ABIT KV7 (KT600): Budget Performance in a Small Package
by Evan Lieb on September 7, 2003 10:42 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
ABIT KV7: Board Layout
The general layout of the ABIT KV7 is barely acceptable, mostly due to the KV7’s tiny dimensions. In fact, the KV7 is one of the smallest motherboards in an ATX form factor that we’ve ever come across, challenging even the tiny Albatron PX845PEV Pro.
One of the less important, but still notable, layout mismanagements of the KV7 is the location of the ATX connector. The ATX connector is placed on the left-hand side of the motherboard, just below the lower left portion of the CPU socket. As we’ve mentioned time and again, standard PSUs usually do not have an extra long ATX cable, and this becomes a problem with motherboards that have their ATX connectors located on the left-hand portion of the motherboard. It will increase clutter and can obstruct the installation/uninstallation of the CPU HSF, memory modules, and any other components in that area in which a user may decide to modify or uninstall. If you're using a high-quality PSU with an extra-long ATX connector, you have nothing to worry about. Still, the vast majority of ATX cases come with standard PSU’s with short cables. If you are thinking of purchasing a KV7, you more than likely aren’t going to spend any extra money on anything you don’t have to.
Unfortunately, we see that ABIT continues to place the Primary and Secondary IDE connectors of their enthusiast motherboards at a 45 degree angle to the board. Not only that, but the Primary and Secondary IDE connectors are located at the edge of the motherboard below the AGP slot. This location will make it nearly impossible for a user to use the KV7’s bundled IDE cables, as they will simply be too short to reach the upper bays of an ATX case. What this means is that you will be unable to install optical drives in the first drive bay of your computer case and possibly the second drive bay as well. In the end, we still see no reason for ABIT to continually use this type of location on their desktop motherboards.
One of the more positive aspects of the KV7’s layout is the location of the Floppy connector. If you’re going to install a Floppy drive, the Floppy connector location on the KV7 makes it easier for the user to route the Floppy cable under and alongside the motherboard’s edges. This will reduce any possible cable collision and case clutter, making for a much more neat and organized computer case. Air flow is also improved, though this is less of a concern unless you’re going to load up every imaginable drive and device on this budget motherboard.
The KV7’s DIMM connectors are nicely located well away from the AGP slot. This makes it possible for users to install or uninstall memory modules easily without having to uninstall their video card, which is a time-consuming process that includes steps like unscrewing your video card, unplugging your VGA cable, and physically uninstalling your video card from its AGP slot. This location is becoming more and more common, thankfully.
As always, ABIT is accommodating to enthusiasts, and this couldn’t be better portrayed than with the addition of the four mounting holes required for more powerful Athlon XP CPU HSFs. Cooling enthusiasts will be delighted to hear this, as will the most serious overclockers. Despite this excellent addition, there are good copper HSFs out there that can be bought very cheaply (between $10 and $15) that don't require mounting holes.
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Anonymous User - Saturday, September 13, 2003 - link
Oh, so since I'm anonymous, I'm not a human being with feelings? Your behavior is completely unjustifiable because for one, it was only *your* opinion that my original post was cold and rude, and for two, I really don't think Mr. Lieb would give a shit even if I *was* cold and rude. This is a professional site and based on his response to my original comment I believe Mr. Lieb is also a professional who acted appropriately to a legitimate comment about his work. I really doubt that you're the difference-maker who makes Mr. Lieb feel good about the work he has done. Who told you that his feelings were hurt anyway? Are you Mr. Lieb's big brother or something? I'm simply amazed at how you can assume so many things based on my original comment. Egregious? That's frickin' hilarious. How the heck did you deduce that from my little comment? I mean, LISTEN TO YOURSELF. "After my first post, I have to admit that I just kept going because I was having fun..." Do you not see the hypocrisy in your words my son? You preach sensitivity and the sparing of feelings, you rush to the defense of "poor, hurt feelings" Evan, yet you enjoy acting like an asshole to others. The best part is when you tell me to lighten up, and then you tell me to be more sensitive. So which one is it? This whole thing started because *you* were overly sensitive about my comment, so maybe *you're* the one who should lighten up.I wonder when the mods will delete these useless comments, or whether they're getting a good laugh out of them. haha!
