Abit AX78 Motherboard (AMD 770)
"The cost of the Abit AX78 is really shocking ... it's dirt cheap, and you can't really go wrong with that price."
Installation, Test Setup and BIOS
Installation
I didn't encounter any problems during installation. After mounting the OCZ Vendetta CPU cooler, I was pleased to find that there was plenty of room around the processor socket ... perfect for extra air-flow. Looking at the rear ATX I/O panel, the first thing you'll notice is the very handy external clear CMOS switch ... ideal for quick access after a failed overclock attempt.
For connectivity, you'll get the standard PS/2 mouse and keyboard, 4 USB, 1 gigabit ethernet, an SPDIF optical out and an array of audio connectors. However, you'll also notice that there seem to be a large section missing. Odd, but I guess this is a mainstream board so need for all those costly extras. Still, I would have preferred Abit to include more connectors ... like eSATA, firwire and more USB ports.
{imggallery 511}
Test Setup
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Test Setup (Socket AM2/AM2+)
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| Motherboard | Abit AX78 (AMD 770) |
| CPU Default |
AMD Athlon FX-62 @ 2.8Ghz (14x200) |
| Overclocked | N/A |
| Ram | Adata DDR2-800X 2Gb Kit |
| Video Card | Radeon HD3870 512Mb DDR4 |
| SLI/Crossfire Mode | N/A |
| Video Drivers | Catalyst v8.3 |
| Chipset Drivers | AMD Chipset drivers from CD |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar 250Mb (16Mb cache) |
| CD/DVD ROM | Pioneer 112D Dual Layer DVD±RW Writer |
| Cooling | OCZ Vendetta CPU cooler |
| Sound Card | Onboard HD Audio |
| PSU | PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 860W |
| LAN | Onboard Gigabit Ethernet |
| CRT Monitor | 19" Dell P990 Ultrascan |
| LCD Monitor | 19" Samsung 940BF TFT Monitor |
| OS | Windows Vista with native DirectX 10 |
Procedures
In our tests we used the motherboard's standard BIOS settings first. ALL settings were set to default (AUTO) for maximum compatibility. Memory clock was set to DDR2-800 with the memory timings was set by SPD. We also used the latest video, audio and chipset drivers. Dual channel memory mode was enabled using Adata DDR2-800X 2Gb Kit.
Here's a list of software/games we used for benchmarking. In all the gaming benchmarks we used a resolution of 1024x768 with maximum settings turned on (x4 AA and x16 AF)
- CPUZ
- Science Mark 2
- PC Mark 05
- 3D Mark 2005
- 3D Mark 2006
- F.E.A.R. (DX9)
- Call of Juarez (DX10)
- Crysis (DX10)
Windows Vista with native DX10 was used as our operating system.
Overclocking: Due to time constraints, we were unable to fully test the overclocking ability of the AX78 motherboard.
The BIOS
The BIOS was easy to use. Here, you can adjust various options including CPU frequencies, FSB, and of course voltages for memory, chipset and processor itself. Memory timings can also be adjusted.
{imggallery 512}
The BIOS uses Abit's SoftMenu feature and it's easy to use. You can manually adjust a wide range of BIOS options for CPU multiplier, frequency, FSB, DDR2 frequency and even voltages. For tests, we left all BIOS settings at default for maximum stability and compatibility.
