ABIT's nForce board is out: Abit NV7M is micro-ATX though

[ahsia]

Everything the nForce has to offer, but in a microATX format, 2 DIMM sockets, and only 3 PCI slots.

$144.50 at Googlegear

 

[eplebnista]

IMO, the price is still kind of high for an integrated board though, and I noticed that it mentions the warranty is only for one year. Are all Abit boards warrantied for only one year? I would have thought they had longer ones than that, like 2 years or so.

My $.02,
eplebnista

 

[BalAtWork]

Also if you look at the feature list you will notice the board has a Realtek Ethernet controller and a '97 audio chip. In other words I am seriously doubting if they are even utilizing the onboard audio and ethernet.

I would copy the info but I got to go back to work.

 

[IgoByte]

The price is too high, IMO. These boards need to get closer to $100 to be worth buying.

 

[bluemax]

<< Audio nVIDIA MCP-D built in Audio Processing Unit w/ 256 total voices
Support AC3 encode purpose
Professional digital audio interface supporting SPDIF OUT
AC'97 Audio CODEC on board >>


Audio looks like standard nForce to me. [shrug]

I think this board is a decent enough deal... If it comes down to $100US it'll be a great deal!
And remember, nForce isn't for power users, it's for everyday Joes who play the occasional game. I fit into that category and I think the nForce is a very well-rounded design. A GF2MX level of graphics speed is more than enough for MOST folks.
By the time I can afford to build a computer for myself (and give my wife the Dell) the next iteration of the nForce will be out with GTS+ speeds.

And I LIKE microATX! Means I can put it in a nice, SMALL case I can take to Church/office/LAN parties/whatever. And it'll look cool on my desk while remaining functional.

 

[ahsia]

<< The price is too high, IMO. These boards need to get closer to $100 to be worth buying. >>



Give it some time. It was just released. The 415-D boards will be out shortly. Hopefully they will debut at $100-$110 or so.

 

[Athlon4all]

Well, I am in the next few days gonna be buying the Asus A7N266-E, but maybe I'll go for the NV7M. I gotta find out it's overclocking options. At worst if it doesn't overclock as good as the A7N266-E, I can sell it off to someone.

EDIT: I assume this board has the On-Board Ethernet as well?

 

[AGodspeed]

IMO, the price is still kind of high for an integrated board though.

Christ people, the only reason a board like this would be "high priced" are for those people that already have nForce's integrated components. If you already have a great sound card, video card, NIC, etc., then why in the world would you want this board. That's what Nvidia invented the 415-D chipset for, people who don't need integrated video, but that might like the option of having top-notch integrated sound, NIC, etc.

 

[NFS4]

<< IMO, the price is still kind of high for an integrated board though.

Christ people, the only reason a board like this would be "high priced" are for those people that already have nForce's integrated components. If you already have a great sound card, video card, NIC, etc., then why in the world would you want this board. That's what Nvidia invented the 415-D chipset for, people who don't need integrated video, but that might like the option of having top-notch integrated sound, NIC, etc. >>


Let's be reasonable here. $145 for a MicroATX board is screwing the pooch, I don't care how new it is.

 

[AGodspeed]

<<

<< IMO, the price is still kind of high for an integrated board though.

Christ people, the only reason a board like this would be "high priced" are for those people that already have nForce's integrated components. If you already have a great sound card, video card, NIC, etc., then why in the world would you want this board. That's what Nvidia invented the 415-D chipset for, people who don't need integrated video, but that might like the option of having top-notch integrated sound, NIC, etc. >>


Let's be reasonable here. $145 for a MicroATX board is screwing the pooch, I don't care how new it is. >>



I think it's a great price for a board that just come out a few days ago. The price is especially good considering it's from a top-tier name like Abit. If you remember the price of nForce boards when they first came out (MSI's nForce was almost $200) you know that they've dropped considerably since, to the point where you can get a full ATX nForce board from MSI for under $150. Wait a few weeks, I bet the price of this board will drop $30 or so.

 

[Daovonnaex]

That board would be perfect for building a LAN gaming box (using the Lian Li PC-35) or for building a G4 Cube look alike.

 

[splice]

Actually, it's not that bad of a deal.... try to build a KT266A + MX card + SBAudigy/TBSC + NIC for cheaper.

