Download Abit NF7-M Specifications

abit NF7-M
Written by Stephen
Friday, 04 September 2009 10:42
..:: Introduction ::..
When we took our first look at the nForce2 chipset, we were very impressed overall with the
performance that it provided, along with some of the more unique features it brought to the
surface, such as it’s DualDDR technology. At that time, the only motherboards that were
available were based off of the SPP Northbridge, however in recent weeks the new IGP
Northbridge has made its way onto the market. Today we’ll be taking a look at Abit’s nForce2
IGP offering, the NF7-M. The NF7-S has received a large amount of praise, especially in its
later PCB revisions. Will the NF7-M live up to our expectations? Well, you’ll have to read on to
find out. First off let’s take a look at the specifications of the board and the product package.
..:: Specifications ::..
Processor
- AMD Athlon/XP, Duron Socket A Processors
- Supports up to 333 Front-Side Bus
Chipset
- Nvidia nForce2 IGP & MCP
- Supports Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (ACPI)
- Accelerated Graphics Port connector supports AGP 8X/4X (0.8V/1.5V
Memory
1/7
abit NF7-M
Written by Stephen
Friday, 04 September 2009 10:42
-
Supports 3, 184 -pin DIMM sockets for DDR -SDRAM module
Support up to 3GB of Memory
Support up to 2 DIMM's DDR 400 memory
128 bit Dual DDR Memory Architecture
Integrated Video (VGA)
- Integrated GeForce4 MX AGP Graphics
Audio (APU)
- 6-Channel AC 97 Codec Onboard
- Professional digital audio interface supports 24-bit S/PDIF Out
Onboard LAN
- Onboard 10/100MB LAN Physical Layer Interface
Back Panel I/O Connectors
-
PS/2 Mini-Din Mouse & Keyboard Ports
RJ45 Connector
Two USB2.0 Ports (l header provided for extra 4 USB 2.0 port)
One 25-pin D-SUB Female Printer Port
One 9-pin D-SUB Male Serial Port
One VGA D-SUB Port
Game/Midi Port & Audio Jacks
Internal I/O Connectors
2/7
abit NF7-M
Written by Stephen
Friday, 04 September 2009 10:42
- 1 x 32 bit 8X AGP slot
- 5 x 32 bit PCI slot
..:: Package ::..
As is the norm with the bulk of Abit motherboards, when you open up the package don’t expect
to find much of anything spectacular. The package is nearly identical to that of all other Abit
boards that we have we recently reviewed. The NF7-M comes along with your everyday
package, not too much to be thrilled about. For the NF7-M, we have one ATA-66/100/133
ribbon cable, one floppy ribbon cable, one USB 2.0 expansion bracket with two USB ports, one
rear I/O panel bracket to accommodate for the rear I/O connector placements, and of course,
the motherboard user manual and driver disc. Not much to get too excited about in this
package. I would have liked to see Abit include a second IDE cable to accommodate users with
multiple hard drives or optical disc drives.
One thing I have always loved about Abit is that they take the time to really go over the different
BIOS options that they offer, no matter how high-end or low-end the motherboard is. Many other
manufacturers will only skim the surface or not even cover the BIOS settings at all. Since Abit is
a performance oriented manufacturer, it makes sense for them to spend a great deal of time
explaining the available tweaking options to the end user. The manual also comes in several
languages for universal use. Abit does a nice job covering the different aspects of the driver and
software installations, and several of the other aspects that most other motherboard
manufacturers will overlook.
The driver / software CD houses the drivers and software for the Abit nForce2 line of
3/7
abit NF7-M
Written by Stephen
Friday, 04 September 2009 10:42
motherboards, so if you’re looking to find a driver, this would be the place to do it. When you
first insert the disc into your CD-ROM, the main window will pop up right to the driver install
window. Here, you simply click which drivers to install and you’re good to go. Within the main
window, you’ll also be able to install any of the software you wish to. The included software suite
is fairly nice with the inclusion of a hardware monitoring program, Adobe Acrobat, and Norton
Anti-Virus. Overall the Abit NF7-M comes along with a decent package, although I’d love to see
Abit throw in an additional IDE cable within the package. It’d be nice to see a feature or two
added to this board such as the SATA RAID which is featured on the SPP based NF7-S,
although due to the fact that the price of this board is already raised due to the integrated
graphics, it is understandable that Abit would choose to do away with some features to keep the
cost down for the consumer.
..:: Feature Set ::..
The Abit NF7-M motherboard comes along with ABIT SoftMenu™ Overclocking, Support for
AGP 8x 3.0 Specifications, Dual Channel DDR (Up to DDR400), 10/100M Ethernet On Board,
6-Channel Audio and Optical S/PDIF Out interface, GeForce4 MX Graphics, and Abit’s 5-bit
FID, along with support for USB 2.0 capable devices. Before we take our customary trip around
the motherboard PC, those of you whom may still be unfamiliar with the features or
specifications of the nForce2 chipset will want to read our quick coverage of the chip on the next
page.
..:: nForce2 IGP / SPP ::..
