:55:52 PM)
thanks EVGA

Reinvented (Nov 16, 2006 4:56:04 PM)
Thanks Joe, Jacob and the rest. It was great.

slugbug (Nov 16, 2006 4:56:05 PM)
thanks Nvidia guys

sanman294 (Nov 16, 2006 4:56:08 PM)
thanks guys

Silencer (Nov 16, 2006 4:56:32 PM)
Thanks again guys! (This includes the EVGA guys aswell ;) )

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:56:42 PM)
Thank you everyone, Enjoy the chat room and stay tuned for our next special guest chat ...

Aniv (Nov 16, 2006 4:56:43 PM)
lol maybe confused like me :d

magic168 (Nov 16, 2006 4:56:46 PM)
Matt, Drew: Did you pick your favorite questions?

J1Burn (Nov 16, 2006 4:56:57 PM)
Thanks Matt, Drew, Amit, and the EVGA team for hosting this and answering our questions!

EVGA Joe Darwin (Nov 16, 2006 4:58:23 PM)
Thank you again NVIDIA Team for the great support! Have a good rest of the day.