NewEgg Prices:
Shuttle AK31A: $79
LeadTek MX200: $45
Santa Cruz: $61
Linksys LNE100TX: $15

Total: $200.00 + shipping (~$16)

 

[Athlon4all]

Exactley Splice. Better yet, take out the Audigy and Ethernet, and it still ends up being cheaper than getting the AK31A plus the GF2 MX400. Plus NFS4, if u don't like the Micro ATX form factor, then the MSi K7N420 pro has the exact same (actually more PCI slots) feature set as the NV7m for only $2 more at Newegg! Really the only Achillies heal for nForce now is it's overclocking when compared to KT266A boards. I mean at Newegg the K7N420 Pro is cheaper than the A7V266-E and KR7A-RAID and the exact same price as the Dragon+.

 

[bluemax]

Hear Hear Athlon4all! I agree wholeheartedly! I don't think there's ANY reason to complain about this board!
If you already have faster video and/or an awesome sound card, it's simple: You don't need this board, you need a cheap one without anything integrated!
If you don't have squat and you're satisfied with MX-400 video, you're laughing all the way to the bank!

 

[NFS4]

<< Exactley Splice. Better yet, take out the Audigy and Ethernet, and it still ends up being cheaper than getting the AK31A plus the GF2 MX400. Plus NFS4, if u don't like the Micro ATX form factor, then the MSi K7N420 pro has the exact same (actually more PCI slots) feature set as the NV7m for only $2 more at Newegg! Really the only Achillies heal for nForce now is it's overclocking when compared to KT266A boards. I mean at Newegg the K7N420 Pro is cheaper than the A7V266-E and KR7A-RAID and the exact same price as the Dragon+. >>


That's the point, who is gonna pay $144 for this motherboard when you can get the MSI for practically nothing more?? I'm not disputing the nForce, just this particular overpriced bag of bones. Typical Abit: overpriced and always late to the party.


<< I mean at Newegg the K7N420 Pro is cheaper than the A7V266-E and KR7A-RAID and the exact same price as the Dragon+. >>


Give me a break, what do you expect

The MSI nForce doesn't have USB 2.0, RAID, or the ability to run three or more DIMMs at one time without defaulting to PC1600 speeds like the Soyo board. And both the Asus and Soyo boards have onboard 6-channel hardware sound if I'm not mistaken.

You also forgot to mention the MSI K7T266 PRO2-RU which has RAID and USB 2.0 for $121. See, I can pick and choose motherboards to make my case look good as well. I just won't let you leave it out

For a fully integrated solution, the MSI nForce is great, but this Abit board is too pricey and too LATE

 

[ahsia]

This board is a bit overpriced, but people feel that way because it is microATX. With onboard video, audio, and NIC, how many more PCI slots do you need? This is still a damn bargain. Imagine those Internet gaming places, they can now build systems for less than $500. ABIT NV7M, Athlon XP, 256mb DDR, 20gb HD, case. DONE!

 

[Mem]

I agree it`s overpriced compared to the other nForce boards, however I think maybe Abit are thinking they won`t sell alot being it`s micro size compared to the normal nForce models out there,so it`s one way of getting some money back.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

although i'm sure most of you dont care for microATx, i like it because you can make one hell of a tiny computer out of it.

think about it, all you need is:

this mobo
cpu
hs/f
hdd
cd(dvd/cdrw, whatever)
psu

thats it!

no pci cards, no nothing! i think its awesome, i could make a VERY small computer out of this, and it would have decent graphics (decent enough for me), good sound and ethernet, while using no bulky pci cards! AND the mobo is tiny.

personally, i've been waiting for this mobo, and i cant wait to see how cheap it gets.

 

[Sestar]

I personally love this board, and will get it when I get the chance too. I like the mATX form factor, the audio, the video, and all that jazz. I also like the size, and since I would never use more then 3 pci slots, I have no issues with it. Great board, decent price, high quality stuff, who wants an abit kt7a cheap?

 

[Athlon4all]

<< That's the point, who is gonna pay $144 for this motherboard when you can get the MSI for practically nothing more?? I'm not disputing the nForce, just this particular overpriced bag of bones. Typical Abit: overpriced and always late to the party. >>

Ok, you do have a point. I think I missed what the arguement was about. I agree that I would not take it over K7N420 pro unless it overclocks damn well. Or unless you must have mATX form factor.

<< The MSI nForce doesn't have USB 2.0, RAID, >>

True if u need RAID then go for the KT266A's, and as for USB 2.0 again true, but right now IMHO it is a non-factor because there are next to no USB 2.0 devices.

<< or the ability to run three or more DIMMs at one time without defaulting to PC1600 speeds like the Soyo board >>

I'm not gonna get into this again. What's the big woop about having only 2 DIMM's? I do think that they should just scrap the 3rd DIMM slot (Like Abit did) but what's the big deal? I guess I really think that is one area that Anand's 266A roundup was off on, is that he put toooo much of an Emphasis (IMHO) on how many DIMM slots you have. If u just throw 2 256MB sticks of DDR in, that is plenty for the average user. I mean did people bash AMD 760 because all but one board had only 2 DIMM's? No. Do people bash 845-D for having only 2 DIMM slots? NO!