The majority of the more important features brought to the table by the nForce2 platform belong
to the chipset’s Northbridge. When the first nForce chipset was release, those marketing guru’s
over at NVIDIA decided to take rethink the naming scheme for the nForce2 Northbridge, and
what they came up with was the IGP and SPP. These two acronyms stand for “Integrated
Graphics Platform” and “Single Platform Processor.” The IGP and SPP differ only in the fact that
4/7
abit NF7-M
Written by Stephen
Friday, 04 September 2009 10:42
the SPP lacks integrated graphics and is geared towards the high performance crowd. The
original nForce IGP featured several of the same items we’ll be discussing today with the
nForce2, although they have all be improved upon. The original nForce platform IGP debuted
with GeForce2 MX integrated graphics, while the nForce2 IGP features a more modern
GeForce4 MX for integrated graphics. The original nForce platforms integrated graphics were
viewed as outdated, and simply could not support the bulk of the operation that end users were
looking to be able to do, hence why the nForce2 IGP now features GeForce4 MX graphics.
The nForce2’s integrated graphics core clocks in at an identical speed to that of the GeForce4
MX 420, 250MHz. NVIDIA has made no design or feature changes to the GeForce4 MX core
used in the nForce2 IGP, so since most of you are more than likely already familiar with it I
won’t go into that matter any further. The only reason I don’t particularly care for the GeForce4
MX core being utilized for the integrated graphics is due to its lack of true DirectX 8.1 support as
I noted many months ago in our review of eVGA’s MX offering. I would have much rather seen a
stripped down version of the higher end GeForce4 core, however due to the relative cost, this
didn’t happen. The only main feature change between the nForce and nForce2 involving
graphics is the level of AGP support. The original nForce platform only supported up to AGP 4x
speeds, while the current nForce2 platform features support for AGP 8x.
Yet another feature taken from the original nForce platform is the DualDDR, or TwinBank,
Memory Architecture. This 128-bit memory architecture allows for a larger memory bandwidth
than even that of Intel’s RDRAM powered i850E chipset! The only real “problem” is that the
performance difference between 64-bit and 128-bit DDR is only negligible without the integrated
graphics enabled. The reason for this should be rather self explanatory as most of us know this
is due to the heavy bandwidth usage of the integrated graphics. Without integrated graphics
enabled, there is no such “lost” bandwidth, hence there isn’t a large performance increase as
one would assume.
..:: DualDDR Architecture ::..
DualDDR is the latest version of NVIDIA’s own Dual Channel DDR solution. The typical memory
bus of today is 64-bits wide, while the nForce2 chipset utilizes a bus width double that at
128-bits wide. This allows for a peak gain in bandwidth of 100%! As we stated earlier however,
5/7
abit NF7-M
Written by Stephen
Friday, 04 September 2009 10:42
this will truly only be useful when the onboard graphics are enabled as the system’s front side
bus can only handle a given amount of bandwidth. Anymore than that becomes, in essence,
useless. The nForce2 chipset is capable of up to 6.4 GB/sec of bandwidth with a Dual DDR400
setup. In modern graphics cards, we’ve seen the incredible amount of bandwidth they require to
keep the data flowing, so it’s safe to say that the extra bandwidth created from the 128-bit wide
memory bus will only aid the onboard graphics.
The key to my heart with DualDDR deals with the performance optimization. NVIDIA has
optimized the nForce2 to put out maximum performance when the CPU Front Side Bus and
Memory Clock run in synchronous mode. In case you’re unfamiliar with this term, this means
that the FSB and Memory Clock will run at identical frequencies, while asynchronous mode
means that each will operate at its own independent speed. Well, why is this fact the key to my
heart? Simple, it can save you the one thing you love the most, well almost, money. With
NVIDIA’s nForce2 platform, if you’re running a 266MHz FSB AthlonXP, you only need DDR266
memory for optimal performance. If you’re running a 333MHz FSB AthlonXP, you only need
DDR333 for optimal performance. Instead of having to buy the absolute fastest, and more than
likely most expensive RAM on the market, you can save a good deal of money when purchasing
“slower” RAM, or you could use the extra cash to stock up on more RAM, since as we all know,
you can never have enough RAM.
Well, why exactly does the nForce2 platform allow for maximum performance when the FSB
and Memory Clock run at the same speeds? Shouldn’t DDR333 provide a higher level of
performance, and so forth with DDR400? Well, to put it plainly, no. When the CPU FSB and
Memory Clock are running at the same speed, the CPU Read Latency will be at its lowest. The
address that the CPU sends to the memory and the data returned are sent back and forth at the
same speed within the IGP/SPP’s memory controller. This means that the CPU does not have
to wait for any conversions, commonly termed as “overhead,” to take place before it can be sent
the necessary data. When the FSB and Memory Clock are running in asynchronous mode and
are operating at different frequencies, this overhead penalty requires the data being sent back
and forth to be synchronized with the clock domain that it will be entering. If data is going from a
clock domain of 133MHz to 166MHz, the data must be resynchronized, therefore using up clock
cycles and increasing latency. This is exactly why you’ll want to run your nForce2 system FSB
and Memory Clock in sync.
..:: Dynamic Adaptive Speculative Pre-Processor (DASP) ::..
6/7
abit NF7-M
Written by Stephen
Friday, 04 September 2009 10:42
The
Pre-Processor,
improved
very
sweet.
AthlonXP,
any
later
to
requests
DASP.
can
process
architecture
design
..::
“DASP
the
nForce2
discernable
unused
track
nForce2
little
on.
CPU
Basically,
isemploys
to
Ifresult
public
fully
multiple
with
the
for
select
instead
memory
provides
MCP
platform
example.
adaptive
CPU
heavily
in
or
information
patterns.
athe
candidate
aunrelated
DASP.
