Abit KV8-MAX3 (VIA K8T800) Motherboard Review
Abit KV8-MAX3 Board Layout
On general lines, the board's design is well-done, however some issues may unnerve the assembly operators. In particular, both power connectors are installed deep inside the power supply module, and from one side they are supported by the chipset cooler, on the other side by the rear panel, from the third the cooler in the processor is a hindrance. Finally, the OTES exhaust pipe also hinders plugging in power cables.
Besides, depending on the length of the video card one or more DIMM slots may prove blocked. Finally, the connectors for plugging in Firewire ports are positioned between AGP and PCI1 slots. As a result, when installing video cards offering massive cooling devices (e.g. Gigabyte GV-N595U-GT (NVIDIA FX 5950 Ultra)), access to the connectors may be a serious issue.
Another thing which I strongly disliked: lack of a plastic frame of the processor socket (as well as the enforcement plate).
Clearly, these components are part of the "box" of Athlon 64, however, there are OEM-processors, as well as coolers not having this type of fastening in the bundle (e.g. Gigabyte GH-PCU21-VG (3D Cooler)).
Near the processor socket there is a connector for plugging in a cooler - the CPUFAN1. Besides it, there are four connectors like this onboard: the SYSFAN1 near the chipset (reserved for the OTES), the NBFAN1 located also there and is meant for the cooler on the north bridge, the AUXFAN1 positioned near the PCI5, and the AUXFAN2 near the battery. The board keeps track of the speed of all the five fans and is able controlling the speed of the three of them (for more details, see the "system monitoring" section).
Above the processor socket there is the north bridge VIA K8T800 cooled by a proprietary cooler.
Since the memory controller is integrated in the processor, the north bridge does the only function - the AGP bus controller, so all the developers have a certain freedom in choosing a seat.
And the DIMM slots (three) are positioned over the other side of the socket:
The maximum memory capacity makes up 3 GB. Once power is applied to the board, a red LED positioned near the DIMM slots immediately lights up. When the board starts up, there lights up another one.
There is an AGP Pro slot with a latch installed onboard. Only 1.5V (or 0.8V) AGP 4x/8x video cards are allowed into the slot.
Besides, there are five PCI slots on the ABIT KV8-MAX3 motherboard.
In view of the presence of a SerialATARAID controller + integrated support for SerialATA, support for the serial bus Firewire (let alone the USB), integrated audio and LAN (Gigabit Ethernet), we can say the five PCI slots are enough for most configurations.
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VGA Card:
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CPU & Memory:
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