<< See, I can pick and choose motherboards to make my case look good as well. I just won't let you leave it out >>

Again, IMHO, that is a non-factor.

 

[NFS4]

<< I'm not gonna get into this again. What's the big woop about having only 2 DIMM's? I do think that they should just scrap the 3rd DIMM slot (Like Abit did) but what's the big deal? I guess I really think that is one area that Anand's 266A roundup was off on, is that he put toooo much of an Emphasis (IMHO) on how many DIMM slots you have. If u just throw 2 256MB sticks of DDR in, that is plenty for the average user. I mean did people bash AMD 760 because all but one board had only 2 DIMM's? No. Do people bash 845-D for having only 2 DIMM slots? NO! >>


There's a difference. Intel and AMD didn't say that their chipsets could do something they couldn't. NVIDIA didn't come right out and tell us that the nForce balked at having 3 DIMMS installed (and defaulted to PC1600 speeds). They didn't even THINK to mention it to the public until GamePC called them out on the issue. THEN they said, "Oh, BTW...that's what we call Super Stability. That's why it runs slowers in certain configurations." And they STILL haven't made an official announcement on the issue.

And being that I got my RAM when it was still reasonable, I have (3) 256MB DDR DIMMs. I'm SOL on the nForce unless I feel like running at PC1600 speeds. And A LOT of people got an a$$ load of DDR memory when crucial had it for around $28.


<< and as for USB 2.0 again true, but right now IMHO it is a non-factor because there are next to no USB 2.0 devices. >>


Not true, there are many scanners, cameras, 24/10/40 speed CD-RWs, and hard drives that utilize USB 2.0. Better safe than sorry considering that you only have 3 PCI slots to work with on the Abit board.

 

[billyjak]

If your doing photo editing Ram is King and 2 slots don't cut it.

 

[Sestar]

You are telling me a gig of RAM wont cut it?

 

[Athlon4all]

<< There's a difference. Intel and AMD didn't say that their chipsets could do something they couldn't. NVIDIA didn't come right out and tell us that the nForce balked at having 3 DIMMS installed (and defaulted to PC1600 speeds). They didn't even THINK to mention it to the public until GamePC called them out on the issue. THEN they said, "Oh, BTW...that's what we call Super Stability. That's why it runs slowers in certain configurations." And they STILL haven't made an official announcement on the issue. >>

See, you (and many other ppl) are still caught up (IMO) in how nVidia handled the situatiopn with Super Stability. I could not agree that nVidia should have informed the public better than they did, but that still doesn't change the issue of what's wrong with 2 DIMM's? But....

<< And being that I got my RAM when it was still reasonable, I have (3) 256MB DDR DIMMs. I'm SOL on the nForce unless I feel like running at PC1600 speeds. And A LOT of people got an a$$ load of DDR memory when crucial had it for around $28. >>

Well, you are correct that people who do have that much RAM are in a fix and it is an issue, but does that fact mean you should bash nForce because of it? I don't think so. It is true that some people will need more than 512MB of RAM and for those people, they will need to look elsewhere. But for the majority, 512MB will be fine.

<< Better safe than sorry considering that you only have 3 PCI slots to work with on the Abit board. >>

For that person, then there's K7N420 Pro or the upcoming A7N266-C and MSi's 415-D board if they want something cheaper or don't want a 420-D board.

 

[NFS4]

<< Well, you are correct that people who do have that much RAM are in a fix and it is an issue, but does that fact mean you should bash nForce because of it? I don't think so. It is true that some people will need more than 512MB of RAM and for those people, they will need to look elsewhere. But for the majority, 512MB will be fine. >>


Why do you keep saying that I'm bashing the nForce?? All I have said is that:

1) This Abit nForce board is too expensive and too late
2) If you are using more than 2 DIMMs, the nForce is not a good choice
3) The nForce is a good integrated solution

How is that bashing the nForce??

I know that you're the nForce Guru around here, but just b/c someone doesn't agree with everything pertaining to a chipset does not mean that they are bashing the chipset. nForce isn't the only game in town you know Considering that most of us here are using external graphics cards (Radeons, Kyro II's, GF2's, GF3's) along with Live!'s, Santa Cruz's, and Audigys, the nForce is a bit of an overkill. For the majority of the people around here, we'll be using KT266A/KT333/KT333A/SiS735/SiS745 based solutions. Heck, even the SiS735 based ECS K7S5A is more popular around these parts than nForce. Just keep that in mind.