/patent-pending
of
MCP-T
40%
does
bandwidth
DASP
concurrent
having
re-architected
also
to
The
to
indeed
According
ensure
Iffeatures
60%
Features
itavailable
works
cache
streams
DASP
to
does
wait
to
reduction
need
read
the
very
load
lines
intelligent
will
happen
NVIDIA’s
to
for
algorithms
of
lowest
on
::..
/this
monitor
NVIDIA,
much
write
data
its
the
to
the
cache
read
in
data
to
memory
latency
DASP
requests
operations
latency.
multi-datapath
like
second
come
the
into
in
for
this
with
the
the
CPU
improved
so
second
and
across
access
access.
prefetch
Here’s
generation
the
and
future,
we’ll
from
requests
on-die
data
employs
make
afor
generation
prediction
aAccording
then
performance
/recognizable
in
to
quick
that
non-speculative
cache.
today’s
the
Dynamic
covering
and
data
itaquote
cache
expects
proprietary
makes
/Its
can
DASP
to
perfecting
CPU’s
fully
NVIDIA,
and
Adaptive
this
from
pattern,
be
respectively.
the
an
has
pipelined
immediately
latency.
topic
like
CPU
NVIDIA
attempt
selection
CPU
been
technology.
such
itthe
Speculative
short
will
traffic.”
toAMD
There
on
use
to
The
want
and
find
the
sent
up
isIt
The
Processors,
Transport
of
budget
MCP
MCP-T
APU,
allows
so
internet
original
MCP’s.
answer
..::
800MB/s
chosen
Layout:
nForce2
features
and
nForce2
motherboards,
features
How
that
nForce
connection,
access
link.
aby
between
Socket
second
question,
the
good
chipset
the
support
The
chipset
boards
to
MCP
allmotherboard
other
isof
implementation
3Com
Area
while
the
comes
the
and
the
let’s
for
while
outfitted
so
PC’s.
onboard
North
above,
::..
USB
the
MCP-T.
the
take
Ethernet
along
the
other
The
audio
2.0,
and
manufacturer.
awith
MCP-T
with
look
audio?
MCP-T
with
The
of
ATA/133,
South
is
MAC
quality
the
included
this
used
atMCP
two
is
MCP-T
the
Well,
to
Hyper
Bridges.
geared
utilizes
new
should
to
allow
PCB
/and
One
connect
MCP-T
that
support
to
versions
Transport
for
layout
the
more
port
boast
be
The
depends
something
same
NVIDIA
identical
isto
for
can
regular
towards
connected
of
two
aofFireWire,
switch
link
the
be
their
APU
who
available
Ethernet
used
to
Abit
allows
MCP
called
the
Media
that
you
which
to
NF7-M!
or
high
to
isask.
was
of
the
for
10/100
connect
IEEE
“router
geared
MAC.
&will
the
end
aIGP
Communications
featured
Before
maximum
distribute
original
1394a,
systems.
The
on
/Ethernet
towards
to
SPP
chip.”
we
ahigher
on
broadband
nForce2
NVIDIA’s
via
get
bandwidth
the
the
The
This
the
ports
aend
toHyper
if
The
looking
appears
does
These
indeed
is
installations
a chip
Abit
indeed
holes
there
into
to
that
NF7-M
be
purchasing
that
are
have
isan
one.
inis
more
utilize
identical
very
the
based
If four
we
or
close
larger
anless
off
look
board
mounting
NF7-S
ofwashers.
proximity
retrofitted
towards
the
design
v1.2
"latest"
holes
to
or
the
into
with
the
higher
v1.2
that
top
place,
mounting
the
right
were
PCB
will
exception
so
corner
notice
not
revision.
there
hole.
included
of
that
may
This
the
Those
the
be
might
socket,
IGP
onNF7-M
some
the
ofNorthbridge.
get
you
earliest
you’ll
minor
is
in
whom
based
the
notice
problems,
board
way
own,
The
offthat
ofrevision.
of
NF7-M
or
some
what
there
are
and
Thesoprocessor
edge
strip
After
board,
positioned
area
monitor
users
allow
do
in
of
all,
of
for
will
very
we
order
the
the
a
optimal
opt
can
cut
well,
carefully!
socket,
CPU
board.
to
totrace
see
socket
protect
and
put
connection
temperature.
We
the
we
a
is
will
dab
itself
not
can
red,
can
the
besomething
of
PCB
see
see
easy
three-pin
iswith
thermal
arranged
With
both
that
from
to
theaccess
temperature
under
the
bottom
compound
power
you
any
lengthwise
temperature
want
problems
each
inconnector
ofa to
the
mounted
set
onto
measurement
have,
from
chip.
of
that
measurement
the
lugs,
for
right?
north
can
Ifsituation
tip,
the
you
Abit
arise
and
CPU
to
Along
choose
devices
has
south
then
ifinfan.
device
ever
mounting
the
included
slightly
to
and
This
such
top
needed.
dothat
lies
left
this,
connector
as
abend
your
along
is
small
edge
these,
make
used
Inheatsink.
itthe
the
upwards
reflective
ofis
many
to
sure
center
the
topto to
..::one
Yet
of
these
capacitor
opted
area
high
is
Attansic
processor
CPU.
cut
the
Layout:
the
another
quality
isIfcapacitors
to
of
very
power.
the
ATXP1
go
the
has
totemperature
with
Intersil
Northbridge
clean
difference
best
make
been
chip
the
were
along
VRM’s
and
sure
HIP6301CB
offset
three-phase
for
lined
well
in
the
that
thermal
does
available.
this
Area
down
left
arranged.
up
the
board
indeed
hand
along
::..
multiphase
atemperature
protection.
power
bitWe
revision
side
from
the
surpass
We
can
design
side,
of
can
itsVRM.
also
the
The
from
previous
does
see
this
however
with
socket.
see
Attansic
the
As
that
safe
not
the
that
has
previous
position.
the
exceed
point,
In
staggered
inchip
the
been
the
this
NF7
NF7
the
first
monitors
revision
one
the
pointed
We
line
Attansic
series
board
maximum
MOSFETs.
deals
can
of motherboards
we
out
the
see
revision,
of
with
chip
can
in
boards
diode
here
threshold
other
the
The
see
willthat
built
arrangement
all
immediately
uses
design
that
reviews,
five
uses
Abit
into
for
one
the
ofhas
the
of
the
this
this
The see
can
fan.
