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- Date:
- Thursday , April 07, 2005
- Author:
- Morry Teitelman
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
ABIT Fatal1ty AN8
The Fatal1ty AN8 is ABIT’s entry in to the nForce4 race. While it is a little late to market, it is still anticipated by many. Let’s find out if it stands up to all of the marketing claims.
Introduction
ABIT is a well established brand among the enthusiast community. As a company, ABIT works tirelessly to deliver the highest quality and best performing products into the hands of the end-user. Recently, they created the "Fatal1ty" line of products, which are supposedly targeted specifically at the gamers’s needs and wants.
The Fatal1ty AN8 is ABIT’s flagship motherboard for the Athlon64 socket 939 product line. The board was designed using the NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra chipset, which supports Athlon64 socket 939 type processors, DDR type SDRAM modules operating in Dual Channel mode up to speeds of 400MHz officially, as well as PCI Express x16-based video cards operating in single card configuration only. The Fatal1ty AN8 is a feature complete solution, requiring the addition of the following components for an operational system: Athlon64 socket 939-based CPU, DDR memory, PCI Express video card, drives, and PSU. ABIT chose to integrate the following components into the Fatal1ty AN8’s design: 2 IDE ATA-133 ports and 4 SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, and 0+1 capable) on the NVIDIA RAID controller; 10 USB 2.0 capable ports (4 in rear panel, and 3 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); 2 IEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, 1 onboard header supporting 1 port each); 1 NVIDIA Gigabit Ethernet port in rear panel with integrated hardware Firewall support; Realtek 8-channel audio codec featuring S/PDIF optical input / output ports; 2-digit LED diagnostic display; and PS/2 port support.
Main Specifications Overview:
CPU | AMD Athlon64 socket 939 based processors |
Chipset | NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra MCP |
FSB | 200MHz |
BIOS | Phoenix AwardBIOS |
Memory | 4 184-pin DDR DIMMS, up to 4GB |
Expansion slots | 1 x PCI-Express x16 slot, 2 x PCI-Express x1 slot, 3 x PCI slots, 1 x audio riser card slot |
Onboard IDE | 2 x ATA 133 ports; 4 x SATA II ports |
USB 2.0 | 4 rear panel / 3 headers supporting 2 ports each (10 ports total) |
IEEE 1394 | 1 rear panel / 1 header supporting 1 port each (2 ports total) |
Audio | 6-Channel Realtek codec with S/PDIF optical based input / output ports |
NIC | NVIDIA Gigabit Ethernet controller |
Detailed Mainboard Specification List:
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Packaging
The Fatal1ty AN8 comes in the standard Fatal1ty line packaging – an overly large box adorned with the board name and supported CPU chipset with an overly somber appearance. The front of the box flips up to reveal specific areas of interest, such as the audio riser card, the onboard dual fan OTES cooling system, and the copper chipset HSF unit. The following components are packaged in with the board: ATA 133 and floppy rounded cables; SATA 150 cables; dual ended SATA power cables; the rear shield; the normal complement of driver CDs and manuals; a dual fan RAM cooler dubbed OTES RAMFlow that sits on top of the system RAM with spring loaded clips; an audio riser card; and a rear bracket for additional USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394 ports.
Board Layout
ABIT did a good job with the Fatal1ty AN8’s layout, with no components overly crowded or lacking for space. All power circuitry was placed at the upper right corner of the board, in order to accommodate the OTES cooling system and making for an overall cleaner and more organized board appearance. A white sticker containing the board revision and serial number is located just above the nForce4 chipset cooler. According to the revision sticker, the board tested was a revision 1.0 model. ABIT chose to use capacitors from the noted Japanese semiconductor manufacturer Rubycon.
The area surrounding the CPU socket on the Fatal1ty AN8 is clear of obstructions, allowing large HSF or waterblock units to be used. The standard Athlon64-based 2 hole design is used to mount the CPU cooling unit. The OTES power circuitry cooling system is located just above the CPU socket, with heatsinks covering the CPU power MOSFETs. Note that the heatsinks are held to the board using pushpins on opposite sides of the heatsinks. To the left of the OTES housing are the PS2-PWR1, USB-PWR1, and USB-PWR2 jumpers, which control system activation based activity detected on the rear panel PS/2 and USB 2.0 ports. The ATX12V power connector and the CPUFAN1 header are located to the upper right of the CPU socket.
The Fatal1ty AN8 was designed to support a total of 4 DDR DIMM slots, arranged in a 4-by-1 configuration. Note that the slots are color coded in 2 groups. Similar size and type DIMM modules must be placed in same-colored adjacent slots in order to enable Dual Channel memory mode. Just below the DIMM slots are the ATX power connector and the SYSFAN1 header.
The onboard SATA II ports are located just below the PCI-Express x16 slot, with the 3 onboard USB 2.0 headers directly to their left. The USBPWR3, USBPWR4, and USBPWR5 jumpers, which control system activation based port activity from the USB 2.0 headers, are located to the right of the USB 2.0 headers. The 2 onboard IDE slots are located along the bottom edge of the board. Note that the slots have been rotated 90 degrees so that the IDE cable sits parallel to the plane of the board when engaged. The GURU1 header, used for attaching the external GURU Clock device, and the front panel header are located in the lower left corner of the board. The onboard diagnostic LED display and the IEEE1394 header are located to the right of the front panel header. The CMOS reset jumper, CMOS battery, and floppy port are located just above the front panel header.
The Fatal1ty AN8 has 1 PCI-Express x16 slot, 2 PCI-Express x1 slots, 3 PCI slots, and an audio riser card slot. The audio riser card slot is located to the left of the rear panel assembly. Just below the 2 PCI-Express x1 slots are the NBFAN1 header and the nForce4 Ultra chipset. Notice that the chipset itself is actively cooled with a good-sized copper HSF unit. The AUXFAN1 header is located just above the PCI-Express x1 slots.
The following are integrated in to the Fatal1ty AN8’s rear panel: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; 4 USB 2.0 ports; 1 IEEE 1394 port; and 1 NVIDIA Gigabit LAN Ethernet port. The audio riser card adds 5 analogue audio ports and 2 S/PDIF optical input/output ports.