My Reliable and Indispensable Partner
Written: May 12 '02 (Updated May 12 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Speed, Stability, Power. Excellent manual. Solid construction
Cons: Only two memory slots.
The Bottom Line: The perfect foundation for a powerful system for any kind of use.
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| mickp's Full Review: Abit BD7 Motherboard |
No matter how many times I say it, I have not said it enough - It doesn't matter how much whiz-bang, top of the range hardware you stick in your system, if you are using a rubbishy motherboard.
For years my Abit LX6 was the rock-solid core of my old system and when the time came to upgrade, once again I looked to the name of Abit, a name which I know and trust.
It was important to me that the motherboard in question be able to support a high end, 478 pin Pentium IV and DDRAM. I did some research online and was eventually won over by the Abit BD7, which provided everything I would need.
The only problems were that the BD7 was not due for release in Australia for two more weeks and the wholesaler through which I am able to avoid paying those nasty retail prices did not carry Abit. I happily waited and forked out the extra cash so I would be able to base the system which will have to last me for several years around this particular board.
The Abit BD7 provides a 400Mhz system bus and 3.2GB/s of bandwidth between the CPU and the Memory Controller Hub and of course provides my much needed support for the very excellent and very affordable DDR DIMMs.
Surprisingly, the board only provides two memory slots, but with larger and larger sized memory chips becoming the norm these days and the ability to support up to two gigs of memory on those two spaces, this minor niggle is not of great concern.
As is becoming more and more common these days, the BD7 comes with on-board sound controllers and even an on-board modem. Most people (including myself) can happily disable these features and use separate hardware, but they are there for those who want them and seem to function well from the little testing I have done in that area.
One of the reasons I have always been drawn to Abit boards is their overall look of sturdiness and the BD7 is no exception. I don't want some flimsy bit of plastic flapping around inside my case and with regard to the BD7 the solid appearance translates in an entirely un-related way to an amazingly stable and lightning fast system, free from any of those bizarre problems with start-up that those with lesser boards sometimes experience and with easy compatibility with any hardware I have so far cared to join it.
Another big plus with regards to Abit is their excellently informative instruction manuals which accompany the mainboard. The BD7 manual is so comprehensive and full of various tips for setting up and configurations, that it even provides an excellent resource for people setting up completely different mainboards by other manufacturers.
I cannot say enough good things about the Abit BD7 Mainboard. My current system, built around this board is the most stable and impressive I have ever owned and I would recommend this board to both gamers and business users alike. The Abit manual features the slogan "Your reliable partner". Nothing could be truer. I am quite sure that this is a partnership that will endure for many years to come.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 120
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Epinions.com ID:
mickp
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Mike Price
Location: Aussie in Las Vegas, Nevada
Reviews written: 432
Trusted by: 270 members
About Me:
An Australian living in Vegas - Eating too much buffet and writing too many Epinions.
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