Northbridge
possible.
chosen
attain
advantage
basic
Whenever
area
paste
the
to
that
The
around
optimal
use
ofthat
isthe
the
heatsink
equipped
the
you’re
is
IGP
the
onboard
heat
usual
used
IGP
isutilizing
transfer
itself
covered
in
white
with
Northbridge
graphics
this
isactive
built
thermal
attached
instance.
between
by in
amay
cooling
fairly
graphics,
ispaste
to
very
the
choose
large,
the
in
two
in-between
clean
order
motherboard
itunits.
to
silver,
is use
always
and
to Those
make
a
orb-like
clear
the
better
necessary
via
IGP
sure
of two
heatsink
thermal
any
you
and
the
black
obtrusive
who
the
chip
tocompound
make
equipped
do
heatsink
push
keeps
plan
components.
sure
pins.
as
on
in
with
than
the
cool
taking
Abit
order
athe
as
has
small
toWe
Tosome
much
prefer
in
disruption
maneuver
may
red,
There
the
..::
the
Layout:
time,
three-pin
not
mind
is
to
immediate
instances,
be
also
see
this
in
the
the
so
Expansion
the
the
jumper
another
power
cable
lucky.
smaller
warmer
larger
left
cause
around
connector
really
Located
of
yellow
four-pin
ATX
Slot
the
air
for
isn’t
being
IGP,
in
power
jumper,
Area
abelow
there
disruption
for
of
power
we
expelled
much
any
::..
connector
case
the
come
but
connector
ofmain
importance.
unless
your
of
such
across
from
airflow
ATX
placed
case
as
you
the
being
both
Ipower
over
can
fans,
case
don’t
higher
located
of
to
the
interior.
or
connector,
want
the
avoid
CPU
onATX
for
your
in
the
said
and
this
Some
power
board.
graphics
USB
we
issues,
area,
may
users
come
connectors.
mouse
This
cause
but
heatsink
but
may
across
positioning
I would
some
LED
further
beifIanother
to
able
users
don’t
much
needed.
glow
can,
to all
TheNF7-M.
expansion
slot,
slots
AGP
Single-Port
codec.
audio
the
rear
results
next
and
as
graphics
codec
As
some
I/O
five
stop
Islot
we
10/100M
have
This
ports,
so
PCI
on
would
card,
received
setup
we’ll
area
stated
our
slots.
we’ll
and
see
hope.
Fast
will
trip
also
come
As
from
many
lock
do
how
around
Ethernet
houses
you
The
athe
itacross
things
good
times
in
can
AGP
Leadtek
the
place
aPHYceiver,
see,
job
before,
go
25.000MHz
Abit
two
slot
of
with
with
due
small
NF7-M
comes
nForce2
pleasing
we
the
the
to chips.
the
along
have
clipping
NF7-M’s
with
is
and
board
of
enthusiasts
motherboard
experienced
24.5MHz
the
The
course,
with
device.
so
typical
audio
first
the
we’ll
the
Realtek
isclock
and
later
If
locking
the
design,
see
expansion
we
high
OEM’s
Realtek
on.
crystal.
iftake
ALC650
anything
quality
mechanism,
We
there
awith
look
slot
didn’t
RTL8201BL
sound
cannot
AC
one
is
area.
directly
different
much
97’
AGP
mount
from
be
The
audio
care
below
six
8x
this
with
your
PCI
for
The
and
can
to
PCI
cable
although
PCB
of
..::
include
importance
Layout:
be
Slot
controller
area
isconnector.
found
one
#2
this
in-between
them
of
and
Southbridge
positioning
on
chip
to
the
on
#3
us.
different
I cleanest
would
would
the
houses
the
NF7-M
is
much
AGP
be
versions
&not
areas
the
Memory
located
most
slot
as
rather
front
of
high
and
oflikely
the
panel
ifthe
Areas
see
this
as
first
board
SPP
for
itthis
option
audio
PCI
usually
::..
cost
audio
based
featuring
slot
header,
were
and
is.
is
header
NF7
production
home
Overall
included
very
along
series;
placed
to
few
the
where
with
on
large
however
purposes.
expansion
the
farther
a the
single,
chips
NF7-M.
IEEE
Abit
down
The
or
slot
black
has
any
These
1394a
area
the
area
CD
chosen
main
board,
between
headers
of
headers
Audio
the
items
not
The
of
based
chip
necessary
the
with
note
NF7-M,
right
bottom
the
is NF7-S,
now
that
system
of items
these
placed
the
will
right
and
option
surely
LED’s.
for
portion
items
as
directly
the
we
jump
for
is
SATA
ofcan
onboard
the
on
the
out
front
see
the
chip,
PCB
at PCB.
here,
you
Serial
panel
such
is,immediately
once
We
the
connectors
ATA
assticker
can
the
again,
support.
also
connectors,
that
is
very
for
see
another
This
would
your
clean
thefeature
capacitors,
solder
power
feature
normally
and well
is
points
and
that
supported
be
organized.
and
reset
has
placed
forclock
all
buttons,
been
of
by
on
crystal.