Anonymous User - Saturday, September 13, 2003 - link
In all sincerity, I initially posted #13 because I thought your original post was rather cold and rude. As a result, I wanted to help Evan laugh it off and feel good about the work he had done. I think that sometimes when we are in a forum such as this, we forget that the people receiving our comments and criticisms are human beings with feelings. I find this particularly inappropriate when they are identifiable by name, as is the case for Evan (but not for you or me). I would have preferred to see something like, "Hey, great review, but you had a typo." At least then you spare the person's feelings, and are ultimately more successful in getting your point across if you truly believe that the omission of a word is such an egregious error.After my first post, I have to admit that I just kept going because I was having fun since you appeared to respond to every post I made. In terms of making everyone miserable, please review the posts above and see if you can find anyone else complaining. In closing, lighten up. I encourage you to think before you post (advice that equally applies to me and others) and try to be more sensitive.
Anonymous User - Saturday, September 13, 2003 - link
Oh, and yes, Evan, I just meant to point out that you were missing a word in that sentence. I take back what I said about you not caring, because I had read your comment #14 before #11. I was just a little bit upset with the rudeness of #13. Keep up the good work!Anonymous User - Saturday, September 13, 2003 - link
Wow, you really need to get a life. Did you even have a point to make in your original post #13? Or are you just here to make things miserable for everyone? Talk about taking things to the extreme...Anonymous User - Saturday, September 13, 2003 - link
#18 Cease! Desist! I surrender. I concede. You win. You are right. I apologize.P.S. When beginning a sentence with a clause that starts with because, you should separate the clause from the remainder of the sentence with a comma. The truth is that you forgot the comma.
Anonymous User - Saturday, September 13, 2003 - link
To #18: Again, I really don't see why you have to be so sarcastic. This is a page for making comments and a comment about a "minor" typographical error is still a comment. If there are rules against making observations like the one I made, then please point me to it so I won't repeat it. Because of your tone and attitude I am explicitly *not* going to share my thoughts on the content of the review with you, but I doubt that you were serious when you were saying that anyway. I just don't see why you have to get so worked up about a little comment. Even the author didn't say anything about it, because as you said, it's a "minor" error that's easily corrected. It was just that at the time I read the article, it was incorrect. Finally, unlike you all my comments have been honest and sincere, and I maintain that I have taken the high road in response to your blatant sarcasm. The truth is you did omit an "s" in your comment, and I was merely stating a fact (and not being sarcastic) as well as demonstrating to you that some people do in fact notice these things.Anonymous User - Saturday, September 13, 2003 - link
Thank you, #17, for your observation as to my omission of the letter "s" in my previous post as #13. I have no problem with acknowledging errors when I make them and I appreciate your bringing this to my attention. At the same time, I am pleased to see that I may have been helpful to you. In contrast to your initial comment as #5, you actually discussed the content of my post rather than focusing exclusively on a minor typographical error. It seems that progress has been made! I welcome reading any thoughts you may have as to the content of the review of the Abit KV7.P.S. If you were trying to take the high road, you seem to have abandoned it with your P.S. Cheers!
Anonymous User - Friday, September 12, 2003 - link
#13, there is no need to be sarcastic. I don't understand why you're so offended by my pointing out a simple grammatical error. I did not take any time to carefully proofread the article, as you put it. I encountered it on my first read. As a news and review website, I believe that AnandTech.com should at least make an effort to write articles that are free of errors and I was merely trying to point out a mistake in case it was missed by the author and/or the editor. Based on #14's response, however, I doubt that the author cares very much about this issue. I was very tempted to take #13's sarcasm route but I think I'll take the high road here. Thank you for taking the time to read my comments.P.S. #13, you spelled "consistent" incorrectly. Sorry, I'm just an astute reader, these things pop out at me.
Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 9, 2003 - link
About the mentioning about a natural increased voltage fluctuations at "certain values", is there a good rundown of around what specific values those values would be? Perhaps it might be worthwile to raise the voltage by a 0.025 increment if less fluctuation could be achieved.Anonymous User - Tuesday, September 9, 2003 - link
Evan, thanks for helping out on the FSB/RAM question. It seems that when setting the FSB with a manual option then the RAM frequency is kept in sync at all times, regardless of what the separate DRAM speed setting is set to. It's reassuring to be able to confirm such things with CPU-z.