ETA on ABit Motherboard

[Guest]

Does anyone here have any idea if and when ABit will be releasing a top end motherboard using the VIA KT333 northbridge to compete with the ASUS A7V333?

 

[khha4113]

Uh, it's aready out and called <b><A HREF="http://www.abit.com.tw/abitweb/webjsp/english/products_shortcut.jsp?pPRODUCT_TYPE=MotherBoard&pMODEL_NAME=AT7" target="_new"><font color=red>AT7</A></b></font color=red>

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

 

[upec]

Abit just release the AT7 KT333 mainboard on April 12, 2002. The board should be on market soon.

 

[Guest]

Is it any good? Edit: just saw it, it only has 3 pci slots?

 

[AMD_Man]

ABit is the first to move to a completely legacy-free motherboard. It has all the essentials on board and lacks all the legacy components so will probably never need more than 3 PCI slots.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[Guest]

I use atm all 5 pci slots on my motherboard, but i can reduce it to 4 with the onboard nic.

 

[upec]

I think 3 PCI slots are not going to be enough for me.

 

[AMD_Man]

Hmm, what's plugged into the 4? The AT7 includes some excellent on board sound with opticial and digital output as well as firewire ports and 6 IDE channels (4 of them can be used for RAID). With all those features, I only need to use 2 PCI cards, one for a modem (for faxing), and the other for a TV Tuner.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[Guest]

I found a review on the AT7 here:

http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/motherboards/abit_at7/1.php

 

[FatBurger]

Actually, if I used everything onboard, I'd only need one (TV tuner). But I <i>really</i> would't want to lose my GTXP.

<font color=blue>If you don't buy Windows, then the terrorists have already won!</font color=blue> - Microsoft

 

[Kennyshin]

AT7 has been on the market for some time. The price has not changed much but more retailers are selling AT7 now. Abit Taiwan is strengthening marketing in the Asian market, at least. AT7 and IT7 and there'll be more aggressive products soon. I heard IT7 is based on Intel i845E.

Searching for the true, the beautiful, and the eternal

 

[Kennyshin]

Some people say they don't like the onboard sound and want more PCI slots. As for me, I'd like Gigabit LAN even if there's no PCI at all. I wonder how good the onboard HPT-374 is with lots of 120GXP or 1200JB. ABIT AT7 price in the US is almost 170 usd and it'll be 190 usd in Korea.

Searching for the true, the beautiful, and the eternal

 

[AMD_Man]

A Gigabit LAN? Why? Are you running a server? With digital and optical out, it would be a shame to replace the on board sound with anything but a GTXP or an Audigy Platinum (EX)

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[FatBurger]

Depends on too many things, though. If the sound quality is poor, or the drivers screw up EAX, then you'd want to switch it out.

As for gigabit LAN, it's pretty much pointless now, but I'd rather have gigabit onboard than 100Mb in a PCI slot.

<font color=blue>If you don't buy Windows, then the terrorists have already won!</font color=blue> - Microsoft

 

[Kennyshin]

I move Gigs daily between PCs. 5MB/s is too slow and IEEE-1394 drives and cards are too expensive. Gigabit LAN will be standard in mainboards later this year or early next year anyway. Haven't checked the latest price but Gigabit PCI card costs about $50. Just like USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, Serial ATA, Gigabit LAN will be the norm. Just another wishful thinking.

Searching for the true, the beautiful, and the eternal

 

[AMD_Man]

Depends on too many things, though. If the sound quality is poor, or the drivers screw up EAX, then you'd want to switch it out.

It's hard to benchmark audio, so the only way to actually test the onboard sound is to listen to it.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[FatBurger]

Yeup, I'm just saying there are other reasons to replace an audio solution than the connectors.

<font color=blue>If you don't buy Windows, then the terrorists have already won!</font color=blue> - Microsoft