EVGA, well-known supplier of Nvidia-based graphics cards and mainboards, has initiated a promotion under which existing owners of Nvidia nForce 680i-based mainboards will be able to upgrade their platforms to those based on Nvidia nForce 780i. The program will allow original purchasers of rather expensive motherboards to get support of PCI Express 2.0 as well as Intel’s 45nm chips for $89 or €79.

The owners, who are interested in upgrading to an EVGA 780i mainboard, should register their EVGA 680i mainboards at EVGA web-site, fill-in a special upgrade form on the company’s web-site and send her or his EVGA 680i mainboard to the company in “like new condition” with all the accessories. The campaign is only available to those, who own fully-featured EVGA 680i platforms and those, whereas EVGA 122-CK-NF68-RX “will not be eligible for this promotion as this was sold as a recertified product”.

When the firm receives the motherboard and identifies that it works without issues and was not modified in any way, the vendor will charge $89 or €79, depending on end-user’s location, and send EVGA 780i platform back to the customer.

Present EVGA 680i owners will receive the following for their money:

• New EVGA 780i mainboard with two PCI Express 2.0 and one PCI Express 1.1 slots that supports ESA capability;
• 3-way SLI Bridge ($20 or €14 value);
• Free ground shipping ($10 or €7 value);
• New upgrade warranty (A1 lifetime/T1 2 year warranty).

EVGA’s intention to upgrade its Nvidia nForce 680i mainboards is a logical move to keep its motherboard customers loyal. Since Nvidia nForce 780i core-logic cannot provide a lot of innovations and its benefits compared to its predecessor are limited to support of 45nm microprocessors by Intel Corp. as well as rather inferior implementation of PCI Express 2.0 (via a PCI Express hub), hardly a lot of EVGA customers would upgrade at full price.

EVGA’s promotion campaign is subject to terms and conditions and will last for about two months.