Abit IS7 i865PE *Springdale* User Review

scsixprt · 05-04-2003, 03:39 PM

This is a review in progress. I will continue to update it as I continue to tweak the board, and with daily usage.

Just picked up a Abit IS7 Board yesterday. For $165 CDN it was hard to pass it up... You can find the specs for the board HERE

Here is a picture of the board

The board comes complete with:

Manuals
Driver CD/S-ATA Driver Disk
2xS-ATA Cables
2xS-ATA Power Adapters
1xATA/100 Cable
1xFloppy Cable
1xBracket for 2 USB 2.0 and 2 Firewire Ports.

What I like so far.. The layout of the board is very clean. It is an easy board to work with for the most part. The Bios is Abit, and the Famous SoftMenu is complete. The Integrated Firewire, 10/100 NIC, and S-ATA Raid 0 (Native Southbridge Support via Intel ICH5-R) makes this board a steal... It is cheaper than MANY 845PE Boards!

What I dislike so far.. The Driver CD includes the wrong driver for the integrated 3COM 10/100 NIC.

Here are my system specs so far...

Intel P4-2.4B CPU - C1 Stepping, SL6EF, Week 3, Malaysia
Abit IS7 Board
Generic Winbond 512MB PC2700 Memory x 2 (Dual Channel)
ATI Radeon AIW 9700 PRO
Western Digital Raptor 36GB S-ATA (x2, Raid 0)
Western Digital WD800JB, 80GB 8MB Cache, ATA/100
LG 4020B DVD-R/RW
Intel PRO/1000T PCI NIC (No Driver for the onboard NIC Yet!)

I have some OCZ EL 433Mhz Memory on order, and it will be here next week. The CPU I am using will do 3.4GHz, default Voltage, maybe more, but my memory is holding me back. I will re-do this when I get my OCZ memory next week.

So on to the good stuff.....

I'm running 170FSB with ease....

SiSoft Memory Bandwith

SiSoft CPU Multi-Media Benchie

3D Mark 2003 Score - Using Catalyst 3.2 Drivers, with Default settings

And if you don't have those WD Raptor Drives, GET THEM NOW!

You can compare your 3D Mark 2003 Score to Mine

So Far, I am very, very pleased with this board, and for the price it cannot be beat.... Very impressive for a chipset that is not even officially released...

This is my first review, so If I am missing anything, please fill me in, and if there is anything I need to post, let me know.

Dazelou · 05-04-2003, 05:29 PM

It's good to see someone testing a more affordable springdale mobo.

Maybe you could include some unbuffered sandra mem scores.

scsixprt · 05-04-2003, 08:11 PM

SiSoft Memory Bandwith Unbuffered

The board comes with an integrated 3COM NIC which is supposed to be 10/100. The chip is that my board came with is the 3COM MARVELL 3C940 LOM Gigabit Ethernet Chip. Something is really wack though, because I cannot install the drivers for the NIC. It will hang my maching solid (Need to press reset) everytime. The Abit CD Comes with the drivers for the Gigabit Nic, but same thing. This is the same NIC the ASUS P4C800 comes with.. Any Ideas?

Budman · 05-04-2003, 09:55 PM

Quote:

This is the same NIC the ASUS P4C800 comes with.. Any Ideas?

Maybe try to install the Asus drivers?

s3ntry · 05-04-2003, 10:11 PM

I would go to Abit's website and download the latest drivers from there and try that. If thats a no go, then i would try finding drivers for that controller on 3COM's site and try those instead.

Sgt_Strider · 05-04-2003, 11:50 PM

I'm confuse, does this board comes with a 10/100 nic or a gigabit network card? Also which board is better? The IS7 or the IC7? I think the main difference is PAT right? Is there any more signifigant differences between the 2 boards?

Prometheus_abx · 05-04-2003, 11:58 PM

Nice work, but your unbuffered numbers cannot be correct. To run an unbuffered benchmark you need to uncheck NINE boxes in the Sandra module options.

scsixprt · 05-05-2003, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sgt_Strider
I'm confuse, does this board comes with a 10/100 nic or a gigabit network card? Also which board is better? The IS7 or the IC7? I think the main difference is PAT right? Is there any more signifigant differences between the 2 boards?

Well, it was supposed to come with a 10/100 NIC, but the one I got comes with a 3COM Gigabit NIC. The Main difference between the IS7 and the IC7 is PAT, and the IS7 does not suffer from the Memory, or FSB issues.

scsixprt · 05-05-2003, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Prometheus
Nice work, but your unbuffered numbers cannot be correct. To run an unbuffered benchmark you need to uncheck NINE boxes in the Sandra module options.

Thanks for the tip... The unbuffered benchmark has been updated!!!!!

Dog_One · 05-05-2003, 12:21 AM

So correct me if I'm wrong here: This board has 4-phase power, 10/100 Ethernet, 24-bit audio, chipset RAID and Silicon Image RAID and it's inexpensive..? :eek: Where do I sign-up?

Sgt_Strider · 05-05-2003, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by scsixprt
Thanks for the tip... The unbuffered benchmark has been updated!!!!!

I think that is still the buffered benchmark.

Sgt_Strider · 05-05-2003, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by scsixprt
Well, it was supposed to come with a 10/100 NIC, but the one I got comes with a 3COM Gigabit NIC. The Main difference between the IS7 and the IC7 is PAT, and the IS7 does not suffer from the Memory, or FSB issues.

