Tags : Abit I N73HD nForce 630i Motherboard   geforce 7100   hdmi   matx   Motherboards   onboard graphics   Reviews  

Introduction Features and Specifications Photos and Pictures Installation and contents Test Setup, Procedures and BIOS CPU-Z Information Benchmarks: Sandra Pro XII Benchmarks: FutureMark and ScienceMark 2 Verdict and Conclusion

A motherboard designed for HTPC / Media Centre PC. The Abit I-N73HD offers integrated Geforce 7100 graphics with onboard HDMI.

 

INTRODUCTION

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Over past several months, Abit have been really quiet. There weren't many new products being released. There was no mention of new motherboards using Nvidia's 780i SLI chipset or the new AMD 780G based motherboards. So, I wasn't expecting much from their booth at Cebit 2008. But to my surprise, Abit showcased a lot of new and up-and-coming products. These include their new X48, P45 and AMD 780G based motherboards. Also on display were Abit's new graphics card series ... so, it seems they've been busy secretly developing these new products without everyone know. It's a good stragedy, but they need to be careful not to miss the bandwagon.

At the Cebit 2008 exhibition, there was a lot of emphasis on HTPCs and media centre PCs. So much so, a lot of manufacturers have decided to develope and introduce new motherboards with integrated graphics such as the AMD 780G based motherboard. But alot of them already have motherboards with integrated graphics using Nvidia's nForce 630i/7100 chipset. And in this review we will be taking a look at such a motherboard ... Abit's I-N37HD.

 

 

This motherboard is deisgned and aimed at the budget/mainstream market, and it's an ideal motherboard solution for any HTPC or media centre PC user or system integrator. The Abit I-N37HD utilises Nvidia's nForce 630i/7100 chipset, which is a single chip solution and offers integrated graphics with performance equivalent to a Geforce 7100. It uses system memory for its video memory buffer and can be configured from 64MB upto 256Mb. Other features include support for DX9 and HDMI interface. In terms of connectivity it's got everthing, you get 4 x USB, firewire, gigabit ethernet, D-sub (15-pin vga), SPDIF optical, and HD audio connectors.

The main focus of this motherboard is the support for high definiton video, and high definition multi-channel audio through its HDMI interface. HDMI is the preferred standard for connection any HD compatible device, so this year we will see a lot of components with support for HDMI. The board comes in a micro ATX form factor, so it's ideal for any HTPC chassis.

         

Don't expect top gaming performance from the integrated graphics ... it's not designed for it. Hoewever, the motherboard does have a space PCIe (x16) slot for a separate additional graphics card of your choice ... thus improving graphics performance for games. The overall performance may not be ideal for the medium to high-end user, but it should appeal to the "Digital Home" DIYers.

Ok, let's not waste any more time and take a closer look at the specifications.

 

    Features and Specifications - Next >

Introduction Features and Specifications Photos and Pictures Installation and contents Test Setup, Procedures and BIOS CPU-Z Information Benchmarks: Sandra Pro XII Benchmarks: FutureMark and ScienceMark 2 Verdict and Conclusion