PCSTATS     
[X]   Directory of
Guides & Reviews

Beginners Guides
Motherboards by Brand
Weekly Newsletter
Archived Newsletters

+70 MORE Beginner GUIDES....
Gigabyte GA-7VM Motherboard Review
Gigabyte GA-7VM Motherboard Review - PCSTATS
First impression of this motherboard is 'small', but small things sometimes hide very big surprises... This little board has some secrets...
 82% Rating:   
Filed under: Motherboards Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: Gigabyte Jun 12 2000   B. Ly  
Home > Reviews > Motherboards > Gigabyte GA-7VM

Gigabyte GA-7VM Motherboard Review


Right out of the box the first impression of this motherboard is, small. But small things sometimes hide very big surprises, so lets take a good look at the Gigabyte GA-7VM .

The AMD Athlon is currently available to the end user at a more attractive price than their Intel counterparts.  Initially the AMD Athlon platform suffered from a genuine lack of supporting motherboards, that is no longer the problem.  The perceived problem now is that there isn't a good selection of small motherboards for SOHO and light multimedia users.  On the Intel side, there is a wide selection of these types of motherboards from companies like Houston, and DTK.  Nonetheless, Gigabyte has arrived with a new product that should make AMD Athlon enthusiasts happy, as they've come up with a new baby-ATX motherboard suitable for SOHO, and light multimedia needs.

Gigabyte's GA-7VM steps up to the plate with a baby-ATX form factor, sporting the VIA KX-133 Slot A chip set, with 1 AGP, 3 busmastering PCI, and 1 AMR (Audio Modem Riser) slots.  Additionally it also comes with sound on board, and 3 DIMM slots.

Avg. retail price: $162 CDN  /  $109 USD

Motherboard Spec Sheet:

    PROCESSOR
  • Slot A for AMD-K7 Athlon 200MHz FSB processors
  • 100/110*/115*/120*/124*/129*/133*/138*/143* MHz FSB
  • AUTO detect CPU voltage
    CHIPSET
  • VIA KX133 North Bridge
  • VIA 686A South Bridge
  • AC97 codec
    MEMORY
  • 16MB to 1.5GB memory size
  • 3 x DIMM sockets
  • Supports 64/128/256/512 MB SDRAM DIMM module
  • Supports ECC type DIMM module (72bits)
    Slots
  • 1 x AMR (Audio Modem Riser) slot (Inversely AMR card)
  • 1 x AGP slot supports 2X/4X mode
  • 3 x PCI slots support 33MHz & PCI 2.2 compliant
    I/O
  • 2 x Ultra DMA 33/66 bus master IDE ports on board
  • 1 x FDD, 2 x COM, 1 x LPT, PS/2 keyboard, PS/2 Mouse on board
  • 1 x joystick, 1 x line-in, 1 x line-out, 1 x MIC on board
  • 2 x USB ports on board
  • 2 x USB ports by cable (optional accessory)
  • IrDA TX / RX Header Ready
    POWER
  • ATX power connector
  • Power-on by LAN, RTC, Modem & switch
  • Power-off by Windowsr 95/98/2000 Shut down & Switch
  • Supports USB device wake-up
  • 3 level ACPI LED support
  • Stop CPU fan during entering suspend mode
    FORM FACTOR
  • Micro ATX , 4 layer PCB (24.7*22.0cm)
    H/W MONITORING
  • Auto speed down and Alarm when CPU overheat or Fan failure (OS independent & Driverless)
  • 3 fan power & speed detection connectors
  • Stop CPU fan during entering suspend mode
  • System health status detect & report by BIOS
  • H/W detect +5V, +12V, CPU voltage & CMOS battery status
    BIOS
  • 2Mbit Flash RAM
  • AMI BIOS with enhanced ACPI Feature for PC98/Win98/Win2000 compliance, Green, PnP, DMI, INT13 (>8.4GB) & Anti-Virus functions < /FONT>
  • IDE#1~#4, SCSI, LS120, ZIP & CD-ROM bootable
  • AC Recovery ON/OFF control
  • Auto-detect & report system health status
    OTHER FEATURES
  • Suspend-To-RAM (STR)
  • Includes Wake-On-LAN Header (WOL)
  • Includes Wake-On-Ring (WOR)
  • Poly fuse for keyboard, USB & game overcurrent protection

Gigabyte includes a rather informative manual, a floppy disk drive cable, 80 conductor / 40 pin Ultra ATA 66 cable and a CD.  On the CD, you should be able to find the VIA Chip set driver, the Audio Driver, DirectX 7.0, Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.01, and Norton Antivirus / Utilities 2000 SE.  The inclusion of the motherboard drivers is a given, but including the Norton Antivirus is a huge plus.  Virus protection is a very important thing to have, and getting such a competent package for free, is always welcome.

© 2023 PCSTATS.com Next Page >

 

Contents of Article: Gigabyte GA-7VM
 Pg 1.  — Gigabyte GA-7VM Motherboard Review
 Pg 2.  Motherboard Features:
 Pg 3.  Overclocking
 Pg 4.  Overclocking with Leufken's Gold Finger Device:
 Pg 5.  Conclusion:

 
Hardware Sections 


 
PCSTATS Network Features Information About Us Contact
FrostyTech
PCSTATS Newsletter
Tech Glossary
Technology WebSite Listings
News Archives
(Review RSS Feed)
Site Map
PCstats Wallpaper
About Us
Privacy Policy
Advertise on PCSTATS

How's Our Driving?
© Copyright 1999-2023 www.pcstats.com All rights reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of Use.