Written By:
Date Posted: September 4, 2002

Introduction

have always been at the forefront of integrating new technologies onto their motherboards, and are renowned amongst enthusiasts as being stable and great overclockers. They were amongst the first to provide a jumperless motherboard as well as the more serious adjustments towards overclocking in there bios. Today they have taken another bold step aiming the product at those who like to remain on the forefront of the computer world.

I always enjoy doing reviews on those items that are different and new, so when gave me the chance to look at the Abit AT7 Max I was very eager indeed. Big thanks to Overclock.co.uk for providing the review sample.

Specifications

CPU
Supports AMD-K7 Athlon /Athlon XP Socket A 200/266MHz FSB Processors
Supports AMD-K7 Duron Socket A 200 MHz FSB Processors

Chipset
VIA KT333 / VIA VT8233A
Supports Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 IDE protocol
Supports Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (ACPI)
Accelerated Graphics Port connector supports AGP 2X(3.3V)and 4X(1.5V)mode (Sideband) device
Supports 200/266/333 MHz (100/133/166MHz Double Data Rate) Memory Bus Setting

Ultra DMA 133/ RAID
High Point HPT374 IDE Controller
Ultra DMA 133MB/sec data transfer rate
RAID 0 (striping mode for boosting performance)
RAID 1 (mirroring mode for data security)
RAID 0 + 1(striping and mirroring)

Memory
Four 184-pin DIMM sockets support PC1600/PC2100/PC2700 DDR DRAM modules
Supports DDR333 unbuffered DRAMs up to 2GB and registered DRAMs up to 3GB
Supports 6 banks up to 3GB DRAMs for unbuffered DDR200/266 modules
Supports 8 banks up to 3.5GB DRAMs for registered DDR200/266 modules

Audio
Realtek ALC650 (AC-Link)
Supports 6CH DAC for AC3 5.1 CH purpose
Professional digital audio interface supporting 24-bit SPDIF OUT
Card Reader (Optional)
Supports Memory card (MS or SD) Interface
Supports SONY Memory Stick Interface/ SD Memory Card Interface
Supports Compact Flash ROM Interface

System BIOS
SoftMenu" III Technology to set CPU parameters
Supports Plug-and-Play (PNP)
Supports Advanced Configuration Power Interface (ACPI)
Supports Desktop Management Interface (DMI)
Write-Protect Anti-Virus function by AWARD BIOS

LAN
On board Realtek 8100B single chip Ethernet controller interface
10/100Mb Operation
User friendly driver included

Multi I/O Functions
2 Channels of Bus Master IDE Ports supporting up to 4 Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 devices
4 Channels of Bus Master IDE Ports supporting up to 8 Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 (RAID 0/1/1+0) devices
4 USB 1.1 Connectors
On board VIA VT6202 USB 2.0 header for four extra USB channels
Three 1394a fully compliant cable ports at 100/200/400 megabits per second
Audio connector (Line-in, Center/Sub, Surround Spk , Front Spk , Mic-in)

Miscellaneous
ATX form factor
1 AGP 1.5v slot, 3 PCI slots
Hardware monitoring - Including Fan speeds, Voltages, System environment temperature

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