![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , August 17, 2004
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
ABIT AV8
ABIT chose to harness the power of the VIA K8T800Pro chipset for their AMD socket 939 motherboard. We find out whether this board is worthy of the ABIT moniker.
Introduction
ABIT has been a pioneer in motherboard design for years, constantly pushing the speed and performance envelope with their innovative designs. As a result, they have established themselves as a well respected presence in the enthusiast arena. Their current generation of AMD solutions, based on AMD socket 939 technology, continues this trend.
The AV8 is ABIT’s foundational member for their socket 939 based line-up. ABIT mates the socket 939 technology with the VIA K8T800 Pro chipset. The K8T800 chipset is a well rounded solution, offering native support for all socket 939 compliant Athlon64 and AthlonFX CPUs, as well as Dual Channel DDR memory. ABIT made the AV8 a feature complete solution, with only an AMD based socket 939 processor, DDR RAM, an AGP video card, and drives required for a complete working system. The following components are included on-board with the AV8: 2 IDE ATA-133 ports; 2 RAID capable SATA-150 ports; 8 USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 2 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 3 IEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, 2 onboard headers supporting 1 port each); 1 VIA Gigabit Ethernet port; Realtek 5.1 channel audio codec featuring S/PDIF optical type input/output ports; and serial, parallel, and PS/2 port support.
Main Specifications Overview:
CPU | AMD Athlon64 and AthlonFX socket 939 based processors |
Chipset | VIA K8T800 Pro / VT8237 |
FSB | 200 MHz |
BIOS | Phoenix AwardBIOS |
Memory | 4 DDR DIMMS, up to 4 GB |
Expansion slots | 1 x AGP slot, 5 x PCI slots |
Onboard IDE | 2 x ATA 133 ports; 2 x SATA 150 RAID 0 and RAID 1 capable ports |
USB 2.0 | 4 rear panel / 2 headers supporting 2 ports (8 ports total) |
IEEE 1394 | 1 rear panel / 2 headers supporting 1 port each |
Audio | 5.1-Channel Realtek codec with S/PDIF optical and RCA output ports |
NIC | 1 x VIA Gigabit Ethernet port in rear panel |
Detailed Mainboard Specification List:
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Packaging
For the box art design, ABIT simply has an artistically rendered picture of the motherboard itself, with the UGURU symbol prominently displayed as well. Included with the board are the following accessories: ATA 133 and floppy ribbon cables, SATA 150 cables, the rear shield, the normal complement of driver CDs and manuals, and a rear panel containing 2 USB 2.0 and 2 IEEE 1394 ports.
Board Layout
ABIT’s quality is very evident in the design of the AV8. There is plenty of room around the CPU socket for even larger HSF or waterblock units, and other components on the board are spaced so as to not interfere with one another. The only near miss on the board is the lack of an active cooler on the Northbridge chipset. The board used was a version 1.0 sample, with the version number and the board’s serial number prominently displayed to the right of the DIMM slots along the edge of the board. For construction of the AV8, ABIT chose to use capacitors manufactured by the noted Japanese semi-conductor manufacturer Rubycon.
The area around the socket 939 assembly is mostly clear of obstructions, with the exception of the capacitors to the upper right of the socket. Note that the capacitors do appear close to the mounting mechanism, but in fact caused no difficulties for mounting or removal of the cooling mechanism. The hold down mechanism itself is the standard Athlon64 type 2 hole cage, complete with behind the board support. The K8T800 chipset is located to the upper left of the CPU socket, covered with a good size aluminum heatsink. While the cooling solution is not optimal for the chipset, I found in testing that the cooler did not get too hot even in overclocked situations. Just above the Northbridge are the USBPWR34 and USBPWR12 jumpers, which control system wakeup based on USB port activity from the rear panel USB ports, as well as the BIOS monitored NBFAN1 header. The ATX and ATX12V connectors are located just below the rear panel, along with the PS2-PWR jumper, which controls system wakeup based on activity from the rear panel PS/2 ports. Below and to the left of the CPU socket, just above the upper left side of the top DIMM slot, is the BIOS monitored CPUFAN1 header.
