Socket 939 Motherboard Roundup: ABIT, MSI, Gigabyte

ABIT AV8: Bundle & Specifications

ABIT designed the AV8 in the spirit of the BH6 and BH7:  not a lot of flash, but streamlined with an emphasis on longevity and overclockability. The AV8 is equipped with all high-quality Japanese Rubycon capacitors, ABIT's proprietary "overclocking strips," and its swank uGuru technology. It also has a diagnostic LED readout, lots of USB connectors, and ABIT's signature flush-mounted IDE connectors.  About the only thing missing is a secondary RAID controller and an active northbridge cooler...

      

Specifications Of The Abit AV8
Targeted Squarely At Overclockers
Processor
_Supports AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX 939-pin processor
2000MHz system bus using HyperTransport technology

Memory
_CPU Integrated Dual Channel Memory Controller
_Four 184-pin DIMM sockets (Un-buffered Non-ECC DIMM)
_Supports Dual Channel DDR 400/333/266 (Max. 4GB)

Chipset
_Supports Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (ACPI)
_Accelerated Graphics Port connector supports AGP 8X/4X

SATA 150 RAID
_Supports SATA 150 MBps RAID 0/1

GbE LAN
_Onboard 10/100/1000M LAN PCI Ethernet Controller
_Operation support ACPI & Wake on LAN

IEEE 1394
_Supports three ports IEEE 1394 at 100/200/400 Mbps transfer rate

Audio
_6-Channel AC'97 CODEC onboard
_Professional digital audio interface supports optical S/PDIF In/Out
Internal I/O Connectors
_1 AGP 8X/4X slot
_5 PCI slots
_Floppy Port supports up to 2.88MB
_2 x Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 Connectors
_2 x SATA 150 Connectors
_2 x USB headers, 2 x IEEE1394 headers
_1 x FP-Audio header
_1 x CD-IN, 1 x AUX IN

Back Panel I/O
_1 x PS/2 Keyboard, 1 x PS/2 Mouse
_1 x Serial, 1 x Parallel, 1 x S/PDIF Output, 1 x S/P DIF Input
_1 x Audio connector (Center/Subwoofer, Surround Speaker)
_1 x Audio connector (Line Out, Line-in, MIC-in)
_2 x USB, 1 x IEEE1394 Connector
_2 x USB, 1 x RJ-45 LAN Connector

Package
_User's Manual x 1
_Quick Installation Guide x 1
_ABIT uGuru Handbook x 1
_Jumper setting label x 1
_Support CD x 1 / SATA Utility Disk x 1
_USB 2.0 cable x 1 / IEEE 1394 cable x 1
_SATA cable x 2 / SATA power cable x 1
_ATA133 Round cable x 1
_FDD Round cable x 1
_I/O shield x 1

            

The ABIT AV8's bundle was also streamlined.  We didn't find a lot of filler, just the essentials to get the board installed and take advantage of the integrated features.  ABIT included an excellent assortment of manuals detailing the AV8's installation and features and even included a quick reference sticker that makes it easy to quickly identify a jumper or connector.  Just stick it to the inside of your case, and you'll never be scrambling for the manual when it comes time to switch a jumper setting or clear the CMOS.  A Driver / Utility CD and a floppy disk containing SATA drivers were also included with the AV8.  Along with the aforementioned manuals and disks, ABIT also shipped two SATA cables, a single 80-wire IDE cable, a floppy cable, a case bracket with two extra USB and FireWire connectors, and a custom I/O shield.


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