Chaintech CT-7AIV2 Socket-A KT133 microATX

The Chaintech CT-7AIV2 uses the Award Modular BIOS 6.00PG, which supports Jumperless CPU setups.  The FSB settings can be found under Frequency / Voltage Control in the BIOS.  FSB settings include 100 / 102 / 103 / 107 / 110 / 113 / 117 / 120.  From our experience, AMD’s chips running on VIA chipset cannot be stable at any FSB higher than 110MHz, so settings over 110MHz are not that useful.  We would prefer more FSB settings between 100MHz and 110MHz so that users can squeeze the last bit of power out of their CPU.

The PC Health Status can also be found in the BIOS.  From here users can get information on the CPU temperature, system temperature, and also the speed of up to two fans.  It also reports the voltage of the CPU, but it provides no information on the AGP voltage.

One thing to notice is that there are 2 sets of dipswitches on the front side of the motherboard.  In the motherboard manual, it states that these dipswitches are set to factory defaults already, and they are only for future support.  We have no idea if they are actually for changing the multiplier settings for AMD processors, but with a total of 12 switches, Chaintech must be having something in mind.

In order to make their board ready for OEMs, Chaintech drops the usual AC97 CODEC and uses the C-media CMI-8738 3D 4.1 Hardware Sound chip for the onboard sound, which has a much better sound quality.  It provides 2 wave channels (front/rear + subwoofer), known as the 4.1 speaker system.  The CMI-8738 uses a technology from CRL 3D Audio, the 32-voice HRTF-base 3D positional audio part, which helps position sound sources when using 4.1 speakers systems.  This technology supports Microsoft Direct Sound 3D and Aureal’s A3D interfaces, so games and applications software that utilize these interfaces will be able to take advantage of the HRTF 3D positional audio.  For example when executing the “Helicopter” demo within the CRD HRTF Positional Audio Demos together with a 4.1 speaker system, the rear speakers will work to generate 3D sound effects when the helicopter is behind you,.

The onboard sound should be enough for users who need some decent 3D sound.  However, for users who want only the best 3D sound quality, they will prefer to search for some other PCI sound cards.  But again, this board mainly targets the OEM market, where users are generally not that picky.

In our sample we did not find any manual.  However, it is included in the CD, containing detailed information on all the jumpers and connectors on the motherboard.  The manual does not have information on how to install the motherboard, drivers, and applications, instructions which are essential for first time users.  Included in the CD you can also find all the drivers and software you need for the motherboard as well as the on-board sound and video.  Chaintech also includes what they call the AIRBAG (AntiVirus, Instant Recovery & Busmaster Application Group) package, which includes the Norton AntiVirus, Norton Ghost, PC-cillin 98, and the Xstore Pro.