The AV8 ships standard with a total of 4 DDR DIMM slots, located below the CPU socket area. The DIMM slots are arranged in a unique variation of the 2 sets of 2 configuration. The DIMM slots are color coded, but the colored slots are next to one another. This means that in order to enable Dual Channel mode, you must put the DDR DIMMs in similar colored slots directly next to one another. Just below the DIMM slots is the board’s floppy port.
The Southbridge chipset is located below PCI slots 2 and 3, with the onboard USB 2.0 headers just above it. The chipset’s SATA 150 ports are located just below it. Below the SATA-150 ports are an onboard 2 digit diagnostic LED display, the CMOS battery, and the ATA-133 ports along the board’s lower edge. The LED display is useful for diagnosing bootup and BIOS related issues. The BIOS and CMOS reset jumper are located just above the LED display. In the lower left corner of the board is the front panel header, with the 2 on-board IEEE 1394 headers above is along the board’s left edge.
The AV8 has a total of 1 AGP slot and 5 PCI slots. Along the upper left side of the board’s edge are the BIOS monitored SYSFAN1, AUXFAN1, and AUXFAN2 headers. The CD1 and AUX1 audio device ports, as well as the front panel audio header, are located between and above PCI slots 2 and 3. Note that the rear panel audio ports will not function unless pins 5/6 and 9/10 on the front panel audio header are jumpered.
The rear panel of the AV8 comes with the following ports: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; a com port; a parallel port; 1 IEEE 1394 port; 4 USB 2.0 ports; a Gigabit LAN Ethernet port; 5 audio ports; and optical S/PDIF input and output ports.
uGuru
ABIT’s uGuru chipset technology allows for real time monitoring and tweaking of various motherboard parameters from within the Windows environment. The suite of applications work 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. The suite is broken in to a series of five applets: ABIT EQ, OC Guru, FlashMenu, BlackBox, and GuruClock. Note that version 2.1.1.5 of the suite was used in conjunction with the board.
The ABIT EQ applet allows for real time monitoring of all BIOS monitored fans, system voltages, and temperatures. The applet allows for full customization through the Setting window, accessed by clicking on the Setup button from the main applet window. The Settings window allows for system response configuration, as well as threshold setting for temperature based response. The threshold settings window can be reached by selecting the Limit button next the to desired monitored item. From the main applet window, all system voltages can be displayed by selecting either of the VOLTAGE (V) buttons. The monitored fan headers can also be configured from the main applet window using the FAN (RPM) button.
The OC Guru applet allows for real time modification of all board FSB and voltage settings, as well as configuration of board shutdown and fan control based on temperature of specific monitored devices. The applet itself has a variety of pre-set options, as well as the ability to for automatic overclocking configuration. The Power Cycle Control window, accessed by selected the Power Cycle Control button from within the main applet window, allows for configuration of a timed shutdown, as well as real time statistics on system boot time. The Configure AutoDrive button spawns the Configure AutoDrive window, which allows for tying of the listed preset overclocking configurations to specific program executables. The Configure Preset button spawns the Configure Preset window, allows for customization of the available user presets, as well as access to the AudioEQ control panel. Selecting the SoftMenu button from the main applet window opens the SoftMenu window. From this window, the user can configure all board FSB and voltage options, as well as system event triggering based on specific BIOS monitored fan headers.
The FlashMenu applet allows for archiving of the currently loaded system BIOS as well as updating the system with a new BIOS from within Windows. Selecting the Setting button from the main applet window opens the Advance Settings window. From this window, the user can custom configure the exact actions taken when the BIOS is updated.
The BlackBox applet is an error reporting tool, with which you can record system specifications and submit the generated report directly to ABIT’s Support department. The BlackBox feature basically simplifies the technical support process in that it collects all critical hardware and software information needed from your system to help diagnose the issue. This way, all you have to focus on is telling support about the issue you are having instead of listing 3 pages of system specs. If you are not comfortable with its automated mode of data collection, the BlackBox utility also supports full manual entry of system data as well.