More specific time schedule for NF7-S Rev. 2?

[Stu E]

I think I may have made a bad timing mistake. I sold my ECS Ks75A motherboard and I planned on purchasing a new Abit NF7-S. No problem finding one to buy now, but everyone is stating that it would be worth waiting for the Rev 2 boards.

Does anyone have a valid date for release. I have no PC!!!!

Thanks in advance for any comments,

Stu E.

[MrIcee]

Stu

WELCOME TO XTREME !!

No actual date has been released but ABIT has stated to me a few times they expect the boards out at the end of January. We'll just have to wait and see

Randi

[Kunaak]

is there gonna be any signifigant difference, like more voltages, easier to use FSB without chopping the CPU apart?

[MrIcee]

I apologize, but am under agreement not to discuss any possible changes to the Rev 2 board outside of the inclusion of the 4 holes to accomodate HSF and waterblock solutions that utilize the 4 holes.

Randi

[DuraN]

Well, the four holes does it for me. I think i will sell this KD7-E to my brother and get some nForce2 with dual XMS power

[RickCain]

I would think there might be more than just the four holes. If you look at the existing rev 1.1 board it will be impossible to put the wholes in without making major changes to the board layout. I put my NF7-S 1.1 board in the wifes rig and am waiting for the next rev.

[Kunaak]

will it be marked as the revision 2, or are we gonna have to just order them and hope we get one?

atleast, the end of january isn't too long to wait.

are you getting one early to test and tell us about?

[MrIcee]

I would assume that it will be marked Rev 2..and that indeed resellers will note it includes the 4 holes.

I am hoping to get my hands on one at the time of their release here.

Randi

[Stu E]

Randi,

Thanks for the welcome and your responses. I understand your contraints on disclosing much about the board. Without saying much can you tell me if you think it's worth the wait for me?

Thanks again and if you can't coment I understand. I am just going through withdrawls!!!!!

Stu E.

[MrIcee]

I believe the improvements will make it a better choice for the first time buyer of the board

Randi

[Stu E]

Thanks again for your comments. I just don't know if I can hold out that long with no computer.

How do you rate the 8RDA+ compared to the NF7-S? I know it does not have the Serial ATA, but I could always get a add-on card. Also, does the 8RDA+ have the SoundStorm feature like the NF7-S? I have seen posts implying it does not, but AnandTech says it does.

Thanks again for everything!

Stu E.

[MrIcee]

The 8RDA+ is an excellent board...the one I had was a volt mod casualty, purely my own doing. But in the time I ran it, it was a great board, easy to set up, and yes the 8RDA+ has Soundstorm. The higher available voiltages are also a plus, and with the very easy Vdd mod available the board is almost limitless in it's overclock ability.

The current NF7-S will really cook..but you need to do the volt mods if you want xtreme performance. Rev 2 will hopefully address that.

Randi

[Stu E]

Thanks again for your comments. I just don't know if I can hold out that long with no computer.

How do you rate the 8RDA+ compared to the NF7-S? I know it does not have the Serial ATA, but I could always get a add-on card. Also, does the 8RDA+ have the SoundStorm feature like the NF7-S? I have seen posts implying it does not, but AnandTech says it does.

Thanks again for everything!

Stu E.

[Jos]

Randi, how about 8RDA+ 3D performance (3DMark2001) compared to NF7 ? Which one is faster clock for clock.
Thanks !!

[mdzcpa]

The Rev 2 will be my next mobo for sure. My first few attempts at NF2 were kinda lackluster so I bailed back to VIA. The KD7-E has indeed done a fine job holding me over while Abit finishes cooking up the NF2 to a point where I think I'll be happy. I want it all you know

[MrIcee]

Jos

I think the boards are neck and neck in 3D. I believe OPP got more 3DMark points out of the EPoX but could not publish his scores due to a possible flucuation in CPU speed being detected by the software.

Honest...tho I have been an ABIT enthusiast for a very long time...I will be the first to tell you the EPoX is a great board too. With ABIT's improvements to the NF7-S coming soon ....it will be interesting to see how a non-modded NF7-S will compare to a voltage friendlier 8RDA+. Stay tuned...as between Mike and OPP and I and others...you'll get first hand, hands on info here in the forums

Randi

[taco]

just wondering mr. icee, since you have a close relationship with abit. could you just give them designs of an ideal motherboard? maxed out voltages, with minimum on board stuff.

may sound like an unrealistic request, but its worth a try. i'd buy it

[BrainStorm]

Originally posted by taco
just wondering mr. icee, since you have a close relationship with abit. could you just give them designs of an ideal motherboard? maxed out voltages, with minimum on board stuff.

may sound like an unrealistic request, but its worth a try. i'd buy it

taco, I think they did that recently with the KD7-E (if you like VIA).

[MrIcee]

Originally posted by taco
just wondering mr. icee, since you have a close relationship with abit. could you just give them designs of an ideal motherboard? maxed out voltages, with minimum on board stuff.

may sound like an unrealistic request, but its worth a try. i'd buy it

taco

We don't suggest board designs, but those of us who test Early Production boards(OPP and I and many others) do give our feedback to ABIT-USA which in turn gets fowarded to Taiwan. Feedback such as the missing 4 holes around the CPU socket, ridiculous low voltage selection(NF7-S) and a myriad of test data reflecting the good and the bad of each board...it's little flaws or setup quirks..etc etc. All this feedback culminates in hopefully a better product for the enduser.

In the case of the NF7-S...the current iteration was designed for the System Integrators(SI) and OEM market. The only reason it made retail channels is because of demand pressures. But with it's release came much mixed reaction from the users because of the aforementioned issues. It almost certainly would have faired better if Rev 2 was awaited and released..tho very late to market. It's too early to tell..but my guess is it may be the board everyone was hoping for from ABIT

ABIT was always the last to market with a board solution, but it was almost always the best, highest performing out of the box.

I have always been from the minimum onboard stuff school..but to be honest...I've enjoyed having sound and LAN onboard with the KD7, NF7-S and EPoX 8RDA+..AND having every ounce of high performnance TOO without any loss in performance.

What would I like to see??

A limited edition....high voltage(Vcore,Vmem and Vdd) , Xtreme chipset cooled, bios tweaking loaded Overclockers Special....one that could push a CPU/Ram/Videocard to it's max with NO mods necessary.

Randi

[muzz]

Ya Randi... that would be sweet wouldn't it........
Hopefully that would include heavier duty components on the board, so we didn't have to run those out of voltage spec too.....

[taco]

i thing i dont get, is why do they hold back voltages on some boards. maybe because of the parts used i dont know. an ideal board would be somthing with voltages like the KD7, along with 6 usb "onboard", id take the onboard lan, sound could be optional along with raid too. ps2 connectors should be kept, no serial or parrallel ports (could be an issue for some people) 5 or 4 pci would do it. power connectors on the far top right, so they dont get in the way. 4 ram slots is good, id only use 2 max though.

passive or active chipset cooler, doesnt matter that much to me. maybe some heatsinks on the mosfets? 4 holes with lots of clearance. overclocks well, with every overclocking necessity possiable. also maybe try somthing exotic with the pcb, like glow in the dark with sparkles

omg and dont forget, onboard on and reset switches.

if i missed anything or you think it sucks, say somthing.