abit IN9 32X-MAX (NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI)
Performance
Note that abit IN9 32X-MAX sets the nominal FSB speed to some overstatement:
During the performance tests, we compared abit IN9 32X-MAX versus ECS PN2 SLI2+ (nForce 680i SLI) and ASUS Striker built on the same chipset.
In our test setup, we used the following hardware:
Let's first take a look at the results of synthetic benchmarks.
Now on to the gaming benchmarks (i.e. real-world applications).
Final Words
This motherboard left some dubious impressions. On the one hand, there was nothing to complain about the technical part: the board was running stably, fully revealing its capabilities of the NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI chipset and offers powerful onboard expansion options (plus a Wi-Fi expansion card).
On the other hand, the produce of abit has always been perceived by users as solutions for overclockers. But at the overclocking part, IN9 32X-MAX is too weak - the maximum FSB speed = 375 MHz and does not allow squeezing the most of the CPU. So let's hope the problem is rooted in the current BIOS version and the situation with overclocking will be fixed in forthcoming versions.
However, if we look through the reviews of previous abit boards, we can see that they offer a lower overclocking capability than, for example, ASUS boards (abit used to be on par with ASUS, but surpassed it at overclocking).
As regards the retail price, on the moment of tests the IN9 32X-MAX was offered only by one company at $290, which seems a bit too high in our view. On the other hand, abit is expanding the user's choice which before the release of this board was about the various versions of ASUS Striker and numerous clones of motherboards based on NVIDIA's reference design.
In the end, we'll make the final conclusions regarding abit IN9 32X-MAX in the end of the year, in a large roundup review for motherboards aimed at Core processors.
Conclusion
Pros:
- Excellent stability and performance;
- Support for SLI (two PCI Express x16 slots);
- Third PCI Express x16 slot (8 bus lanes);
- Support for SerialATA II (8 links; 2x RAID);
- Support for ParallelATA (1 link);
- Two Gigabit LAN controllers and integrated 8-channel High Definition Audio;
- Support for USB2.0 (10 ports) and Firewire (2 ports);
- Additional uGuru chip + utilities (FanEQ, BIOS profiles, OC Guru, etc.);
- The most advanced system monitoring and support for the uGuru Panel;
- 7-stage POST indicator;
- Passive/active* system for cooling the chipset and the power supply module;
- Optional WiFi expansion card.
Cons:
The board's specific features:
- Additional LEDs, Power, Reset buttons, Clear CMOS switch;
- Poor overclocking results.
 |
Top Stories: |
 |
 |
|
MoBo:
| |
|
|
VGA Card:
|
|
|
|
CPU & Memory:
|
|
