iXBT Labs - Computer Hardware in Detail

Platform

Video

Multimedia

Mobile

Other

ABIT NF7-M (NVIDIA nForce2) Mainboard



The board is built on the same PCB as NF7-S, but it has weaker peripherals support. 

Accessories: 

  • Package of the standard design; 
  • Documentation: user manual in 6 languages; 
  • Cables: 1 ATA66/100/133 and FDD; 
  • Bracket with 2 USB ports; 
  • Bracket for the rear computer panel; 
  • CD containing: 
    • drivers; 
    • user guides for NVIDIA based boards; 
    • Adobe Acrobat Reader; 
    • DirectX 8.1; 
    • system monitoring utility. 

The layout has typical drawbacks: audio-ins are in front of PCI and an inserted video card can make it difficult to handle memory modules and IDE cables. It's not difficult to reach the only jumper when the board is already installed. Its functions are shown on the textolite. 

The 3-channel switching voltage regulator incorporates 5 capacitors of 3300 uF and 4 of 1200 uF. 

The following controllers are integrated: 

  • audio controller based on the chipset and Avance Logic ALC650 AC'97 codec; 5.1 audio system supported, front audio inputs/outputs and SPDIF connectors provided; 
  • network controller based on the chipset; 10BaseT/100BaseTX supported; 

Non-unsoldered connectors: SATA RAID controller with connectors, FireWire bus controller with connectors. 

System monitoring is supported by Winbond W83627HF-AW chip. What is controlled: 

  • processor voltages, 2.5, +3.3, +-5 and +-12 V, VBAT and +5 V Standby
  • speed of 3 fans; 
  • temperatures of the processor (built-in sensor) and the board (built-in sensor). 

There are 2 connectors for adjustable and 2 for unadjustable connection of fans (one of them is connected to a fan on the north bridge's heatsink). 

Brief board's characteristics: memory slots - 3 DDR SDRAM; expansion slots - AGP/ 5 PCI; I/O ports - 1 COM/ LPT/ 2 PS/2/ 6 USB 2.0; dimensions - 305x245 mm. 




Settings: 
 

jumpers and switches Jumper to clear up the CMOS  
BIOS based on Phoenix AwardBIOS 6.00PG Setup of memory timings + Row-active delay, RAS to CAS delay, Row precharge delay, CAS Latency
Setup of memory frequency + FSB:DRAM = By SPD, 3:3, 3:4, 3:5, 3:6, 4:3, 4:5, 4:6, 5:3, 5:4, 5:6, 6:3, 6:4, 6:5
Setup of AGP bus -  
Setup of PCI bus -  
Changeable scaler of AGP and PCI buses -  
Manual assignment of interrupts +  
Changeable FSB frequency +

100-237 MHz in 1, 2, 3 and 5 MHz steps

Changeable CPU multiplier + x5-x22
Changeable core voltage + 1.1-1.85 V in 0.025V steps
Changeable memory voltage + 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7 V
Changeable chipset voltage + 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 V
Changeable AGP bus voltage + 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8 V
Changeable video core frequency + 100-123 MHz in 1MHz steps

We used the BIOS nf7_b15.b00 as the latest available version. 

The board has budget-level functionality, and we recommend it for the respective category of users and for those who don't need integrated features and are going to overclock their systems - in this respect ABIT NF7-M is far better that the competitors. 

Test results: 


 

Dmitry Mayorov (destrax@ixbt.com


Write a comment below. No registration needed!


Article navigation:



blog comments powered by Disqus

  Most Popular Reviews More    RSS  

AMD Phenom II X4 955, Phenom II X4 960T, Phenom II X6 1075T, and Intel Pentium G2120, Core i3-3220, Core i5-3330 Processors

Comparing old, cheap solutions from AMD with new, budget offerings from Intel.
February 1, 2013 · Processor Roundups

Inno3D GeForce GTX 670 iChill, Inno3D GeForce GTX 660 Ti Graphics Cards

A couple of mid-range adapters with original cooling systems.
January 30, 2013 · Video cards: NVIDIA GPUs

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1

An external X-Fi solution in tests.
September 9, 2008 · Sound Cards

AMD FX-8350 Processor

The first worthwhile Piledriver CPU.
September 11, 2012 · Processors: AMD

Consumed Power, Energy Consumption: Ivy Bridge vs. Sandy Bridge

Trying out the new method.
September 18, 2012 · Processors: Intel
  Latest Reviews More    RSS  

i3DSpeed, September 2013

Retested all graphics cards with the new drivers.
Oct 18, 2013 · 3Digests

i3DSpeed, August 2013

Added new benchmarks: BioShock Infinite and Metro: Last Light.
Sep 06, 2013 · 3Digests

i3DSpeed, July 2013

Added the test results of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 and AMD Radeon HD 7730.
Aug 05, 2013 · 3Digests

Gainward GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB Golden Sample Graphics Card

An excellent hybrid of GeForce GTX 650 Ti and GeForce GTX 660.
Jun 24, 2013 · Video cards: NVIDIA GPUs

i3DSpeed, May 2013

Added the test results of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770/780.
Jun 03, 2013 · 3Digests
  Latest News More    RSS  

Platform  ·  Video  ·  Multimedia  ·  Mobile  ·  Other  ||  About us & Privacy policy  ·  Twitter  ·  Facebook


Copyright © Byrds Research & Publishing, Ltd., 1997–2011. All rights reserved.