The
the
the
axed
the
along
first
SPP
SATA
from
To
item
Located
for
As
bracket
lying
across
connectors
preference.
we
clearing
around.
can
the
that
directly
see,
MCP
oriented
the
isAbove
included
CMOS.
there
above
Southbridge,
lengthwise
these
are
the
This
in two
the
items
front
area
headers
package
and
from
panel
we
houses
the
come
north
two,
header
here
by aAbit,
across
to
black
small
that
south,
isalong
allow
the
IDE
cluster
thebut
system
connectors.
with
system
forthat
of
connection
another
both
battery,
isBIOS
ofsmall
course
I’d
ifchip.
and
you
rather
ofcapacitors
the
just
then
happen
Lastly,
USB
see
athe
personal
these
we
2.0
to
and
yellow
have
come
expansion
headers.
jumper
one
Setup.
Last
motherboards
DDR
your
on
cable
Overall,
chip.
of
happy,
with
for
from
disappointed
route
design,
..::
For
enter
Standard
Peripherals,
the
Health
the
the
ifSystem
second
Default
the
the
up,
memory
you
Abit.
option,
the
to
four
board.
Status,
but
NF7-M
let’s
Imounting
reach
we
catch
cable
BIOS,
am
CMOS
Imounting
make
can’t
Settings,
memory
BIOS
have
get
Power
you’ll
pleased
with
sticks.
This
with
the
Advanced
BIOS,
my
around
you’ll
on
really
Features,
sure
the
the
::..
of
connector.
want
is
drift.
two
to
Management
controller
Here
holes
your
etc.
nice
area
location
Abit
come
with
the
the
think
in
DIMM’s
The
toWe’ll
Chipset
order
BIOS
to
heatsink
small
we
has
fill
the
around
Advanced
across
of
see
design
the
also
The
of
is
layout
opted
be
any
to
grouped
and
chip
offset
as
the
two
Setup,
Features,
primarily
prevent
last
the
come
or
major
all
for
of
the
main
that
of
to
outside
you
BIOS
DIMM’s.
processor
of
this
item
aonce
the
go
lovely
together,
across
little
PnP/PCI
those
is
things
could
ATX
any
board
with
interested
we
NF7-M
near
and
Features,
I DIMM’s
to
can
overclocking
airflow
come
usual
Here
power
their
the
be
that
of
the
socket
isConfigurations,
actually
while
/course
in
indeed
right.
floppy
NF7
well-loved
top
Iwe
options
across
for
(or
today
disruption.
take
connector,
Advanced
the
will
can
right
more
all
series
Ifwe
use
connector
very
issue
you
options
other
surely
three
in
see
issuch
mounting
can’t
the
fun
the
aSoftMenu
plan
clean
ofshort
with
the
Now
Chipset
but
DIMM
ifPC
Integrated
motherboards.
than
make
Winbond
as
forget
you
itusual
on
with
which
for
houses.
SoftMenu
as
Health
that
and
hole
you
using
choose
which
the
a
we
Features,
III
my
the
we’ve
few
setup
unobtrusive
is
originally
W83627HF-AW
features.
are
will
design.
Status,
Peripherals,
case
SoftMenu
the
placed
functions
users
to
III
not
used
on
seen
board’s
The
do
Setup,
I Integrated
interfere
nForce2
was
Iand
out
very
bargained
so)
When
am
to
addition
the
floppy
III
seeing
off
there
able
all
with
aDual
PC
high
bit
of
of
you
to
The
window,
to
and
find
the
Transfer
option
CAS
option/s
the
varying
Advanced
for
Delay,
sweet
the
Rate,
thefrom
to
user
amount
spot
and
make
FSB
Chipset
lightning
has
the
for
and
the
the
of
your
RAS
Features
AGP
throttling
System
ability
fast
system’s
Precharge.
Spread
totoBIOS
menu
ultra
to
adjust
be
memory
Spectrum,
conservative.
and
is
done
The
the
home
Video
timings
CAS
on
timings.
to
the
along
RAM
Latency
the
CPU
formemory
You’ll
You
with
Cacheable,
allifeasily
of
Time,
can
ever
several
these
timing
also
necessary.
be
Act
available
other
AGP
able
choose
to
settings.
Precharge
to
Aperture
settings
slowly
to
selections
enable
Within
such
but
Size,
Delay,
this
surely
oras
are
disable
RAS
the
wide
The is
responsible
peripherals,
matter.
Onboard
Midi
this
Integrated
Port
the
Within
Sound,
as
place
for.
along
well.
this
Peripherals
Within
toLAN
Needless
with
menu,
do it.
Controller,
this
enabling
we
window,
window
tocan
say,
orLAN
enable
ifdisabling
should
the
you
Boot
user
or
want
as
disable
ROM,
the
can
always
toones
configure
enable
Serial
several
be
that
or
Ports,
self
they
the
disable
items
explanatory
IRQ
Parallel
wish
such
any
settings
to as
use
feature
Port,
for
the
or
of
what
and
USB
not
the
of the
the
to
itintegrated
Controller,
isuse
Game
NF7-M,
for /that
The PC
ability
select
been
Each
these
motherboard
opened,
of
enabled
to
from
Health
these
check
several
as
could
the
unless
Status
the
I do.
