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LOSTCIRCUITS		SHORTCUTS: VRM and LEDs Firewire and VDD Vre, MOSFETs and Overclocking Your comments? ABit Mainboards Online
ABit NF7-S Ver. 1.2    More Than Just Glitter
(Review by MS, March 17, 2003)

ABit's move from the Rev 1.1 to the 1.2 revision of the NF7-(S) is surrounded by more myth than facts. Changes in the VRM, additional status LEDs and use of different ICs for e.g. the Firewire phyceivers are one thing. However, the new revision also features different ranges for the supported voltages as there are Vre and VDD/VDDQ (memory). There are still some discrepancies between the actual settings and the HWMonitor readout, so we stuck our trusty volt meter deep into the innards of the Rev 1.2 to probe voltages where they count.

The new revision overclocks marginally better than the Rev 1.1. Is it a matter of the different brands of MOSFETs used? Are Infineon's OptiFETs better than the Philips or Fairchild switches? Read on ...

Our original review of ABit's NF7-S was based on the rev. 1.1 version of the NF7-S. The information regarding what has changed between rev. 1.1 and 1.2 is somewhat sketchy, according to ABit, the only thing that has changed is the voltage range possible for the CPU voltage, however, this is not where it ends. Some of the changes are more subtle. Others include some redesign of the PCB and the addition of some extra components.

The most obvious change in terms of the boards layout is in the voltage regulator module, that is, where there used to be five capacitors flanking the CPU Keep-out area, the 1.2 revision only features four 3300 µF (at 6.3V) capacitors, the fifth has been moved further down towards the chipset.

      

The VRM layout of the Rev 1.1 (left) and the 1.2 (right). Click thumbnails for larger pictures.

The second major change we found is the inclusion of two status LEDs at the bottom right corner of the PCB, right underneath of the SATA connectors. Where the 1.1 version sports a rather blank PCB, the 1.2 revision features two status LEDs, a red one for stand-by power and a green one for the system being actually powered up.

             

Status LEDs are missing in Rev 1.1 (left) but have been added to the 1.2 (right). The red LED signals standby power, if the system is actually powered up, a second, green LED comes on. Click thumbnails for larger pictures.

next page:    => A Change in Firewire, Too; Voltages =>