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Review: ABIT SR7-8X SiS648 Motherboard

by Tarinder Sandhu on 6 September 2002, 00:00

Tags: abit

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Introduction

ABIT SR7-8X SiS648 Motherboard review

Introduction

SiS (Silicon Integrated Systems) recently launched their revamped SiS648/963 chipset for the Pentium 4 to general widespread praise. The reference motherboard, reviewed by us here, was stable, fast, and forward-looking. 8x AGP support, DDR-400 support (albeit unofficially), 1GB/s MuTIOL link, ATA133, USB2.0, IEEE1394a, and a number of other extras made it perhaps the most feature-rich chipset currently on offer. With this level of integration, the need for external chips to host and control value-adding features became rather redundant.

The reference motherboard performed well in our tests so we were keen to see how a production motherboard carrying the 648/963 combination would perform. SiS provided the basis of increased integration through the feature-packed Southbridge, it was up to motherboard manufacturers to use what they saw fit.

ABIT, the Taiwanese motherboard manufacturer, recently sent us their SR7-8X motherboard for evaluation. Having already won acclaim for their i845D/E motherboards, especially the IT7-MAX, we were keen to see if they could do the same for their SiS interpretations. Their SD7-533, based on the earlier SiS645 chipset, was a solid if not spectacular performer, could the SR7-8X eclipse it in both the performance and features stakes ?.

Let's find out by examining the specifications in detail.