The BIOS (continued):
The final set of BIOS images are from the Frequency and Voltage Control page. If you were looking for anything like overclocking controls, here they are. Your only CPU controls are to set the FSB to either 1066MHz, 533MHz, 800MHz, or 1333MHz. You can not overclock in small steps, but if you think your processor can jump right from one class to another, go for it. The below right image shows the memory voltage controls, which offers four choices: 1.85V, 1.90V, 1.95V, and 2.00V. Nothing extreme, but since it only accepts 800MHz DDR2, you don't need the extra voltage that some of the higher frequency kits demand.
 
As I mentioned at the beginning of this section, the BIOS is rather unremarkable. Pretty much geared to plug and play operation, with minimal support for overclocking or optimizing.
Configuration:
The ECS GF7100PVT-M GeForce 7100 mATX motherboard was configured with the following components for this review:
» Intel D840 dual core 3.2GHz processor with stock cooler
» Maxtor Maxline III 250GB SATA 3Gbps hard drive
» ASUS 18x DVDRW optical drive
» Aeneon XTune 1GB PC2-8500 DDR2 memory kit
» Tuniq Miniplant 950W power supply
» Windows XP Home
The original plan was to use a slightly more modern dual core CPU (an Intel E2180), but for the sake of head-to-head testing the D840 was used so that all components would be compatible with another mATX motherboard with integrated audio and video. The GF7100PVT-M is definitely wallet friendly, so I envision that it might be used with older components users may have on hand, or low cost new components. The D840 fits the bill as an older processor that can still hold its own, while the E2180 is a lower power, lower frequency dual core chip that can presently be purchased for well under $100.
The physical installation was a snap. There is plenty of clearance around the CPU socket for coolers of all shapes and sizes, and the memory and graphics slots are spaced far enough from the processor to eliminate (most) concern for interference. The only layout issue that I see potentially creating issues is that the sole PCI Express x1 slot is right next to the PCI Express x16 slot. If you did decide to go with a discrete graphics solution on this board, that one x1 slot would probably be lost. I'd prefer to see that x1 slot moved to the last slot, so an audio solution like the ASUS Xonar D2X could be dropped in for HD audio with digital outputs.
Software and driver installation was also easy. Elsewhere online I had read about people having issues installing the operating system to SATA drives, as well as issues with the audio drivers. I did not experience either issue, and the whole process was about as quick and easy as you could expect.
The initial installation was completed with a 19" (4:3) TFT LCD monitor with a native resolution of 1280x1024. The onboard graphics powered basic applications via VGA and DVI with the same quality I would expect from an add in graphics card. Desktop applications, movies, and less demanding games looked just fine. Trying to play newer games with moderate settings was frustrating and pretty much a waste of time. So many frames would drop it looked like I was watching a slide show. While gaming many not be the forte of the onboard graphics, the performance in DVDs and streaming movies (like Netflix Instant) was very good.
After some use with a traditional monitor, the system was connected to a 720p 32" TFT LCD Widescreen television via HDMI. The system booted right up into Windows and except for changing the resolution to 1280x720, no adjustments were necessary. The picture was sharp, text was easy to read from at least ten feet, the desktop spanned to fill the screen perfectly, and multimedia content looked great. The image below shows the desktop from about six feet away as an example.
One downside to this configuration is that audio is not transmitted over the HDMI cable, so your only option is to use the analog audio connections on the board. While there is an SPDIF output header on the board, there is no adapter provided to put it to use, but spending extra to get digital audio out to your home theater setup might be worth it.
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