Features and Layout
The BH7, considering that it’s a mid-ranged board, comes chock-full with features. Rather than spouting on about the menial things and wasting both your time and mine, I’ll shamelessly steal Abit's own features list:
Features:
Enhanced 533MHz FSB
The 533MHz FSB increases bandwidth and improves overall system performance
DDR 333 Support
Supports up to 2GB of PC2700 and peak bandwidth of 2.7GB/s
10/100 LAN on board
Lets you easily connect to the web without having to buy an advanced 10/100
Ethernet card.
Serial ATA 150MB/s data transfer rate
Serial ATA is an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA storage
interface. This new high-speed interface burst data transfer rate up to 150
MB/sec and more flexible power tolerances, cables can be smaller and more
efficient
6-Channel Audio and S/PDIF IN/OUT interface
Lets you enjoy 6-channel audio without having to buy advanced sound cards.
USB 2.0 Supports 480 Mb/s data transfer rate
Supports speeds up to 480 Mb/sec. Approximately forty times faster than
conventional USB 1.1
ABIT SoftMenuTM Overclocking
The overclocking function includes CPU frequency, multiplier, CPU Vcore, memory
voltage and AGP voltage adjustment available to maximize your system
performance.
Layout
The BH7 has, quite simply, the most perfect layout for a board that I have ever seen. The ATX power connector is far away from the CPU, as it should be, there is ample room around the CPU for over-sized coolers, memory can be simply changed without having to remove the AGP card first and the IDE slots are horizontally facing rather than perpendicular - especially useful if you are using full-length PCI cards. The entire board is decked out in a red-orange (rust?) colour that you will either like or loathe. Another excellent touch is that the corners of the board have been rounded and there are no sharp edges on the entire PCB. In keeping with the board's marketing for the overclockers, the BH7 comes with four fan headers and very high quality Rubycon capacitors. To top off this exceptionally made board, yes, the function connectors are all very clearly labelled.
Audio
The ALC650 on-board audio with the BH7 is not the best solution I have ever heard, that honour belongs to the CMI based hardware audio you find on Soyo boards, but it's still a huge improvement from the original crappy AC97 codec featured on many boards in this price bracket (and higher). Naturally it provides 6 channel audio, but Abit have gone a step further and included dedicated centre / rear channels (these are normally shared with the mic and line-in) as well as optical S/PDIF connectors for Hi-Fi and MiniDisc player compatibility, albeit at the cost of a serial port.
Network and USB2.0
Like virtually all modern motherboards in this price range, the BH7 features onboard network provided in this case by a Realtek 8101L controller. This is a popular chip and I've been using it without issue in conjunction with my broadband modem since installing the board. There are a total of four USB ports on the BH7 and a single internal USB header if you want to add a backing plate later. An omission is firewire, but that's a bit much to ask for a $90 board, I guess.
Clock Generator and SATA
A very useful feature for overclockers is the RTM360-110R clock generator. This allows manipulation of the FSB without a reboot, all from within Windows. Abit also use a 4-phase Pulse Width Modulation controller which provides a much more stable voltage supply - essential for 200Mhz qualification. Serial ATA is provided by the tiny Marvell 88i8030 chip situated just above the BIOS battery. Having just a single SATA connector is something of a shame as, if you wanted to add another SATA drive later, you would have to buy a riser card.
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