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Motherboard: Abit IT7 MAX Review :: Features
First there was the 845 Chipset with SDRAM, followed by the 845 Chipset with DDR, which is unofficially, called the 845D. Now the 845E and 845G chipsets are on the market. What are the main differences? Other than code name changes there are two main differences. The front-side Bus supports new 533 MHz (QDR 133) Pentium 4's. The new South Bridge or ICH4 (to be correct) supports 6 USB 2.0 ports instead of 4 USB 1.1 ports.
The rumors are that the 845G supports DDR333 memory for more bandwidth because of its integrated graphics. Officially it supports only up to DDR266. No one will say anything to the motherboard manufacturers if they make use of all its potential. In fact we have heard of some specific manufacturers who are already doing it. It is possible to add 10/100 or Gigabit ethernet option by using additional Intel network chips. Motherboard manufacturers may choose alternative network chips, like the board we reviewed.
*DDR333 support is not officially admitted by Intel. Now lets see what the ABIT IT7 brings in addition to the features of the chipset. This IT series of motherboards come in two flavors. IT7 includes Firewire and 4 channels of IDE RAID. IT7-E does not include these features. We reviewed ABIT IT7.
The motherboard supports 2 GB DDR200/266 ECC or non-ECC memory modules with 3 memory Slots. Intel doesn't want to support UDMA 133 because they are waiting for Serial ATA, so the South Bridge only supports UDMA100. Although when you add the Highpoint HPT374 into the equation you end up with 4 more channels of UDMA 133. Each channel supports 2 ATA devices for a total of 8 devices. It supports Raid 0, 1, 0+1. When you add the South Bridge ports, in theory, you may add up to 12 ATA Devices. More than I can ever make use of.
Six USB 2.0 ports (via the ICH4) was not enough for Abit. They added the VIA VT6202 chip. Six ports in the back panel and 2 ports with the bracket included in the package, so you have 8 USB 2.0 ports standard. If you are a USB Maniac you can go up to 10 ports of USB by adding another bracket. I think 6 USB 2.0 ports default with the Southbridge was enough, and this is a bit of overkill. But we are enthusiasts right? When you look at the back panel, on the left side, the 4 ports you see belong to the South Bridge. The two ports on the right side belong to the VIA VT6202. You can use the USB bracket on either one of the chips which both has headers on-board.
USB 2.0 is very fast but popular video cameras, especially SONY supports Firewire. I have to say, it is the easiest way to transfer your video recordings to your PC. A Texas Instruments chip controls two ports of Firewire on the back Panel.
Even for an entry level motherboard, networking has become necessary. For either business or home use, for Broadband internet and home networking purposes it is a must. As I stated before, it is possible to add Gigabit with 82544 chip, or 10/100 Ethernet connection to 845E chipset. ABIT chose to use Realtek RTL8100B for a 100 MBits Fast Ethernet connection. I don't know how Creative is doing these days. Six channel sound even with optical output comes embedded on power motherboards. Of course it is not as effective as the Creative Labs cards which use powerful EMU sound processors. Most on-board sound solutions are AC97, and consume your CPU power. It is not so terrible though because today most CPUs can easily handle some extra stuff. The Realtek ALC650 AC97 chip powers this board audio wise with optical output. They didn't forget to add 5.1 DVD Player Software into the package. For internal audio connections there were CD and AUX-IN headers.
Reset and power buttons are included on-board, overclockers and testers love this feature. When testing, most techs don't install the motherboard inside a case or on a platform. I know Doc Overclock does but we all know that he is an exception. So we have to short the Power-On or Reset headers numerous times for setup and overclocking trials. They put Power and Reset buttons under a neat POST Code display. If something goes wrong and system doesn't boot up, you can check the codes and understand what is going on.
You will see an AC2001A Chip on the board and a connection. There is a Media XP Box sold separately from the motherboard. In addition to Speaker-Out, Mic-In and optical in and out connections, there are 2 USB 2.0 and a single Firewire connection on Media XP Drive. And MS (Sony Memory Stick) - SD (Panasonic Secure Digital Cards )- C/F (Compact Flash I & II) connections for transferring digital camera photos or data is on the front panel of this drive. You can control this drive and media players with the remote control supplied in the package of Media XP. It looks like a cheap alternative to the drives supplied with some Creative Audigy models.
For the Pentium 4 CPU, burning is not much of an issue but this motherboard is armed with all the necessary protections. Shutdown on fan failure and shutdown on certain CPU temperature settings were in the BIOS.
It is interesting to note that this board does not have any serial, parallel, or PS2 ports (not mouse or keyboard). This means that you cannot connect all devices that normally use those ports. This is called Legacy Free. You will need to obtain devices that use a more modern technology such as USB. This also means you should NOT use this motherboard for a Windows 98 installation. Windows ME and Win 2000 are ok, but we recommend Windows XP for best results and support. The infamous Norton Antivirus 2002 was included in the package as an added value to the product. Package Contents
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