CPU
system
options.
help
you
submenu
warning
keep
don’t
temperatures,
Those
your
plan
temperature,
should
include
system
on be
using
RPM
whether
another
running
and
the
readings,
three-pin
the
easily
or
cool
fail
notand
and
warnings
understood
topower
enable
safe
voltage
connectors
so
ofthe
you
readings.
the
one.
alert
three
might
Here
when
onsystem
We
want
we
the
the
can
have
tocase
fans.
leave
also
thehas
Abitan
Within
with
wish
their
worth
time
setting
also
The
then
FSB
allowable
be
..::
SiSoft
is
way
being
numerous
Iadded
AthlonXP.
the
tosaw
the
overclocker’s
well
this
the
run
answer
towait.
FSB
SANDRA
any
able
menu,
DRAM
known
at.
read
support
Many
board
setting
Abit
settings
to
You’d
is
these
you
select
voltage
for
multiplied
allows
paradise.
of
::..
users
offer
their
have
is
increased
settings
for
250MHz,
a all
for
a
preset
SoftMenu
were
the
the
BIOS
by
the
an
FSB
is
266MHz
ability
the
eagerly
way
astonishing
voltages
processor
rather
or
adjustable
second
toeffectively
III
up
to
DRAM
Technology,
simple.
FSB,
custom
awaiting
toand
2.9V,
number.
speed
VCore
VCore
clock
and
from
500MHz.
The
both
and
the
agrade,
ratio
the
of
333MHz
FSB
although
to
Say
revision
the
up
that
listing
as
processor
Needless
you
chipset
is
to
orhigh
you
divided
2.30V!
manually
DRAM
want
1.2
in
wecan
some
avoltage
are
motherboards
voltage.
ato
Iby
and
see
clock.
can’t
4/5
seeing
say,
entering
eyes
the
DRAM
in
ratio
up
remember
first
this
the
They
The
itto
here,
is
with
image
number,
1.7V.
board
in
voltages,
maximum
growing
from
also
the
a
it was
266MHz
There
the
Abit
appears
speed
allow
above.
and
old.
well
last
along
for
for
are
you
to
..:: SuperPI
We’ll
the
achieves
KT400
slight
performance,
move
motherboards.
integer
Leadtek
GA-7VAXP
show
latest
start
advantage
up
on
chipset.
and
and
in
to
highest
release
off
the
the
Ultra
Ultra.
floating
::..
Abit
the
although
In
SuperPi
multimedia
Starting
over
with
holding
days
performance
the
boards
of
Sopoint
SANDRA
far
nForce2
tests,
DDR400.
the
performance
the
tests.
off
we
put
aperformance.
GA-7VAXP
Abit
tests,
healthy
with
we
are
up
boards
for
when
can
NF7-M
We
the
seeing
identical
we
these
lead
also
arithmetic
are
benchmarks
see
inUltra
with
pulls
sync
a
When
testing
tests.
over
see
that
numbers
mixed
the
and
up
that
with
the
the
In
we
tests,
memory
itthe
bag
each
both
Abit
in
with
the
story
head
and
this
rear
Abit
we
of
FSB,
NF7-M
the
of
now
results;
are
in
back
manner
can
for
NF7-M
the
sync
usual
Leadtek
while
easily
floating
changes
see
benchmarks,
to
is let’s
with
the
bringing
in
SiSoft
since
that
this
able
both
and
memory
point
see
the
is
the
with
the
to
SANDRA.
Abit
not
integer
266MHz
ifup
Leadtek
best
performance.
the
nForce2
any
we
true
the
nForce2
test
KT400
tested
the
real
and
rear
for
however,
FSB,
We’re
board
KT400
differences
chipset
the
floating
for
both
based
and
VIA
both
As
using
holds
based
the
the
we
the
point
a
In the
digits
the
escalate
well,
seconds
of
holding
..::
Specviewperf
system
performance
by
and
SuperPI
nForce2
athe
the
over
sub
8to
time
million
number
calculate
the
1%
tests,
based
we
gain
GA-7VAXP
lead
7.0
digits.
reach
of
we
from
boards
::..
inpi
digits
run
most
The
to
athe
calculation
the
in
performed
and
numbers
cases.
nForce2
the
set
program
a calculation,
number
5 second
in
of
based
very
seven
the
8 million
ofclose
graph
lead
system
digits.
we
times
over
can
digits,
toabove
In
each
at
over
see
this
the
various
the
show
other,
the
Abit
that
benchmark,
Leadtek
KT400
although
NF7-M.
intervals
the
withtime
system
the
system.
We
we
all
between
in
Leadtek
can
seconds
can
systems
holds
As
begin
see
we
128,000
board
athat
that
do
begin
lead
to fare
see
both
it of
took
to17
Another
previously
more
Leadtek
exception
slightly
boards,
NF7-M.
benchmark,
..::
Cinebench
with
slower
The
we
benchmark
nForce2
of
7.0.
using
are
however.
NF7-M
a in
single
Anyway,
2000
seeing
the
each
motherboard
does
we’ve
more
::..
test.
of
once
inthe
manage
The
tests
outdated
recently
again
tests.
