Thoughts
As ABIT already has Springdale variants in its range, boards that fall under the naming scheme of IS7, the introduction of a new series of i865PE motherboards may seem a little self-defeating on first glance. However, The AI7 range of boards attempt to bring an even greater number of enthusiast-friendly features into an already proven package.Most specifically, the ABIT SoftMenu BIOS has been upgraded into one that provides hither-to unseen levels of information and tweakability. The on-the-fly overclocking is a touch that's sure to be appreciated by those who tinker with their system's performance attributes on a day-to-day basis. Once you've experienced it, you kind of wonder why no-one else provides this level of pertinent information. The other advance, as ABIT will no doubt not tire of telling you, is in incorporating a microprocessor-controlled system information tool that confers a number of benefits in an OS environment. The ability to change voltages, FSB speeds, monitor hardware in explicit detail and flash the BIOS from a web-based medium are some of the more notable benefits. It's certainly a step in the right direction. PCs need to be more user-friendly, and here is a case in point.
Decent board layout and features help ABIT's cause. The vanilla AI7, as reviewed here, is bereft of some of the more deluxe features associated with today's high-end motherboards, including discrete SATA and Gigabit LAN. But that shouldn't take away from the inclusion of FireWire, ABIT's excellent debug LED, and the all-new ALC658 sound CODEC that's a couple of cuts above most on-board sound solutions. It seems as if ABIT is keen to use cutting-edge features on a i865PE board. The BIOS is effectively new and so is the sound.
ABIT's presentation skills are as slick as ever, but you always get the feeling that this is the budget board. There's no copious lashings of ABIT-branded rounded cabling or some of the more esoteric features found on the IC7-MAX3, for example. Performance with the A14 BIOS highlighted decent performance all round. It's great having new features that'll aid overclockers' efforts, but basic speed has always been paramount to a board's success or failure, really.
In summary, then, a new twist on a proven formula. The AI7 is a decent and stable board. The problem is that there's plenty of those floating around. Competitively priced at around £90 it offers decent value for the enthusiast on a relative Socket-478 budget. Recommended
