Abit NF7-S, A good buy?

I have been thinking about buying an ABIT NF7-S board; however I have a few questions about its features.

I noticed that the board has 3 DIMM slots with dual memory channels. I have no experiences with dual memory channels. Would it be worth it to put 2 256MB memory modules or would 1 512mb memory module using one channel do the trick? Further more, would it perform faster if the memory modules had memory chips on both sides, or memory chips on a single side (2x128 or 1x256).

The board’s main controller (I’m not too sure what to call it) has a heat sink and fan. Has anyone had any problems with the fan making unusual noises or going out all together?

Is the integrated sound half decent on this board? I see many boards have the Realtek AC97 audio chips onboard.

This will be my second Athlon based machine. I had many problems with my first one, so I want to get it right this time.

Parts I plan to buy or bought for this board:
AMD Athlon 2500+ Barton
(Memory, have not decided which configuration)
40 and 120GB Western Digital HDs
Built by ATI 9500 PRO
Zalman CNPS7000A-ALCU Pure Copper/Pure Aluminum CPU Cooler
Two Vantec Stealth 80mm case fans

NF7-S rev. 2.0 = the best board you can buy.

Dual channel memory 2 x 256

On board sound is soundstorm and its really good. Has optical.

Chipset fans are also good.

yes very good buy

yes id say its a good buy i love my NF7-S and it was FREE

The onboard sound is real good.
And you could allways just put a Zalman heat sink on your southbridge. Nice and quiet.
I have one like this on my southbridge chipset.

caRpetbomBer said:

The onboard sound is real good.
And you could allways just put a Zalman heat sink on your southbridge. Nice and quiet.
I have one like this on my southbridge chipset.

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Yeah, i think that would be fairly quiet .

Another question about the memory.

Would Kingston PC2700 memory yield good overclocking or should i spend extra for PC3200?

Yes the NF7-S is a good buy. Its the best AMD ocer and its a good value at its price.

The onboard sound(soundstorm) is much superior to the Realtek AC97 that you see on alot of boards.

As for memory well if you only plan on running 512mb and if cash is an issue then I don't think you need to worry about dual channel (especially if you think you may go to 1gb down the road). The performance boost from dual channel is very small. If you are looking to squeeze every last bit of performance out of it then by all means, but its not like you are missing out on a mindblowing performance jump by not using dual channel.

I replaced the northbridge cooler on mine with something more powerful but the existing one was pretty quiet (ok at the time I had a vantec tornado running in there so its hard to say how loud it was )

easiest way to answer your question is to look at any abit forum and see how many threads there are regarding the nf7

Steven4563 said:

\ NF7-S and it was FREE

Click to expand...

You lucky B.....!
Paid $113 from Newegg.

So far so good. Great board.

caRpetbomBer - how did you attach the Zalmen HS to the SB? Looking at (picture) of the NF7-S I don't see any place to secure it? I'm planning to buy the NF7-S MB next friday + Barton 2500+ (first attempt at overclocking).

Thanks in advance

Opps that zalman is on my northbridge i got them mixed up.
But on my southbridge i have Thermaltake Memory Cooling heatsink on there. I just cut it with a hax saw and then filed it smooth and used the thermal tape.

Ok, so I could put the Zalman on the SB and just keep the standard HS/fan on the NB. Just need thermal tape. Should have thouhgt of that (haven't heard of thermal tape before )

Thanks in advance

Great board... a few things.

1. If you raise vcore above 1.85-1.90v... Mosfets get HOT!. Plan on cooling them if you are going to.

2. Soundstorm is GREAT. Better than my buddies audigy by far.

3. If you dont vdd mod I doubt you will NEED a SB sink, just good airflow, With a vdd mod, a small passive sb sink should suffice.

4. Northbridge sink is pretty good and again should suffice unless you plan to vdd mod. It isn't very loud. Though I am told the fans on Abit sinks are cheap and die fairly commonly.

5. Dual ddr yields 3-5% performance from what I hear. If you plan on ever upgrading to a gig, then buy a 512mhz stick with bh5 chips. Otherwise buy 2 256 sticks.

6. It's a great board... probably the best bios I have worked with. About the most compatible and problem-free board I can ever say I've seen. And I've modded the hell out of it too. (Mosfet sinks, sb sink, active all-copper NB sink, lapped SB and NB, l12mod, vdd mod.

7. Voltage options are fantastic. You can over and undervolt vcore by loads. vdimm goes 2.6-2.9 but overvolts about .1 so its actually 2.7-3.0, vdd goes 1.4-1.7.

8. Voltage regulation is decent. Almost everything is undervolted or overvolted, but it's relatively stable. I think this varies from board to board, a sign that abits QC isn't the greatest.

I just got it 3 days ago and wow! the best mobo that i have ever owned!!