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Right now there are two Nforce 2 based boards that we haven't looked at that we really wanted to include in our reviews. One is the almighty Asus A7N8X, the other, which we present here today, is the Abit NF7 series. Originally this review would have come out a lot sooner, since most of you by now realize that the NF7 is not anymore a "new release", but Neoseeker is moving offices soon, and yours truly has just recovered from surgery. Those two factors helped delay a write up of this fine, fine board, which rightfully places itself at the the top of the Nforce2 pile - but all good things come to those who wait, so let's proceed with a look at the NF7's features and specs.

As a note, we're reviewing revision 1.2 of the board. This revision adds slightly higher DIMM and CPU Vcore settings, more LEDs, and has the 4 extra screw holes around the CPU socket that original revisions lacked.

Features and Specs

Most of you need not be reminded of the features of the nForce2 chipset. The NF7 is based on the nForce2 MCP2-T with the SoundStorm 5.1 Dolby Digital APU (Audio Processing Unit). This, in addition to the DDR400 support, Dual Channel memory, 333MHz FSB support, and AGP8X comprise the main features of the nForce2 chipset.

The specs of the board are as follows:

Chipset:
nVIDIA nForce2 SPP North Bridge
nVIDIA nForce2 MCP-T South Bridge

Memory:
3 DDR DIMM; Up to 3GB
DDR 200/266/333/400 memory support
supports 128bit dual channel memory achitecture

Audio: Realtek ALC650 5.1 Channel controller

Onboard LAN: Realtek RTL 8201L

Expansion:
1 AGP 8X
5 PCI

I/O
1 Parallel port
2 Serial ports
1 RJ-45 connector
2 UDMA ATA connectors
2 CD-IN headers
1 iRDA header
1 Audio connector Line-in, Line-out, MIC-in (vertical)
2 IEEE 1394 pin-header
2 rear USB 2.0 connectors and 2 USB 2.0 headers

Audio I/O
Front Speaker out
Line-In
Mic-In
Dedicated Center/Sub and Surround Speaker jacks
Optical SPDIF Out

Many of you will note that we're reviewing the base NF7 here, while stores in your area and on the net are also carrying the NF7-S and NF7-M. The NF7-S is identical to the NF7 except for the extra Silicon Image 3112A SATA RAID controller onboard and the two SATA 150 connectors. The NF7-M adds integraded GF4MX graphics. I urge most of you to opt for the NF7-S if you ever think about upgrading to SATA drives.

If nothing else about the specs stands out, one thing should really perk up your attention: the rear I/O panel of the NF7 boards has integrated DEDICATED rear channel and center/sub jacks, as well as optical out. You should know by now that I'm a big fan of at least having a separate expansion bracket to offer separate jacks for the extra 5.1 channels. The other option - of using software to toggle the functionality of the standard 3 audio jacks is less than ideal, so I'm glad Abit went the extra length here and spared their customers from that sort of hassle.