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Introduction Features and Specifications Photos and Pictures Installation, Test Setup and BIOS CPU-Z and Everest Information Benchmarks: Sandra Pro XII (SP1) Benchmarks: FutureMark Suite Benchmarks: Call of Juarez and Crysis (DX10) Benchmarks: F.E.A.R. and Science Mark 2 Verdict and Conclusion

Abit releases the AX78 motherboard featuring AMD's 770 chipset. It's aimed at mainstream user with a price that's very attractive.

 

INTRODUCTION

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In recent months, Abit have been trying to re-capture a share in the mainstream market. And after the Cebit exhibition earlier this year, they've convinced me that they'll be releasing more products for both mainstream users and enthusiasts. Firstly, Abit released a load of Intel compatible mirco-ATX motherboards with integrated graphics. This would surely cater for the mainstream user with Digital Home in mind. Some used Nvidia's IGP chipsets, which mostly based on the nForce 6xx series ... while others used Intel's 945G chipsets. Furthermore, they then they turned their attention to more high-end products. There will be a range of X48 and P45 based motherboards coming out real soon.

That's all good, but most their recently relesed motherboards are all designed for Intel processors ... so what about motherboards for AMD processors? Well, Abit knows that AMD processors are more likely to attract the budget/mainstream users, because of the price. So, it's only natural that they've produced several motherboards using AMD's new 7xx series chipset. We now have the Abit A-S78H and AX78 motheboards ... all comptible with AM2/AM2+ processors from AMD.

 

 

Eariler this year we reviewed MSI's K92A Platinum motherboard, which uses the AMD 790FX chipset. Using the less than impressive Phenom X4 processor, the overall performance was OK. But sadly, the whole AMD Spider platform was no match when compared against an Intel based system using a Core 2 Duo and Quad processor. However, gaming performance was a little better. AMD have released several flavours of the 7xx series chipset. The 790FX is aimed at the high-end/enthusiast user, while the 790X and 770 are more for the mainstream gamer and end user. And finally the 780G ... it's one of AMD's most exciting chipset with integrated graphics supporting DX10 and HT3.0. We've already taken a look at the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM S2H last month, and all I can say is ... it's very promising!

 

 

In this review, we'll be taking a look at the Abit AX78 motherboard. Don't be confused. This motherboard does not use AMD's muched talked about 780G chipset. Instead, it uses the AMD 770 chipet designed and aimed at the mainstream user. Basically, it's like the 780G chipset without the integrated graphics. Like all AMD 7xx series, it supports Hyper Transport 3.0, DDR2 ram, AM2/AM2+ processors including the Sempron, Phenom X4, X3 and FX. It also features Abit's silent OTES chipset cooling, SoftMenu BIOS and dual Crossfire support.

 

           

 

Since the 770 is AMD's mainstream chipset, I'm not expecting anything that will outperform the 790FX chipset, but its performance should be just below that of a 790FX. In our tests, we'll be using an AMD Althon FX-62 (AM2) processor which runs at default speed of 2.8Ghz, as well as 2Gb of Adata DDR2-800X ram, Radeon HD3870, 120Gb HDD 7,200rpm, and a PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 860W PSU. Windows Vista with native DX10 was used as our OS.

OK, let's not waste any more time and take a closer look at the Abit AX78 motherboard ...

 

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Introduction Features and Specifications Photos and Pictures Installation, Test Setup and BIOS CPU-Z and Everest Information Benchmarks: Sandra Pro XII (SP1) Benchmarks: FutureMark Suite Benchmarks: Call of Juarez and Crysis (DX10) Benchmarks: F.E.A.R. and Science Mark 2 Verdict and Conclusion