Features and Options
NVIDIA is a name associated with video cards, and for several years now, they have all but ruled the market. The nForce2 represents NVIDIA’s latest and greatest chipset, composed of two separate chips; NorthBridge and SouthBridge. Under the orb-style cooler of the NF7-S lies the nForce2 System Platform Processor (SPP) Northbridge. The SPP provides AGP 8X, HyperTransport technology, and dual 64-bit DDR memory architecture offering up to 6.4GB/sec of bandwidth with DDR400 memory. The Dual DDR memory support is an industry first, and requires no configuration changes other than installing two memory modules in the appropriate slots. We opted to use a matched pair of Crucial PC2700 DIMMs for the memory chores, while a single Mushkin PC2700 stick was used for standard testing.
The SouthBridge, or MCP-T, is the heart of the rich feature set for the nForce2 chipset. The Media and Communications Processor (MCP), contains the onboard audio system for the nForce2. Console gamers will get some pleasure out of this bit of technology, since the nForce and nForce2 borrow the sound system from the X-Box, as this NVIDIA article explains:
“The APU, found in Microsoft’s Xbox™, and an integral part of the first- and second-generation nForce™ media and communications processors, is the only one of its kind.”
The Audio Processing Unit (APU) supports up to 256 simmultaneous 2D voices, 64 3D voices, and full DirectX 8 compatibility. The APU is combined with NVIDIA’s SoundStorm, pushing the onboard audio to new levels quality and feature sets. We connected the SoundStorm up to a set of Logitech Z-680′s via an optical cable for testing, and the results were quite good. In fact, for all around use, it rivals some of the mainstream sound cards we have used, which is surprising from onboard sound.
As you can see in the images above, the onboard sound of the NF7-S is a far cry from the typical onboard crap seen on some motherboards. The control panels are fully functional, and offer many of the same features you’ll see on a PCI sound card.
Here is a look at the official specs for the NF7-S, for the guys that read labels:
CPU
- Supports AMD-K7 Duron/ Athlon / Athlon XP Socket A with
- 200/266/333MHz FSB Processors
Chipset
- NVIDIA nForce2 SPP chipset with MCP2-T
- Integrated 128-bit memory controller
- Accelerated Graphics Port connector supports AGP 8X/4X (0.8V/1.5V)
Memory
- Three 184-pin DIMM sockets
- Supports 3 DIMM DDR 200/266/333 (Max. 3 GB)
- Supports 2 DIMM DDR 400 (Max. 2 GB)
Serial ATA
- On board Serial ATA PCI Controller
- Support SATA data transfer rates 150 MB/s (1.5G bps)
Audio
- 6-Channel AC 97 CODEC on board
- Professional digital audio interface supports 24-bit S/PDIF Out
- Supports real time AC-3 Encode by Soundstorm™ Technology
System BIOS
- SoftMenu™ Technology to set CPU parameters
- Supports Plug-and-Play (PNP)
- Supports Advanced Configuration Power Interface (ACPI)
- Supports Desktop Management Interface (DMI)
LAN
- On board 10/100Mb Operation supports ACPI & Wake on LAN
IEEE 1394
- Supports IEEE 1394a at 100/200/400 Mb/s transfer rate
Internal I/O Connectors
- 1 x AGP8X/4X, 5 x PCI slots
- 1 x Floppy Port supports up to 2.88MB
- 2 x Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 Connectors
- 2 x SATA 150 Connectors
- 2 x USB 2.0 headers, 2 x IEEE1394 header
- 2 x CD-IN
- 1 x IrDA
Back Panel I/O
- 1 x PS/2 Keyboard, 1 x PS/2 mouse
- 2 x Serial, 1 x Parallel
- 1 x S/PDIF Out port
- Audio connectors (Front Speaker, Line-in, Mic-in, Center/Sub, Surround Speaker)
- 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x RJ-45 LAN Connector
Miscellaneous
- ATX form factor
- Hardware monitoring – Including Fan speeds, Voltages, System
- environment temperature
While the MCP-T supports two LAN connectors, Abit chose to include only one. As a cost saving measure, this is completely fine with me. I’m not sure about you, but I don’t have any multi-homed servers in my house, and the need for a second NIC has never been an issue. Enough of the tech stuff, lets get into the actual review.
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