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- Date:
- Thursday , January 04, 2007
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
abit AW9D-MAX
The abit AW9D-MAX motherboard is abit’s premier offering for the Core 2 Duo line. With abit’s stellar reputation and the overclocking potential of the Core 2 Duo, this could be the match to beat...but it is not.
Introduction
abit is among the elite cadre of top tier motherboard manufacturers, well known and loved among enthusiasts everywhere. With its acquisition by USI, abit has had a bit of a turbulent year but has seemed to come out of the merger swinging. Their latest motherboard as part of their MAX series seems to ooze with potential.
The AW9D-MAX is abit’s latest offering with full support for Intel’s Core 2 Duo and quad core based LGA 775 processors. The board is built around the Intel 975X chipset, offering built-in support for the following technologies: LGA 775 processors, DDR2 DRAM modules operating in Dual Channel mode up to 800MHz, and dual card ATI CrossFire support in x8 mode with matching ATI graphics cards installed.
As is a common trend now in the industry, abit has designed the AW9D-MAX as a feature complete solution, requiring only an Intel LGA 775 style processor, DDR2 memory, drives, and a PSU for a fully operational system. abit has integrated the following in to the AW9D-MAX’s design: 1 IDE ATA-100 port and 4 SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1 capable) on the Intel ICH7R controller; 2 SATA II ports (RAID 0 and 1 capable) on the primary Silicon Image controller; 1 SATA II port and 1 e-SATA port (RAID 0 and 1 capable) on the secondary Silicon Image controller; 8 USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 Realtek GigE Ethernet ports in rear panel; Realtek 8-channel audio codec featuring an S/PDIF optical output port; 2-digit diagnostic LED display; onboard power and reset buttons; and PS/2 port support in the rear panel.
Main Specifications Overview:
Detailed Motherboard Specification List:
Packaging
The AW9D-MAX’s box is adorned with a fierce looking samurai warrior, with the name boldly emblazoned across the front, giving a sense of the power that awaits upon opening the box. The supported processor and board features are clearly marked in the lower right corner of the box. The front of the box lifts to reveal various features of the board that abit wishes to point out, including the audio riser card, the CrossFire PCI-Express slots, and their OTES 2 heat pipe cooling technology. The following accessories are included in with the board itself: rounded ATA-100 and floppy cables, SATA drive cables; an optical audio cable, the audio riser card, a rear panel bracket containing 2 USB 2.0 and 2 IEEE 1394 slots; and the normal complement of driver CDs and manuals.
Board Layout
abit did a masterful job with the overall board design and layout, with no real hard to reach or tight areas, even with 2 full sized ATI x1950 video cards seated in the board. All power circuitry is passively cooled with good sized aluminum heat sinks, and the Northbridge and Southbridge are cooled via a passively cooled heat pipe system dubbed OTES 2. The board tested was a revision 1.00 board, with the revision and serial number clearly marked on a white sticker in between the Northbridge chipset and the upper DIMM slots. To top it all off, abit chose to use high quality solid state capacitors for the entire board.
The CPU socket area is open enough to allow for the use of the larger heat sink and water block coolers. The capacitors in close proximity to the socket are of a low profile type, which should not impede CPU to cooler surface mating. abit implemented the standard LGA 775 4 hole style mechanism for cooler placement. The Intel 975X Northbridge chipset is located to the left of the CPU socket, covered by a large heat sink mated to a heat pipe that terminates above the CPU socket. The NBFAN1 header is located directly above the Northbridge, with the USB-PWR1 and USB-PWR2 jumpers above it and just under the rear panel uprights. These jumpers control system activation based activity detected on the rear panel USB 2.0 ports. Just to the left of the large MOSFET cooler that serves as the heat pipe termination point is the secondary Silicon Image SATA 2 port, while the OTESFAN2 header is above it in between the e-SATA port and the PS/2 port rear panel upright. The OTESFAN1 header is to the right of the MOSFET heat pipe, along the board’s edge.
The DDR2 slots are located directly below the Northbridge and CPU socket area, oriented in a 2-by-2 fashion. For the board to operate in Dual Channel memory mode, you must place modules in like colored slots across the two sets. The 24-pin ATX power connector AUXFAN2 header just below the DIMM slots, while the 8-pin ATX12V power connector, and CPUFAN1 and AUXFAN3 headers are to their right along the board’s edge.
The Southbridge chipset is located below the primary and secondary PCI-Express x16 slots. The Southbridge’s cooler is one end of the OTES2 heat pipe, which terminates just above the CPU socket. The cooler itself is of a low profile design, so that it does not inhibit video card seating in the board. The onboard IDE port and the ICH7R’s 4 SATA 2 ports are located directly below the chipset itself. Directly to the left of the chipset are the onboard USB 2.0 headers, and the CMOS reset jumper. The uGuru and front panel headers, as well as the 2-digit diagnostic LED display and power and reset buttons, are locates in the lower left corner of the board. The uGuru header is used to attach an external display device to the board. Just above the power button is the AUXFAN1 header.
The AW9D-MAX comes standard with a total of 2 PCI Express x16 CrossFire capable video slots, 2 PCI Express x1 slots, 1 PCI slot, and a dedicated audio riser card slot. The CMOS battery was placed in between the lower portion of the PCI-Express x16 slots. However, the battery was found to be accessible with dual cards seated in the board. To the outside of the PCI slot are the floppy port, and the primary Silicon Image SATA 2 ports. The SYSFAN1 header and MOLEX style power connector are located to the left of the audio riser port. The MOLEX power connector is used for supplying additional onboard power to the PCI-Express x16 slots when using both slots. Both IEEE 1394 ports are located above the PCI-Express slots
abit chose to include the following ports in the AW9D-MAX’s rear panel assembly: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; 4 USB 2.0 ports; 1 e-SATA port; and 2 Realtek Gigabit LAN Ethernet ports.
uGuru
abit’s uGuru chipset technology allows for real time monitoring and tweaking of various motherboard parameters from within the Windows environment. The uGuru application works in tandem with the onboard uGuru chipset to receive data concerning hardware health, as well as to implement changes in current hardware settings such as FSB and voltage. Note that uGuru version 3.0.3.3 is shown below.
The uGuru applet is split in to three different sections, accessible when the associated button is selected from the left side menu: ABIT EQ, OC Guru, and FAN EQ. The ABIT EQ button shows real time statistics on monitored system voltages, temperatures, and fan speed. The OC Guru button shows system statistics on CPU frequency, board voltages, and power cycle related information. The FAN EQ button displays real time statistics on the threshold temperature and voltage setting for all onboard fan headers. Selecting the mode button from the upper button bar opens the Skin window. From this window, you can customize the appearance and size of the default uGuru applet main window. The Default (Full) setting shows all available statistics, while the Default (Simple) option shows a minimal amount of CPU related statistics. With the Mini Panel (Show CPU Info Only) skin selected, the same information displays as shown in the Default (Simple) view mode, but the size of the display footprint is minimized to a vertical bar.
The Setting menu is access by click on the Setting button from the main applet screen. The menu itself is divided in to five submenus: ABIT EQ, AutoDrive, Fan EQ, OC Guru, and General. The ABIT EQ menu controls display and monitoring settings for the voltage, temperature, and fan speed statistics shown in the main interface. From the AutoDrive menu, you can configure programs to run based on the overclocking mode selected from the main interface. The Fan EQ menu controls threshold temperature and voltage settings for the onboard fan headers. The OC Guru menu allows for customization of the CPU FSB and board voltages. The General menu contains interface refresh and startup settings.