X-bit labs

DFI LANPARTY UT NF680i LT SLI-T2R Mainboard: Choice of Free, Wealthy and Dedicated Enthusiasts

Category: Mainboards

by Doors4ever

[ 07/27/2007 | 04:54 PM ]

Today we are going to talk about a DFI LANPARTY UT NF680i LT SLI-T2R mainboard, a solution based on the “lite” (LT) modification of Nvidia nForce 680i SLI chipset. The mainboard makes a very good impression, boasts very rich BIOS functionality, works great with the memory, but in the end it will not fit any overclocking fan. Find out why from our detailed review!

Table of contents:

• Package and Accessories
  
• PCB Design and Functionality
  
• Specifications
  
• Closer Look at Nvidia nForce 680i LT SLI Chipset
  
• System Assembly and First Problems
  
• BIOS
  
• Overclocking
  
• FSB Strap on DFI LANPARTY UT NF680i LT SLI-T2R
  
• Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

I don’t think I need to tell you who DFI are and what they are famous for. However, I was surprised to find out that DFI Company was founded in 1981. I learned about them much later myself around 2003 when the first LANPARTY mainboards from their well-known series started appearing in the market.

It was hardly possible to pass them by: bright colorful packaging, fluorescent cables and PCB connectors glowing in UV light, rich accessories bundle including stickers, modular unit for the case front panel and system carry bag. But it was not only the packaging and accessories that made DFI mainboards stand out. Very soon they became known as the ideal overclocker friendly solutions thanks to numerous flexible settings and rich options for successful processor overclocking.

Today we are going to check out one more member of the LANPARTY family – DFI LANPARTY UT NF680i LT SLI-T2R for Intel processors. So let’s get started!

Package and Accessories

The package of DFI LANPARTY UT NF680i LT SLI-T2R mainboard is dramatically different from all the previous DFI LANPARTY mainboards we reviewed: no killer-bright colors, only geometric strictness and simplicity. The box is vertical, with a carry handle. The front of the box is decorated with inscriptions in green – Nvidia’s traditional color, and you can see a South Bridge cooler through a transparent plastic window. On the back of the box there is a brief list of mainboard features.

Inside the box there is a mainboard sitting in a protective plastic case and two additional smaller boxes with similar design:

One of them contains all the accessories: bright orange Serial ATA cables and round IDE and FDD cables, SATA power supply splitters, SLI bridge, I/O/ Shield, brief installation guide and user’s manual, CD disk with drivers and utilities, three floppy disks (two with chipset drivers for RAID arrays in Windows XP and Vista and one more for the additional RAID controller). The Karajan module is neatly packed into a separate plastic box.

The second box contains the cooler for the chipset North Bridge in protective foam casing:

The North Bridge cooler is pretty tall, so the mainboard cannot be transported with the cooler pre-installed onto the chipset. That is why it comes in a separate box accompanied with the installation guide and “silver” thermal grease.

There is a groove in the base of the aluminum heatsink with a heatpipe going through it. This heatpipe is covered with thin copper plate and soldered. This cooling solution is fastened with four hooks that catch to the loops on the mainboard PCB. The heatsink on this heatpipe features wire retention for additional fan installation.