NVidia has finally brought a modern chipset to the Socket AM2+ market, while surprising many buyers with the inclusion of onboard graphics in an “enthusiast” part. It’s certainly competitive with AMD’s top-rated 790FX, and it opens buyers to several advanced graphics options. While it lacks clear leadership in most areas, support for 3-way and Hybrid SLI are key benefits.

We did find clear performance leadership in one of the tested models, but the “winner” lacked any onboard video connector for the chipset’s HybridPower mode and wouldn’t even boot with four memory modules installed. On the other hand the second-place finisher, though well balanced, was far from a record -setting performer.

By now you’re wondering why we still haven’t actually tested HybridPower. The answer is, we did. It didn’t work on our MSI motherboard, but will probably be fixed with BIOS and driver updates. It was supposed to have worked with the Asus motherboard we used last week, but that sample didn’t survive long enough to be included in this week’s comparison.

It’s a tough decision for AMD fans requiring an SLI solution. Without even considering the possibility of HybridPower on the second-place performer, we’d probably choose it for its better memory support and lower power consumption. Yet those who already own a good motherboard won’t find any compelling reasons to upgrade.

Most disturbing of this recent launch is that not one, but three out of five nForce 780a SLI motherboards we received died before we could complete testing We can’t be sure how long any particular model will last, so we’d suggest similarly concerned buyers at least wait a few weeks for manufacturers to work all the bugs out. But the wait is lost on us: Since we don’t require SLI on most of our Socket AM2+ systems, we’re more likely to stick with the now-mature 790FX from AMD.