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ABIT VI7 (VIA PT800) Mainboard



This is a budget model without any additionally controllers, though the basic chipset functionality is pretty good. The accessory pack is minimal. It's interesting that the audio codec and the network PHY controller are from VIA, that is why together with the chipset we've actually got "VIA Inside". :)




The layout is not very convenient but we didn't expect it to be handy because it's narrower than usual. The audio-ins are right in front of the PCI, the FDD connector is too close to the edge, the power supply connectors are right in the center (the cables will hang above the CPU cooler), and even the horizontal position of the IDE connectors is not that handy as a video card installed will hang right above one of them. It can be a problem to reach some jumpers when the board is already installed. Their description is not provided on the PCB. +5V Standby is indicated with a green LED. The 3-phase switching voltage regulator incorporates 6 capacitors of 2200 uF and 3 of 1200 uF. There are also voltage regulators of the AGP bus (2x1000 uF and several less capacious ones) and of the memory (4x1000 uF). 

No wasted space for components that didn't get included in the final design (this is the only model based on the PT800). The board measures 305x195 mm (narrow ATX, 7 fastening screws, all edges fixed). System monitoring is supported by Winbond W83697HF chip. It controls:

  • processor, AGP bus, memory bus, battery voltages, +3.3, +5, +12 V, and +5 V Standby 
  • rotation speed of 2 fans; 
  • temperatures of the processor (built-in sensor) and the board (built-in sensor). 

Ports & connectors onboard

  • CPU socket (Socket 478, Prescott support not promised); 
  • 2 slots for DDR SDRAM DIMM (up to 2 GB); 
  • AGP slot (with a retention clip); 
  • 5 PCI slots (32bit, 33MHz); 
  • Standard power supply connectors (ATX, 4pin for 12V); 
  • FDD; 
  • 2 IDE (Parallel ATA) - on chipset; 
  • 2 SATA (Serial ATA) - on chipset; 
  • 2 Connectors for brackets of 2 USB 2.0 ports; 
  • Connector for audio-out from CD/DVD drive; 
  • Connector for AUX-In;
  • Connector for SMBus devices;
  • 3 connectors for fans (2 with rotation control).

Rear panel (left to right, units)




  • PS/2 mouse and keyboard;
  • 1 LPT, 1 COM;
  • 5 audio ports (Rear, Center/Sub, Mic-In, Line-In, Front) and S/PDIF-Out (TosLink);
  • 2 USB (2.0);
  • 2 USB (2.0) and RJ-45 (Fast Ethernet).

As usual, ABIT equipped the board with all audio ports supported. Unfortunately, ABIT is the only company who does it. 

Accessory pack




  • Package of the standard design;
  • Documentation: user manual in 6 languages;
  • Cables: 1 Serial ATA (with a power adapter), 1 ATA66/100/133 and FDD;
  • I/O Shield;
  • Diskettes with drivers for SATA RAID;
  • CD with:
    • drivers;
    • user manual in PDF;
    • Adobe Acrobat Reader;
    • ABIT FlashMenu;
    • DirectX 9.0.

Integrated controllers

  • audio controller based on the VIA VT1616 AC'97 codec; 5.1 audio system supported, S/PDIF connector provided; 
  • network controller based on the chipset and VIA VT6103 PHY controller, 10/100 Mbit/s  Base-T (Fast Ethernet) supported.

Settings

jumpers and switches Jumper to clear the CMOS  
Jumper for starting up PC from PS/2 keyboard/mouse  
Switches for starting up PC from USB keyboard/mouse  
BIOS based Phoenix AwardBIOS 6.00PG Setup of memory timings + CAS Latency, RAS Precharge, RAS to CAS Delay, Min. RAS Active Time, Bank Interleave, Command Rate, Burst Length, tWTR
Setup of memory frequency + By SPD, DDR200, DDR266, DDR333, DDR400
Setup of AGP bus +  
Setup of PCI bus +  
AGP/PCI frequency setup + CPU:AGP(PCIx2) = Auto, 3:2, 4:2, 5:2, 6:2
PCI IRQ manual assignment +  
FSB frequency setup + 100-255 MHz in 1MHz steps
CPU clock ratio + x8-x50
CPU voltage control + By CPU, VID*105%, VID*110%, VID*115%
DIMM voltage control + 2.5, 2.55, 2.6, 2.65, 2.7, 2.8 V
NB voltage control -  
AGP voltage control + 1.5, 1.55, 1.6, 1.65 V

We used the BIOS 12 as the latest available version. 

Test results:

 
  


Dmitry Mayorov (destrax@ixbt.com)

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