Abit AW8-MAX v1.0

Shipping with the AW8 series motherboards are two PCI, two PCI Express x1, and one PCI Express x16 slot. In addition, there is the single interface for the Abit AudioMAX daughter card with Realtek ALC882M Codec. This card supports High-Definition 7.1 Technology along with meeting Dolby Master Studio Technology's specifications and will fit in a normal expansion slot with any ATX chassis. These audio ports have been relocated to the AudioMAX card due to a lack of space on the I/O panel due to Abit's OTES Technology. Other parts in the near vicinity of these expansion slots are a Winbond W83627EHG Super I/O controller, BIOS chip, and a system fan connector. In addition to the clock generator that is squished behind the two PCI Express x1 slots are the remaining two SATA2 ports along with the Silicon Image Sil3112A controller. Another one of the differences between the AW8 and AW8-MAX is the addition of a second Gigabit ethernet controller. In the event of the MAX variant, are two Broadcom BCM5789KFBG 10/100/1000 ASICs.

Next up on our tour of the Abit AW8-MAX v1.0 is the Northbridge, which as mentioned previously is the i955X. The 82955X MCH provides the support for Intel Pentium D/4/Extreme Edition processors, or even the Intel Celeron LGA-775 line-up, along with the 10.7 GB/s DDR2 memory connectivity, and the PCI Express x16 graphics support. Ensuring the Chipset remains quiet is Abit's exclusive Silent Q-OTES (Outside Thermal Exhaust System) that cools passively unlike the IC7-MAX3 or AA8XE Fatal1ty. We first had our eyes on this solution back during Computex Taipei 2005 and we were pleased with its performance on the AW8 implementation. Q-OTES offers a few petite fins on the actual heatsink and then integrates a single heatpipe from the Chipset to the top of the I/O panel where it intersects with the remainder of the cooling system. Taken into consideration for after-market coolers, or those in need of a great deal of onboard fan connectors, Abit has placed a 3-pin fan header next to the Northbridge while the two final 3-pin auxiliary fan connectors are positioned behind the I/O panel at the top and bottom. Taking part in the passive cooling are four smaller passive heatsinks that cool the MOSFETs (attached via pushpins) around the CPU socket area. When we had reviewed the Abit AW8 a couple months back, we were pleased by its cooling performance and hasn't experienced any heat-related issues. For optimal performance, it would be beneficial to use a side-mounted CPU heatsink fan to push additional air across the MOSFET heatsink fins. One such example of an adequate side-mounted heatsink would be the SilverStone Nitrogen NT03, which is copper-based and uses two 60mm fans, and we'll be using this particular unit later on in our air-cooling testing. On the rear of the PCB behind the CPU socket area are also OC Strips, which in theory should help draw heat away from the PCB due to the specially designed pieces of copper. Looking around the CPU socket area, it remains virtually free of any obstructions if using a large after-market heatsink or water block. To the upper right hand corner of the CPU socket area is the 4-pin ATX P4 power connector.

On the I/O panel at the rear of the motherboard are the two PS/2 connectors, four USB 2.0 ports, two Gigabit LAN ports, and one Firewire IEEE-1394a connection. Taking up a majority of the I/O panel area is the exhaust for Abit's Silent Q-OTES. Personally, we don't mind the elimination of many of these legacy ports once on the I/O panel but this can depend upon the user and how many older peripheral devices you have yet to replace. Overall, the Abit AW8-MAX motherboard is identically laid out compared to the traditional AW8 with the exception of the numerous add-ons to enhance the usability and performance of the i955X motherboard. With this said, let's see how the motherboard overclocks compared against its sibling as well as a head-to-head performance comparison.