Abit IS7: Bitter Price War With PAT

Intel 865PE Chipset
Board Revision 1.0
BIOS B03 with PAT (06/03/2003)

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The Abit IS7 is now equipped with a new Northbridge fan - hopefully for all buyers of this board.

Compared to the IC7-G with Intel 875P Chipset, the IS7 is aimed at the low-cost market. This is already discernible from the packaging: a universal design and layout format has been retained, which already saves costs. Nevertheless, the manufacturer doesn't skimp on features: in addition to FireWire, there are four USB 2 interfaces, a Serial-ATA controller from Silicon Image and a gigabit LAN chip, which, however, has to communicate with the slow Southbridge. Abit dispenses with CSA technology combined with the Intel 865 chipset for cost reasons. Cost cuts have also been made with the AGP slot. There is a normal slot, which nevertheless suffices, as AGP Pro cards are scarcely available on the market.

The IS7 has the same connections as the expensive IC7-G: digital and analog 5.1 sound, FireWire and USB 2.0.

The connections on the Abit IS7 are barely readable.

LAN and FireWire chip onboard.