Abit
comes
weto
aFor
NF7-M
upgraded
can
6.1.2,
sub
take
out
comparison
see
1%
home
on
however
closely
the
performance
top
to results
here
the
infollows
purposes
we
nearly
crown
inthought
that
thethe
lead
all
by
labs
we
of
between
Leadtek,
aexpected
for
we’d
meager
the
is the
SPECviewperf
benchmarks
punish
Leadtek
the
but
.1%
totwo
issee.
these
in
once
dueling
board
the
Once
with
7.0
boards
again
USG
the
over
We
again,
nForce2
ever
some
were
thethe
so
The
KT400
In
end
the
holds
lastly
..::
the
FutureMark
nForce2
due
Cinebench
aaCinebench
based
.16%
.22%
to the
based
lead
lead
GA-7VAXP
fact
2000
3DMark2001SE
test,
in
initmotherboards
the
the
is
tests
aindeed
Raytracing
small
Cinema
Ultra
show
margin
adoes
very
the
::..
4D
perform,
benchmark.
benchmark,
boards
manage
stressful
can mean
for
coming
to
all
test
take
aa
intents
good
upon
1.9%
inaway
nearly
deal
and
the
lead
the
system
purposes,
of
equal
inbig
performance
the“W”
in
OpenGL
overall.
all
inidentically.
tests,
twoOnce
difference
benchmark,
ofalthough
theagain,
The
three
Leadtek
inthe
both
tests.
and
the of
There
yet
is
results.
SE
GA-7VAXP
manages
the
boards
see
..::
that
Quake
adopt
shows
Leadtek
if the
has
we
performed
Hence,
NF7-M
to
this
currently
us
been
IIIUltra
take
nForce2
Arena
some
benchmark
we
acan
taking
home
good
practically
shall
do
very
::..
board,
hold
not
the
home
deal
stick
interesting
into
have
this
crown.
albeit
of
in
with
our
the
lead
controversy
unison
a DX9
crown
tests.
3DMark2001
by
Here
into
results
a when
capable
small
the
As
we
in indeed.
all
IUT2003
can
over
have
itmargin
but
comes
graphics
SE
see
the
one
stated
Here,
for
and
that
latest
into
resolution
the
each
performance
card
Q3A
the
previously,
we
time
3DMark03,
NF7-M
resolution.
are
to
benchmarks.
being.
use
where
seeing
is
for
my
as
FutureMark
finally
so
the
the
Both
the
main
we
I have
Abit
most
KT400
would
able
of
reasoning
these
NF7-M
chosen
accurate
to3DMark2001
expect.
based
overtake
two
to
fornot
Let’s
this
Well,
in
K7NCR18D-Pro,
seen
neither
clearly
4%.
the
..::
the
Unreal
KT400
final
Inall
the
first
the
seems
day
1280
story
real
1024
closest
Tournament
based
long,
xto
world
that
1024
xalthough
be
GA-7VAXP
the
768
of
we
budging
tests.
the
tests,
Leadtek
tests,
just
2003
bunch.
itThe
read
the
does
we
one
Ultra
::..
and
NF7-M
performance
with
see
Inbit.
manage
the
Abit
inathe
Both
all
performance
lower
wasn’t
nForce2
resolutions,
FutureMark
boards
toresolutions,
gain
slightly
able
motherboards
dies
are
togains
although
3DMark2001SE
pull
keep
showing
down
we
ahead
varying
upsee
tothe
its
nice
2.0%.
are
ofperformance
lead
between
1280
itrunning
performance
once
tests
over
x 1024
orhas
2.5
the
neck
twice.
gains
and
Leadtek
xbeen
and
16
increases
As
3.5%,
resolution
of
debunked
neck
we
roughly
and
have
and
over
in
is
Last
benchmarking
optimal
difference
has
NF7-M
manage
different
chipset.
surprise,
seeing
in
using
well
now
boards
motherboards.
expected
..::
up
the
periods,
as
computing
stably
indeed
main
over
fan,
with
will
that
design
As
are
start
especially
graphics.
sway
around
for
we
and
manufacturers
to
shouldn’t.
cooling
can
this
nForce2
Well,
those
date,
overall.
board,
can’t
perform
performance,
of
The
Editor’s
review,
forums
Stability:
Design:
Features:
BIOS
Performance:
Total:
_______________________
nearly
2.3V
the
is
into
far
several
what
Conclusion
have
be
system
included
motherboard
is
shown
be
takes
or
is
memory
when
design
BIOS
Abit
little
ageing
up
the
to
the
wait
ATX
we
we’ve
to
and
one
/the
looking
91
week.
certainly
as
and
located
forced
fan
although
between
of
Overclocking:
a
bring
said
are
in
spice
the
$125.00
and
to
for
benchmarking
The
for
Choice
sum
9.0
when
you
whether
to
is
processor,
IGP
norm
seen
NF7-M
have
all
10.0
they
to
nice
Points
the
Adding
itNF7-M
the
to
for
8.0
person
Obviously
keep
the
put
power
with
between
that
mounted
gave
very
programs
VCore
days
today
nudge
nearly
up
processor
was
to.
no
of
seen
of
thanks
KT400
for
NF7-M
get
With
get.
are
things
about
timing
package
those
sports
up
motherboard
NF7-M
future!
near
to
stability,
for
summary
8.5
are,
lead
up
the
placed
the
yet
in
far
seen
utility
during
problems,
comes
and
boards
Overall
a
the
Award.
the
small
rock
::..
deal
some
the
us
and
has
non-stop
their
your
extreme
an
this
connector
board
or
The
against
on
we
all
for
away
better
ais
Abit
identical
again.
out
benchmarks.
for
future
over
other
some
in
to
chipset.
no
looking
processor
up
all
adjustments
going
and
not
or
NF7-M
the
within
boards
a
nForce2
that
with
aearned
iftheir
up
have
solid.
