![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Thursday , March 04, 2004
- Author:
- Keith Dugger
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
AOpen AK86-L
Powered by an Athlon64 and a VIA K8T800 chipset wrapped in an AOpen package, the AK86-L offers an additional choice in the Athlon64 market. Can the AK86-L keep up with the top competition?
Introduction
With over 20 years of design and manufacturing experience, the PC component of Wistron Group, AOpen takes a hands-on approach to motherboards and controls every aspect from the drawing board to the finished product. That commitment to quality helps AOpen deliver highly stable products.
The AK86-L is AOpen’s latest action supporting the Athlon64. Combining the support of the VIA K8T800 chipset and single-channel DDR RAM, the AK86-L is certainly viable at finding a home in the value price range of motherboards.
AOpen has created a name for itself by offering such feature-rich options as the WatchDog ABS to prevent BIOS lock during overclocking parties and the SilentTek Noise Reduction Technology to control fan noise during low-temperature operations to name two. The AK86-L is not missing these and offers other trend-matching features as well. It supports up to 2GB of single-channel DDR400 and up to 3GB of single-channel DDR266/333 memory. The following additional features are available on the AK86-L: 2 ATA133 ports; 2 Serial ATA ports; 8 USB 2.0 ports (4 in Back Panel I/O and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); Gigabit LAN; 5.1 Channel audio; and legacy support for serial, parallel, and PS/2 ports.
Main Specifications Overview:
CPU | AMD Athlon64 K8 754-pin |
Chipset | VIA K8T800 / VT8237 |
FSB | 200 |
BIOS | Award PnP 4Mb Flash ROM BIOS |
Memory | 3 x DDR DIMM; up to 3GB Max |
Slots | 1 x AGP, 5 x PCI |
Onboard IDE | 2 x ATA 133 ports; 2 x Serial ATA RAID 0/1 and JBOD capable ports |
USB 2.0 | 4 rear panel / 2 headers supporting 2 ports each (8 ports total) |
IEEE 1394 | NONE |
AGP | 8X AGP |
Audio | 5.1-Channel Realtek AC’97 CODEC |
LAN | Realtek Gigabit PCI LAN Chip |
Detailed Mainboard Specification List:
|
|
Packaging
The clean lines and sanitary white of the AK86-L box, complete with graphics representing what is inside, creates a feeling that AOpen took the time to develop and design a superb board. Is that just a trick of the marketing department? We’ll see once we break open the package.
Once inside, we are treated with the AOpen Black Pearl PCB that is the AK86-L and some various needed accoutrements. We have the User’s Guide; Easy Installation Guide; Norton AntiVirus installation CD; the AOpen Bonus Pack CD (includes motherboard drivers and AOpen utilities); the VIA SATA RAID Driver Diskette; and EzRestore Easy Installation Guide. Additionally, AOpen included a standard floppy cable, an 80-wire IDE cable, SATA drive and power cables, and a Back Panel I/O Shield.
The packaging for the AK86-L is top-notch with a well-designed layout storing all the contents safely from the manufacturer to your door.
Board Layout
Overall, the board layout is free of any major problems. A few minor areas of concern don’t slip by, but do not detract from the use of the AK86-L at all. I will point out the specific issues with the close-up pictures.
The AK86-L relies on capacitors from the following companies: United Chemi-Con (USA, Japan) marked as KZE and KZG; Rubycon (Japan) marked MBZ and YXG; and Variacom (Slovenia) marked GL.
The area immediately surrounding the CPU socket is practically free of obstructions. The HSF hold-down mechanism is the standard AMD specification 2-hole cage with a metal plate on the reverse. One of those minor concerns is the single capacitor to the right of the cage. This could be slightly in the way if one were to install the HSF with the tension arm on this side of the cage. A simple way to avoid this problem is to install the HSF with the tension arm opposite this capacitor. The row of capacitors above the cage is tucked neatly away from the CPU socket, but do encroach on the space directly surrounding the ATX power connector. The hold-down tab on the power connector is positioned toward this row of capacitors and care must be taken during power installation to prevent any damage to these capacitors. AOpen chose to put the ATX-12V connector in close proximity to the ATX power connector as, I think, should always be the case. One could argue that this basic location is not the best place, but it is adequate with proper cable management.
Other items of interest here are the system-monitored 3-pin CPU_FAN (near the right edge of the motherboard) and SYSFAN1 (on the opposite side of the CPU HSF cage) connectors. The VIA K8T800 Northbridge is protected from heat by a passive aluminum HS sporting the AOpen logo. This HS does well even under the pressures of overclocking, but note that the HS mounting mechanism is adhesive. No mounting holes for aftermarket heat sinks here.
The three purple DIMM slots are directly below the CPU socket and support up to 2GB of DDR400 memory or up to 3GB of DDR333/266 memory. Per AOpen’s suggestion, do not install 3 sticks of DDR333/266 memory and AOpen point to a limitation of the Athlon 64’s memory controller. This drives the maximum memory of the AK86-L to 2GB regardless of marketing.
An additional 3-pin fan connector (labeled PWRFAN) is just above DIMM1.
Just below PCI slots 1/2 and the 2 on-board USB2.0 headers, is the VIA VT8237 Southbridge. This quadrant is also home to the RAID capable SATA ports, IDE1 and IDE2 connectors, and the floppy drive connector. I find the location of the floppy connector to be a bit out of the way for some of the larger tower cases in the marketplace today, but realize that most of us have relegated the floppy drive to the storage shelf and will not be affected by this out-of-the-way location. Between the IDE and floppy connectors is the third system-monitored 3-pin fan connector labeled SYSFAN2. The CMOS battery and clear jumper are directly in line above SYSFAN2.
Next to the system speaker is the front panel pin block colored coded for easier wiring. Continuing up the left-edge of the AK86-L we find the CASE_OPEN connector and the Game Port header (just beneath the BIOS chip).
AOpen shipped the AK86-L with 5 PCI and 1 AGP slot. The AGP slot included my preferred sliding mechanism to hold the graphics accelerator in place (versus the push-tab). Along side PCI5 (to the left) is the COM2 header and further toward the upper corner are the Front Audio and S/PDIF connectors. Between PCI slots 2 and 3 are the AUX_ and CD_IN connectors. This corner of the board is very clean and well laid out.
The AK86-L rounds out the motherboard package with the following ports occupying the Back Panel I/O: 1 each Keyboard and Mouse PS/2 ports; 4 USB2.0 ports; 1 Parallel port; 1 Serial port (COM1); 1 RJ45 LAN port; and the rear audio tower (Line-In, Speaker Out, and MIC_In..
AOpen EzClock
AOPen included a GUI tool to help the uninitiated delved into the world of overclocking. It offers a good look at the current system specs and various options to control almost every aspect of overclocking. Here’s a look at the utility.
