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The general layout of the NF7 shows a standard 1 + 5 (AGP + PCI) configuration. At second glance, the layout is not standard at all, though, in that the first PCI slot is "missing". What that means is that the PCI slots leave the top position free which provides for additional space for any GPU cooler like the one used on ABit's own OTES line of AGP adapter without sacrificing the top PCI slot. The only drawback of this configuration is that the AGP slot is potentially interfering with the DIMM slots. To avoid any such problem, the DIMM slots have been moved out to the far right of the PCB. Most AGP cards will steer clear of the DIMM slots, the only exception would be any GF4-4600 style graphics adapter. Even with those cards, there is enough clearance for the first two DIMM slots and the third slot is not affected at all.

The two problems associated with the DIMM slots pushed out that far are the trace length to the controller and a possible interference with 3.5" drive bays in some cases. We ran into a similar problem already with the Soltek SL-75FRN and if it was difficult there to run a standard drive with a DIMM in slot #3, it is impossible with the NF7 in any case less than 16" deep (front to back, measured on the inside). There are always ways to work around these problems but it can be frustrating. The first aforementioned issue, concerning trace length is not that crucial with DDR as it used to be with SDRAM since DDR uses clock forwarding but at high frequencies it could still become a problem.

The ATX power connector as well as the dual 12V auxiliary connector are placed directly adjacent to the VRM which, in turn, is directly adjacent to the CPU socket. Even though this constitutes a minor compromise for airflow inside the case, a 5 ¢ cable-tie can tuck the power strands completely out of the way.

The CPU SocketA is in a North-South orientation all the way towards the upper edge of the PCB which makes it somewhat difficult to manipulate the clips of any HSF in smaller mid-tower cases. The PCB also features mounting holes necessary for e.g. the installation of the Swiftech MCX462 cooler.

The floppy drive connector is at the upper right edge of the PCB meaning that the cable is completely out of the way and further, that the connector is high enough to even reach the top position of any full tower. The horizontal arrangement of the IDE connectors is a matter of taste, personally I prefer the vertical arrangement but one can argue either way.

Integrated Peripherals

The nForce2 media and communication processor (MCP-T) is built around the total connectivity concept, featuring USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 firewire and dual LAN but it is up to the discretion of the mainboard manufacturer, how many of the features are actually enabled through physical layer interface chips and the actual connectors or headers. The second feature of the MCP-T is the integrated audio processing unit (APU) featuring SoundStorm.

The space usually occupied by the top PCI slot is used to host the IEEE1394 firewire headers enabled by the RealTek RTL 8801 dual channel firewire physical layer chip. Click for larger picture.

In the NF7, ABit has come up with a reasonable compromise, featuring connectors for Firewire and USB2.0 along with the ALC650 RealTek AC'97 audio CODEC but also featuring the optional optical S/PDIF digital audio out to bypass the DAC and potential (or real) loss of quality caused by the limited sampling rate and data width.

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