How about that 1 gigahertz fsb overclock? I remember reading something about the IC7-g or the IC7 has the ability to reach 250mhz fsb with good stability. Whether that is a good marketing slogan or not, I'm not sure. I was wondering if the IS7 has the same potential the so call "gigahertz fsb" as the IC7. Also do you guys honestly think PAT helps in achieving a higher memory bandwidth? If not then I think I will get the IS7 instead.

FightingChance · 05-06-2003, 12:52 PM

I would like to see direct side by side comparisons of 865 and 875 boards, by the same manufacturers is possible.

FightingChance · 05-06-2003, 12:59 PM

I would like to see direct side by side comparisons of 865 and 875 boards, by the same manufacturers is possible.

FightingChance · 05-06-2003, 02:00 PM

I would like to see these benchmarks compared directly to IC7 benchmarks, if anyone could indulge me. . .

05-04-2003, 03:39 PM	#1
scsixprt Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 44	*Abit IS7 i865PE Springdale* User Review This is a review in progress. I will continue to update it as I continue to tweak the board, and with daily usage. Just picked up a Abit IS7 Board yesterday. For $165 CDN it was hard to pass it up... You can find the specs for the board HERE Here is a picture of the board The board comes complete with: Manuals Driver CD/S-ATA Driver Disk 2xS-ATA Cables 2xS-ATA Power Adapters 1xATA/100 Cable 1xFloppy Cable 1xBracket for 2 USB 2.0 and 2 Firewire Ports. What I like so far.. The layout of the board is very clean. It is an easy board to work with for the most part. The Bios is Abit, and the Famous SoftMenu is complete. The Integrated Firewire, 10/100 NIC, and S-ATA Raid 0 (Native Southbridge Support via Intel ICH5-R) makes this board a steal... It is cheaper than MANY 845PE Boards! What I dislike so far.. The Driver CD includes the wrong driver for the integrated 3COM 10/100 NIC. Here are my system specs so far... Intel P4-2.4B CPU - C1 Stepping, SL6EF, Week 3, Malaysia Abit IS7 Board Generic Winbond 512MB PC2700 Memory x 2 (Dual Channel) ATI Radeon AIW 9700 PRO Western Digital Raptor 36GB S-ATA (x2, Raid 0) Western Digital WD800JB, 80GB 8MB Cache, ATA/100 LG 4020B DVD-R/RW Intel PRO/1000T PCI NIC (No Driver for the onboard NIC Yet!) I have some OCZ EL 433Mhz Memory on order, and it will be here next week. The CPU I am using will do 3.4GHz, default Voltage, maybe more, but my memory is holding me back. I will re-do this when I get my OCZ memory next week. So on to the good stuff..... I'm running 170FSB with ease.... SiSoft Memory Bandwith SiSoft CPU Multi-Media Benchie 3D Mark 2003 Score - Using Catalyst 3.2 Drivers, with Default settings And if you don't have those WD Raptor Drives, GET THEM NOW!** You can compare your 3D Mark 2003 Score to Mine So Far, I am very, very pleased with this board, and for the price it cannot be beat.... Very impressive for a chipset that is not even officially released... This is my first review, so If I am missing anything, please fill me in, and if there is anything I need to post, let me know. Last edited by scsixprt : 05-04-2003 at 05:41 PM.
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05-04-2003, 05:29 PM	#2
Dazelou Comatosed Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 829	It's good to see someone testing a more affordable springdale mobo. Maybe you could include some unbuffered sandra mem scores.
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05-04-2003, 08:11 PM	#3
scsixprt Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Posts: 44	SiSoft Memory Bandwith Unbuffered The board comes with an integrated 3COM NIC which is supposed to be 10/100. The chip is that my board came with is the 3COM MARVELL 3C940 LOM Gigabit Ethernet Chip. Something is really wack though, because I cannot install the drivers for the NIC. It will hang my maching solid (Need to press reset) everytime. The Abit CD Comes with the drivers for the Gigabit Nic, but same thing. This is the same NIC the ASUS P4C800 comes with.. Any Ideas? Last edited by scsixprt : 05-05-2003 at 12:08 AM.
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05-04-2003, 10:11 PM	#5
s3ntry Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 75	I would go to Abit's website and download the latest drivers from there and try that. If thats a no go, then i would try finding drivers for that controller on 3COM's site and try those instead.
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05-04-2003, 11:50 PM	#6
Sgt_Strider Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 108	I'm confuse, does this board comes with a 10/100 nic or a gigabit network card? Also which board is better? The IS7 or the IC7? I think the main difference is PAT right? Is there any more signifigant differences between the 2 boards?
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05-04-2003, 11:58 PM	#7
Prometheus_abx Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 2,917	Nice work, but your unbuffered numbers cannot be correct. To run an unbuffered benchmark you need to uncheck NINE boxes in the Sandra module options.
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05-05-2003, 12:21 AM	#10
Dog_One Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: SE US Posts: 47	So correct me if I'm wrong here: This board has 4-phase power, 10/100 Ethernet, 24-bit audio, chipset RAID and Silicon Image RAID and it's inexpensive..? :eek: Where do I sign-up?
(Offline)

05-06-2003, 12:52 PM	#13
FightingChance Yes, I am better than you Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 4,068	I would like to see direct side by side comparisons of 865 and 875 boards, by the same manufacturers is possible.
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05-06-2003, 12:59 PM	#14
FightingChance Yes, I am better than you Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 4,068	I would like to see direct side by side comparisons of 865 and 875 boards, by the same manufacturers is possible.
(Offline)

05-06-2003, 02:00 PM	#15
FightingChance Yes, I am better than you Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 4,068	I would like to see these benchmarks compared directly to IC7 benchmarks, if anyone could indulge me. . .
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