Abit NF7 series confusion

[unacceptable_risk]

Hi guys, I own an NF7 and an AN7 and just recently sold an NF7-s, which I hope to replace next week. (what was I thinking)

I am stuck trying to understand the subtle differences in the rest of the NF7 range and wondered if anyone here actually understands the range.

I have been over the Abit site and any other literature I could google.
My NF7 rev2 pulls similar if not the same benchies as the -S variant did. The AN7 is about on a par again, with features out the wazoo. So I know theres not a lot in them, mainly feature sets.

In particular, I am totally unclear about NF7-S2 vs NF7-s rev;2 The site is quick to mention that they are seperate products, but how? apparently the S2 is for hardcore clockers, and the -S rev:2 for enthusiasts.

Also I would like to know if the -G variant takes a performance hit compared to the -Sver:2 and now I see a -SG model as well.

There is an onboard vid model also, but I'm going to assume it takes a performance hit for that already.

Hope someone can help :)
Cheers, U_R

[DCMan]

I always understood it that the NF7-S2 was a bad choice and that the NF7-S Rev2 was the board of choice.. Correct me if i'm wrong, but thats the way I understood it anyway! :)

[Player0]

Yeah, its confused me as well.

Old Models - NF2 Chipset
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NF7 - Your standard board.

NF7-M - Has integrated GF4 MX, no SATA

NF7-S - Same NF7 with a different southbridge which supports SATA
- v1.1 - Kind of a funky board, you dont see them anymore
- v2.0 - The revised NF7-S and the most popular version


New Models - NF2 Ultra Chipset
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NF7-S2 - You'd think this was better, but its not. Its a stripped down version of the NF7-S and is a budget value. It has less overclocking options, but performance wise, its better. It uses the NF2 Ultra chipset.

NF7-S2G - G is for Gigabit Ethernet.

AN7 - This is the top of the line "NF7" board. It's basically the older NF7-V2 with uGuru and the NF2 Ultra chipset.



The NF7-S V2 is still the most popular even though Abit wants you to buy the AN7 instead. I think they both clock just as high. In fact, I bet you can get slightly more out of the AN7 cause of the NF2 Ultra chipset.

Frankily, A64 754p is so cheap these days, i wouldn't even consider one of these K7 systems at all. I just picked up a Epox S754/Semperon 3100+ used for $155. Even stock, it dropped some great numbers down, and I bet with some overclocking, it'd be a fairly powerful system. I'd put it up against some i875/P4C systems.

[DCMan]

I have a 1.1 ;)

[unacceptable_risk]

Ahh finally someone explains where the AN7 fits in to all this. It all makes more sense now that you have explained the NF2 ultra part. So it could perhaps be said that the AN7 is the equivalent of a NF7-Sv2, but with the ultra chipset and the guru that yeilds lower performance when activated. Yes, without the guru, it is very slightly quicker than the -Sv2

There is also an NF7-G that is missing the nice southbridge.

I appreciate your suggestions about 754. The tempting prices havn't hit us down under yet, getting there, but not yet. Meanwhile my 2500 barton is doing so well for me, I was keen to get it into an NF7-Sver2 and seek the 2.5Ghz mark. Plus there are stories about soundstorm being the only genuine 5.1 option for games.

I think its mainly that these offerings from Abit have impressed me so very much, I wouldn't mind swapping all my socket a mobos for them before they're done and while theyre cheap. Would you think I was silly to go -Sv2 over AN7?

[Player0]

Nah, its a highly rated board. Theres a lot of banter about AN7 vs NF7-Sv2 and which one is better. Most people decide they dont need uGuru and go with the NF7. I doubt theres much of a real difference between them. Ive used more AN7s than NF7s tho, and never overclocked.

Regarding S754, yeah, if you already have a good chip, stick with it. With that said, if you can check around the AU boards, you might find a used S754 system worth looking in to. Barton 2500+ are also highly desirable chip and should resell well.