Review: ABIT NF7-S V2.0

Dom · Jun 2, 2003, 03:21 PM

We are going to look ABIT's newest revision of the NF7-S today, Version 2.0. This is the fourth revision of arguably the fastest AMD platform motherboard to date, and the revisions have come fast and furious. You may think that 4 revisions since the NF7 was unleashed in November 2002 may be a bit much, each revision has brought excellent features and significant features to the table. When version 1.0 (v1.0) was released, enthusiasts rejoiced over the wealth of features included, and at the time, the 237 FSB. Unfortunately there were some features missing that hard core enthusiast wanted. Most notably were the four mounting holes around the CPU socket to use beefier heatsinks, and watercooling, as well as audio and data corruption issues. To many enthusiasts surprise, v1.1 started showing up around January 2003 with the four mounting holes, and soon after that, v1.2 with better components, the audio issue resolved, and more voltage options. Then nVidia ceased making the original Crush18 chipset and unveiled the Crush18D will full support of 400MHz FSB for the new Barton's. In a nutshell, that's where we are at today. I'm sure there were other issues that the revisions fixed, but for the most part each revision was substantially better.

Read the full review at OCAddiction.com

Zardon · Jun 2, 2003, 05:06 PM

totally AWESOME motherboard !

DriveEuro · Jun 5, 2003, 06:29 PM

Yup, as well as the NF7 (non S)... I think people keep on overlooking it's less feature full sibling. Not all of us need superior integrated sounds or SATA (that didn't work in RAID 0 for the first 6 months of the board's existance), and not all of us need firewire. The same overclocking abilities for almost 30$ less.

Zardon · Jun 5, 2003, 06:33 PM

well its virtually the same board, its better reviewing the more kitted out version as most people do, covers both bases.

DriveEuro · Jun 5, 2003, 06:36 PM

I know it's nice to show the better known board. But I'm just pointing out that not all people own firewire components or need SATA when SATA drives still haven't made an impact. But integrated audio is always a plus... too bad I can't use it as my speakers use a 4 channel digital cable. NF7-S and NF7 don't have that output jack.

Jun 2, 2003, 03:21 PM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	Review: ABIT NF7-S V2.0 We are going to look ABIT's newest revision of the NF7-S today, Version 2.0. This is the fourth revision of arguably the fastest AMD platform motherboard to date, and the revisions have come fast and furious. You may think that 4 revisions since the NF7 was unleashed in November 2002 may be a bit much, each revision has brought excellent features and significant features to the table. When version 1.0 (v1.0) was released, enthusiasts rejoiced over the wealth of features included, and at the time, the 237 FSB. Unfortunately there were some features missing that hard core enthusiast wanted. Most notably were the four mounting holes around the CPU socket to use beefier heatsinks, and watercooling, as well as audio and data corruption issues. To many enthusiasts surprise, v1.1 started showing up around January 2003 with the four mounting holes, and soon after that, v1.2 with better components, the audio issue resolved, and more voltage options. Then nVidia ceased making the original Crush18 chipset and unveiled the Crush18D will full support of 400MHz FSB for the new Barton's. In a nutshell, that's where we are at today. I'm sure there were other issues that the revisions fixed, but for the most part each revision was substantially better. Read the full review at OCAddiction.com

Jun 5, 2003, 06:29 PM	#3
DriveEuro HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gurnee Illinois Posts: 4,677 Rep Power: 0	Yup, as well as the NF7 (non S)... I think people keep on overlooking it's less feature full sibling. Not all of us need superior integrated sounds or SATA (that didn't work in RAID 0 for the first 6 months of the board's existance), and not all of us need firewire. The same overclocking abilities for almost 30$ less. __________________ [color=orange]ASUS P4P800 Deluxe [color=black]-[/color] 2.4C --> 3300mhz [color=black]-[/color] Mushkin PC3200 at 220 5-2-2-2 (cpu limited) [color=black]-[/color] BBAti 9800Pro at 430/375 [/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]01[/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]03[/color] 16001200 12801024

Jun 5, 2003, 06:36 PM	#5
DriveEuro HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gurnee Illinois Posts: 4,677 Rep Power: 0	I know it's nice to show the better known board. But I'm just pointing out that not all people own firewire components or need SATA when SATA drives still haven't made an impact. But integrated audio is always a plus... too bad I can't use it as my speakers use a 4 channel digital cable. NF7-S and NF7 don't have that output jack. __________________ [color=orange]ASUS P4P800 Deluxe [color=black]-[/color] 2.4C --> 3300mhz [color=black]-[/color] Mushkin PC3200 at 220 5-2-2-2 (cpu limited) [color=black]-[/color] BBAti 9800Pro at 430/375 [/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]01[/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]03[/color] 16001200 12801024

Jun 2, 2003, 05:06 PM	#2
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	totally AWESOME motherboard !

Jun 5, 2003, 06:33 PM	#4
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	well its virtually the same board, its better reviewing the more kitted out version as most people do, covers both bases.