THE GIGABYTE 7DXR'S BIOS: The 7DXR's BIOS is also based on the common AWARD variety...                                                     If you click through these BIOS pics, you'll notice the 7DXR's BIOS is also very complete, considering most of the overclocking is accomplished by adjusting on-board DIP switches.  You can adjust the FSB within the BIOS though, by simply typing the desired FSB (middle, far right).  There is also precise control over memory timing adjustments, allowing users to eek every last ounce of performance from their RAM. Layout and Quality Solid As A Rock...

THE 7DXR'S LAYOUT:

We also gave the Gigabyte 7DXR a thorough physical inspection...

Gigabyte chose to include active cooling on the Northbridge as well, but they mounted the heatsink / fan combo with very strong thermal tape.  The thermal tape was so strong that we didn't remove the cooler out of fear that we may damage the AMD-761 Northbridge beneath it!  This board also uses a VIA Southbridge, but this time it's the 686B.

The 7DXR also has above average on-board sound.  Mounted at the corner of the board, a Creative Labs CT5880 chip is visible.  There is nothing unusual to report with regard to the external case connectors, but mounted next to the AGP Pro slot is something we haven't seen before, a standard 4-Pin power supply connector.  We have seen auxiliary power connectors for AGP Pro slots before, but they are usually the square ATX 12V type.

The Floppy and on-board IDE connectors are well placed at the edge of the board, and the 7DXR is also equipped with 5 PCI slots.  Visible in the center of the Socket is a thermal probe which is useful to the overclocker who doesn't want to cook their CPU.

One thing we didn't like is that the RAID connectors are mounted perpendicular to the edge of the board.  Mounting these connectors this way makes it tough keep the IDE cables neat. Also notice the "Dual BIOS" in the above pic.  Gigabyte's Dual BIOS is great feature. The days of a bad flash ruining your rig, or a virus wreaking havoc are over.  Should there be any trouble, the Backup BIOS can be used to get you up and running.