which ti get AI7 or IC7?

[pilmania]

hi, i am building a new system and I dunno which one to get. I am going to do some oc as well!

 

[smahoney]

The AI7 has much less overclocking potential than the IC7 or IC7-G boards for a number of reasons. The IC series have 4 phase voltage regulators and higher rated components to provide cleaner more stable power for overclocking. The IC series were designed more for overclockers than the AI7 series which is geared for more mainstream budget applications. I know the IC7-G is about $40 more than an AI&, but if you are really looking to OC it is a much safer choice.

 

[pilmania]

Originally posted by: smahoney
The AI7 has much less overclocking potential than the IC7 or IC7-G boards for a number of reasons. The IC series have 4 phase voltage regulators and higher rated components to provide cleaner more stable power for overclocking. The IC series were designed more for overclockers than the AI7 series which is geared for more mainstream budget applications. I know the IC7-G is about $40 more than an AI&, but if you are really looking to OC it is a much safer choice.

yeah i was thinking the same but I've been reading reviews on AI7 and they were all like "WOW! this mobo kicks azz!!"

 

[pilmania]

Originally posted by: smahoney
The AI7 has much less overclocking potential than the IC7 or IC7-G boards for a number of reasons. The IC series have 4 phase voltage regulators and higher rated components to provide cleaner more stable power for overclocking. The IC series were designed more for overclockers than the AI7 series which is geared for more mainstream budget applications. I know the IC7-G is about $40 more than an AI&, but if you are really looking to OC it is a much safer choice.

yeah i was thinking the same but I've been reading reviews on AI7 and they were all like "WOW! this mobo kicks azz!!"

 

[Tates]

The AI7 has much less overclocking potential than the IC7 or IC7-G boards for a number of reasons. The IC series have 4 phase voltage regulators and higher rated components to provide cleaner more stable power for overclocking. The IC series were designed more for overclockers than the AI7 series which is geared for more mainstream budget applications. I know the IC7-G is about $40 more than an AI&, but if you are really looking to OC it is a much safer choice.

The AI7 has 4 phase power and uses all Rubicon parts, generally accepted as the best available. It has better onboard sound than the IC7 series (RealTek ALC658 vs the IC7 ALC650). Abit designed the AI7 for overclocking, not casual use. The AI7 has the uGuru chip, which the IC7 series doesn't. With uGuru, you can overclock on the fly in windows. IMHO, the AI7 is a very capable overclocker, as good or better than the IC7 series.

My recommendation: AI7

 

[KDKPSJ]

Agree with Tates. AI7 is not designed for mainstream. It was designed for especially overclocking and performance. (Rotation of CPU socket is another proof of this. Rotated socket -> shorter distance -> shorter circuit -> better performance) AI7 in general overclocks much better than most of 875 mobos. If you don't consider IC7-Max3, go for AI7.

 

[caboob]

Well I have both boards and the IC7 is the better overclocker. I consistently lose 10MHz of FSB overclocking on the AI7 even though power regulation for the Vcore and Vdimm is better on the AI7. uGURU and the abilty to save and recall BIOS settings on the AI7 is really nice. I just wish ABIT didnt lock out the use of MBM on the board.

 

[smahoney]

I looked at the AI7 and gave it to a friend and went with the IC7-G. My old BH7 had more headroom than the AI7 with a 2.66 and the IC7-G goes further with my 2.8C SL6Z5. I run 250FSB on the IC7-G without a problem and can run Super PI at more than 260 when the AI7 couldn't boot at 250.