SUMMARY: ABIT's latest motherboard is the value-orientated AI7 for the Pentium 4 based on Intel's Springdale chipset. We put it right up against the IC7 MAX3 based on the more expensive Canterwood chipset and it doesn't fair too badly at all.
While there is a huge amount of change happening in the AMD sector with two separate CPUs hitting the market and two different platforms to choose from, Intel has kept it simple for the past two years now. Finally Intel has merged its Mainstream and Value CPUs into the one platform, Socket 478.
Socket 478 has now been the longest running architecture for Intel and with Celeron now on the same platform, Intel solutions are looking more cost affective and fully upgradeable.
As of late we have seen Pentium 4 motherboards sprouting brand new features like automatic overclocking systems and Windows based overclocking features which dont require you to reboot your system for your overclock to take hold. How times have changed from setting jumpers and modifying voltage regulators.
Today we have taken a look at the newest Smart motherboard, this time its from ABIT. Christened the AI7, is ABIT once again able to rock our world with the Intel Springdale chipset? Lets see!
