Chapter 2. Introduction Of At7-Max2 Features; Features Of At7-Max2 Motherboard - Abit AB-AT7-MAX2 Manual

Introduction of AT7-MAX2 Features
2-1

Chapter 2. Introduction of AT7-MAX2 Features

2-1. Features of AT7-MAX2 Motherboard

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This motherboard is designed for AMD Socket A Athlon XP, Athlon and Duron processors. It
supports the AMD Socket-A structure, with up to 2 GB (PC 2700/PC 3200, Unbuffered & Non-ECC
DDR DIMM) or 3.5 GB (PC 1600/PC 2100, Unbuffered & Non-ECC DDR DIMM) of memory, super
I/O, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, Serial ATA and Green PC functions.
The AT7-MAX2 uses the VIA KT400 and VT8235 chipsets to make the evolutionary move from PC
100/PC 133 SDRAM to PC 1600/PC 2100/PC 2700/PC 3200 DDR SDRAM, increasing the speed of the
system and memory buses from 100 MHz to 200 MHz. Its 200/266/333/400 MHz memory interface
supports a wide range of PC 1600/PC 2100/PC 2700/PC 3200 DDR SDRAM memory devices now on the
market.
VIA KT400 is a system bus controller, or northbridge, that houses the high-speed system elements critical
to overall system performance while also containing the system interface to the processor. The key
functions of the KT400 System Controller include the 266 MHz Athlon System Bus, the 400 MHz DDR
Memory Subsystem, the AGP 8X/4X modes Graphics Interface (AGP 3.0 Compliant) and the 33
MHz/32-bit PCI Bus Interface (PCI 2.2 Compliant), including arbiter.
DDR SDRAM is the newest memory standard. It provides the maximum translation bandwith and also
greatly improves data transaction delays. This feature improves system performance and speed, especially
with multimedia environment applications.
The AT7-MAX2 has a built in Ultra DMA 133 function. This means that it provides speedier HDD
throughput boosting overall system performance. Ultra DMA 133 is the newest standard for IDE devices.
It enhances existing Ultra DMA 33 technology by increasing both performance and data integrity. This
new high-speed interface almost doubles the Ultra DMA 66 burst data transfer rate to 133 Mbytes/sec.
The result is maximum disc performance using the current PCI local bus environment. Another benefit is
the ability to connect four IDE devices to your system, either through Ultra DMA 66, Ultra DMA 100 or
Ultra DMA 133. With this, you will have more flexibility to expand your computer system.
AT7-MAX2's built-in HighPoint HPT 374 chipset gives you the capability to support Ultra DMA 133.
Ultra DMA 133 is the newest standard for IDE devices. It provides two IDE channels (IDE3, IDE4) that
also support Ultra DMA 133 specifications, and it allows for four additional IDE devices in your
computer system. It can give you high performance and efficiency data transfer rate through the IDE
channels. This also means that your computer, in total, can connect up to eight IDE devices (IDE1 ~
IDE4). This allows for maximum expandability for future hardware demands. This chipset also supports
IDE RAID, inlcuding RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 0+1. This feature enables you to maximize your data
storage performance and security.
AT7-MAX2's built-in two Marvell 88i8030 Controllers can provide two Serial ATA connectors onboard;
you can connect one Serial ATA device to each of them, since Serial ATA will be a point to point
protocol. What is Serial ATA? Serial ATA is an evolutionary replacement for the Parallel ATA physical
storage interface. Serial ATA is scalable and will allow furture enhancements to the computing platform.
This new high-speed interface expands data transfer rate to 150 MB/sec (1.5 gigabits/sec). The result is
maximum disc performance using the current PCI local bus environment. Other benefits are: more
flexible power tolerances, cables can be smaller and more efficient (this can improve the airflow and heat
inside the chassis), easy to configure devices, etc. This interface is designed to connect PC internal
devices. If you want to connect outside peripherals, IEEE 1394 and USB 2.0 interfaces will be the
solution.
User's Manual