/in
with
has
10.0
packages
stability
against
and
some
basic
Abit
all
socket
the
along
clear
NF7
of
goes,
few
you
interfere
boards
NF7-M
noticeable
results
and
such
I’d
II’d
the
from
you
and
performance
best
at
from
was
here
Leadtek
the
intents
of
Itcustom
voltage
to
Gigabyte’s
but
issues
only
proximity
Abit
say
the
next
with
price
well
NF7-M
like
the
some
other
plan
is
We
when
overclocking
line
to
background
you
system
did
barebones
statement
is
see
We
case
should
as
call
with
a
Abit
well
another
new
pleased
onboard
on
was
now
Imotherboard
the
in
these
issue
test
testing
for
that
nearly
located
is
from
Unreal
NF7-M
total
PSU
to
a
know
no
within
system
did
the
fall
of
with
for
on
the
The
to
hope
how
and
your
one
itmore
meager.
features
of
that
pretty
settings,
thank
K7NCR18D-Pro
the
Leadtek
it.ini
NF7-M
this
comparison.
are
KT400A
problems.
glitches,
a
is
motherboards.
readily
around
the
athe
make
not
behind
comes
utilizing
NF7-M
reading!
note.
look
of
suffering
was
to
in
labs.
nice
itself.
two
day.
a
any
Abit
that
purposes,
files
GA-7VAXP
of
null
NF7-M
well
Abit
board
the
time
unmatched
list
of
never
with
Tournament
to
91
in
graphics
true
the
another
in
good
concrete
Abit
as
experience
ifreputable
system
Abit
the
while
both
running
nForce2
at
get
each
features,
they
a
of
move
them
has
of
My
many
acceptable
NF7-M
Let’s
with
points,
obvious
and
to
And,
itoffers
Itop
$125.00+
when
such
the
periods,
to
most
position
motherboards
limit
that
when
or
NF7-M
with
was
the
such
performs
cleaner
must-haves.
to
has
for
all
We
make
who
in
is
only
under
overall
the
to
require
twitches.
right
gaming
the
a
of
Abit
this
In
manner.
that
one
start
the
by
around
yet
air
already
type
all
users
on
of
identical.
the
as
offer,
statement
able
few
of
hope
itare
been
in
just
the
does
high
Ultra,
going
should
nForce2
these
boards.
online
whatsoever.
main
Leadtek
their
comes
Abit,
that
put
I’d
their
that
sure
a
one.
the
earns
again,
main
NF7-M’s
2003
the
an
mounting
much
of
have
that
the
ones
best
off
other
unparalleled
of
USD,
performance.
single
tests,
to
enough
range
when
recommend
integrated
out
the
and
voltages
to
up
the
and
overclocked
market
manage
time
the
AGP,
items.
board
is
with
processors
although
complaints
Overall,
to
load
help
tests,
featuring
route
all
The
could
retailers,
reason
be
see
integrated
benchmark.
been
a
being
nearly
The
we
more
to
in
there
new
If
the
make
strong
small
SPP
as
Leadtek
we’re
settings
in
doing
holding
although
spot
crash
placed
for
by
you’re
taking
the
so
3DMark2001
performance
addition
NF7-M
of
in
have
you
Chipset,
my
hole.
to
usual
when
the
story
although
Iinevitably
performance
today
GA-7VAXP-A
The
running
asupplying
boards
would
a
we
you’d
attractive
might
expelled
and
to
stability.
earn
the
on
items
identical
many
your
graphics.
whopping
talking
that
mind.
be
voltage
other
point
high
main
dropping
during
by
and
the
come
looking
come
a
can
The
against
Overall
the
deal
and
are
or
that
my
mere
K7NCR18D-Pro
itgraphics
Abit
IGP
is
sure
once
in
look
nearly
of
itboard
better
is
next
comes
We
much
not
completely
Abit
and
quality
in
I’d
currently
users
based
of
lead
processor
cable
my
the
recommended
see
multiple
at
Both
the
Leadtek
their
now
the
we
with
about
interfere
out
NF7-M
any
boards
The
the
from
across,
that
fact
to
Abit.
the
numbers
at
say
are
have
high
as
SE
again
The
purchase
for
DRAM.
NF7-M
opinion,
IMBReview.com
these
by
performance
margin
have
just
all
variations
four
by
is
watch
prefer
have
potential
this
was
of
boards
time
package
the
entire
will
to
itof
performance
Ultra
around
motherboard
overall
onboard
using
high.
that
off
performance.
athe
our
based
a
other
The
fell
quality
a
top
insane
such
the
our
distributed
how
nice
running
performed
mounting
board,
the
board
and
pretty
fact
be
sub
pleased
of
although
seen
two
with
to
stock
some
intensive
case
website
Abit
is
right
to
for
KT400A
to
Overclocker’s,
in
of
across
system
products
The
package,
the
and
stress
the
looking
performance
round
perform
and
a
well
ifmix
stability
a
surprise
you
that
said
off
1%
see
some
buyers,
under
nForce2
the
can
to
that
the
an
fair
list
voltages
audio
all
allows
luxury
good
does
same
by
and
where
built-in
state.
same
serious
after
for
of
allow
of
Abit
margin
they
any
the
Abit
with
along
chip
objects
for
airflow
price
testing
holes
easily
the
a
itand
we
to
itthe
for
very
tests,
things
to
The
who
1%.
does
rear
all
deal.
that
very
and
of
but
and
day
up
I,are
the
IforI
7/7