One Tough Cookie: 10 Boards with Intel i875P Chipset: Part I

Abit IC7-G: Below Expectations

Board revision unknown, BIOS 1.1

Packaging of the Abit IC7-G.

A look at the Abit IC7-G: the large Northbridge fan is obtrusive.

Produced humming noises after just a few hours of test operation: fan on the Abit IC7-G.

The large Northbridge fan is immediately noticeable on the Abit black board. The manufacturer calls the technique for controlling the speed to account for changes in temperature "FanEQ." The fan looks robust, but we soon learned the error of our ways: after just a few hours of test operation in the Munich THG lab, the fan emitted slight humming noises, indicating a worn bearing.

Simplify, simplify, simplify: a passive cooler, as on the Asus or Intel, for example, is perfectly capable of dissipating the thermal power loss of a mere 11 watts. On the other hand, kudos for the four-phase voltage regulator, with the old construction method still being partially used.

The features of the board are very extensive: as well as integration of the CSA-LAN interface (Intel 82547EI), the ICH5-RAID controller, a Firewire chip from Texas Instruments for three devices, the optical digital ins and outs for sound, there is a RAID controller from Silicon Image.