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Rating: 
Summary: Abit does it again!
Review: The IC7 line of motherboards is great, and Abit delivers another hit with the IC7-G.The features are almost too numerous to list. 4 USB host controllers, 2 IEEE 1394 controllers. Both EIDE and SATA controllers. Hyperthreading support and 800 MHz Dual-DDR support! As a note, the IC7 is the same exact board as the IC7-G, only on the IC7, the gigabit ethernet controller has been removed. I've purchased Abit motherboards before, but this one is by far the most professionally produced one I've received. The manual is even better than previously - although their explanations of what the BIOS functions do is a bit lacking, it's still much more than I've seen from other manufacturers. The installation instructions, jumper descriptions, and header pinouts are all clearly marked and well-described. The manual, SATA driver disk, and processor driver CD come in a nice folder for easy archiving or keeping clearly marked in an IT cabinet. There is also a quick start guide to get you up and running as quickly as possible. The backpanel features 4 USB ports and two 1394 ports in addition to all the usual keyboard, mouse, and sound ports. Internal headers support two more 1394 ports and 4 more USB. If your case has these connectors on the front, these internal headers are very convenient. If your case does not, Abit supplies an extra set on a backpanel 'slot cover' panel. Also included in this package are SATA cables, a backpanel plate, a black, rounded EIDE cable, and another rounded floppy cable. How easy or difficult it is to install will depend largely on your case, of course. I did find it tricky to get the backpanel 'io connector' plate to fit, but only because of all the tabs that keep the connectors grounded. IDE and FDC connectors are on the edge of the board, which is nice. The DIMM slots are color coded and grouped to aid in memory installation. Everything fit perfectly. I've not used the onboard sound, but it seems quite professional - optical SPID in and out, front and rear speaker support, etc. The board also has internal connectors for bringing the headphone/microphone connections out to the front of your PC. I did have a few problems, but nothing that has not been overcome. I installed a stick of Kingston HyperX 3200 RAM that didn't seem to work right. Tweaking the timing and bumping the RAM voltage up .05V seems to work. Windows XP seems to think that this is a multiprocessor board - I don't know why, but I expect that this is because of the Hyperthreading technology. The CPU temperature probe seems to be very high. I haven't tested independently yet, but my guess is that it reports the processer is 10 degrees F hotter than it actually is. I hate ending my reviews with the problems because it seems to leave a bad impression. It shouldn't - this motherboard has been very good to me. I really enjoy all the features that Abit somehow squeezes on to these boards!
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