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Page 1 of 3  After ASUS introduced its premiere motherboard, we received the XFX vision of what a nForce 780i chipset-based motherboard should look like. Of course, the packaging is top-notch, just like earlier XFX models we had tested, and besides the motherboard, inside you will find an extra fan to keep the chipset cool, six black SATA cables, three SATA power cables, a rounded black IDE cable, manual, driver disc, a USB bracket and SLI bridges (an ordinary one and a three-way one).
The first thing you will notice is that the PCB is very neat. Every component is situated where expected and fully accessible. Certainly the most noticeable detail is the impressive cooling system, which is bound to conquer many with its design. The massive heatpipe network is screwed into the PCB, which ensures perfect contact. The only cooling parts separated from the main system and MOSFET coolers above the CPU socket.
Talking of CPU voltage filtering, a standard 6-phase unit is present. This is a more than solid solution, although quad-core CPUs might encounter
Vdrop problems at higher O/C values. The only strange thing as far as layout is concerned is that four SATA connectors were placed next to memory
slots, while additional two are situated right under the FDD connector. A microswitch is a very nice feature which makes life easier on occasion, especially ours :)
Besides, the I/O panel pins are all coloured accordingly to their function, so that you cannot make a mistake. The Clear CMOS jumper is located on the lower edge of the motherboard, which makes it very accessible in case of BIOS crashes. Alongside standard CPU and chipset cooler connectors, users have four of these in addition, so that every case can be cooled with a 100% efficiency.
PCI-E x16 slots are separated enough to provide much space for other cards in between. In case of creating a 3-way SLI, graphics cards will still have enough room for regular cooling, but the PCI-E x1 and two PCI slots are blocked then. Naturally, lots of room around the processor socket is also an important feature, as it enables flawless installation and functionality of even the most monstrous coolers. The back panel contains a couple of somewhat obsolete PS/2 connectors, one FireWire, 6x USB, 2x LAN and all of the audio connectors, of course.
Once we were set up and running, we entered the BIOS, which was done in a typical Award fashion. A short glance at the sub-menus was enough to see the overclocking capacity of this mobo. The values can be tweaked very precisely – the processor voltage can be assigned anywhere between 0.5 V and 1.8 V with 0.05 V steps, whereas memory has a slightly more narrow range at disposal, 1.8-2.5 V in 0.25 V steps. The CPU FSB can be powered in the 1.1-1.4 V range (0.1 V step), the SPP is functional between 1.3 V and 1.55 V (0.005 V step), the MCP has a range of 1.3-1.75 V in steps identical to memory ones, and finally, the HT link, which can be supplied with a voltage of 1.2-1.55 V in 0.05 V steps. The FSB speed is, naturally, set in the QPB mode, from 400 to 2500 MHz (actual speeds of 100-625 MHz), while the memory can be set to frequencies of 400-1400 (200-700) MHz.
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