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Abit "FATAL1TY AN8" NVIDIA NF4 Ultra Chipset Motherboard Sponsored by
This is the first Abit motherboard we have reviewed and to be honest, I was impressed from the start. After seeing the Pentium line and how well that performed at the CES 2005 show this year, I was really interested in the new AMD 939 motherboard "Fatal1ty" was working on. Abit and Wendel worked together to design a streamline version of the standard AN8 Abit board. This nVidia 4 motherboard is designed with the extreme gamer or over clocker in mind. You will see in this article Abit did it right... Let's take a closer look. To find out more about Fatal1ty we did an article on him and his booth at the CES2005 expo, feel free to check it out.
Specs:
210.00 USD Purchase Link
Installation: We will not be going into every detail when discussing the installation due to the large amount of possible installations, but rather we will highlight the main features about the install that are different from the norm. So don't expect a step by step, that would take forever and to be honest, that is what the install documentation is for. The first feature I would like to discuss is the power connector for the motherboard itself. It uses a 24 pin rather then the standard 20 pin so make sure you either have a 20 to 24-pin cross or that your power supply comes stock with the 24 pin. Be prepared to have the 24 pin power connector, because there is nothing worse then getting a new toy without the batteries to play it..
The next feature we will be highlighting is the RAM installation. Using your standard 184 pin DDR install them according to the documentation, either Dual Channel mode or single channel. What I wanted to really discuss was the "OTES" cooling system. The "OTES" unit for the RAM has a dual 30mm fan placed over the memory to dissipate the heat created by the memory sticks. The unit just snaps on over the RAM mounting clips and plugs into your stock 3-pin motherboard fan power. It is very easy and a great idea for minimizing heat buildup from those long LAN parties or heavy, lengthy usage. The unit snaps into place 1.2.3. and runs quiet and cool. I was very impressed with this.
Please also note all of the cables Abit provides, which is everything that is needed for all configurations on this motherboard. 4 SATA cables, Rounded IDE and Floppy cables external Fire Wire and USB hook ups. This is quite a savings, probably 40 to 60 USD just in cables alone.. Abit even provides a power converter for SATA from your standard 4-pin Molex connector.
The Fatal1ty AN8 board also comes with a Codec "nVidia" audio controller that has its own audio port and very good software to control any environment or setup you may use. Installation of the audio card is very similar to most PCI installs, just slide the card into the connector and fasten the card to the case using a screw. Make sure after installing the drivers and sound control panel to look and make sure you have the speaker's layouts correct, just designate if you are using two, four, six speakers or a headset in the Abit audio EQ utillity. The software also contains a test feature that allows you to make sure everything is correct.
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General Information |
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| Operating System | Microsoft Windows XP |
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| DirectX Version | 9.0c |
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| Mobo Manufacturer | http://www.abit.com.tw/ |
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| Mobo Model | AN8 Series(NF-CK804) |
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| AGP Rates (Current/Available) | 0x / |
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| CPU | AMD Athlon(tm) 64 2009 MHz |
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| Physical CPUs | 1 |
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| HyperThreading | Not Available |
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| FSB | 201 MHz |
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| Memory | 1024 MB |
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Display Information |
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| Graphics Chipset | ATI RADEON X800 |
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| Driver Name | RADEON X800 Series |
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| Driver Version | 6.14.10.6490 |
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| Video Memory | 256 MB |
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| Core Clock | 391 MHz |
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| Memory Clock | 351 MHz |
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Sound Information |
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| Sound Adapter Driver Name | Realtek AC97 Audio |
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| Sound Adapter Driver Version | 5.10.0.5770 |
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Hard Disk Information |
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| Model | WDC WD1600JB-00EVA0 |
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| Connection | IDE |
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| Capacity | 149.05 GB |
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Benchmark Information |
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| Program Version | PCMark04 Revision 3 Build 0 |
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| System Test Suite | 4029 PCMarks |
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| CPU Test Suite | 3825 |
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| Memory Test Suite | 4984 |
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System Test Suite |
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| Multithreaded Test 1 / File Compression | 2.76 MB/s |
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| Multithreaded Test 1 / File Encryption | 30.96 MB/s |
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| Multithreaded Test 2 / File Decompression | 24.97 MB/s |
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| Multithreaded Test 2 / Image Processing | 11.98 MPixels/s |
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| Multithreaded Test 3 / Virus Scanning | 2360.98 MB/s |
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| Multithreaded Test 3 / Grammar Check | 3.27 KB/s |
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| File Decryption | 61.09 MB/s |
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| Audio Conversion | 2616.38 KB/s |
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| Web Page Rendering | 4.36 Pages/s |
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| WMV Video Compression | 47.62 FPS |
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| DivX Video Compression | 60.73 FPS |
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| Physics Calculation and 3D | 172.94 FPS |
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| Graphics Memory - 64 Lines | 2372.64 FPS |
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CPU Test Suite |
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| Multithreaded Test 1 / File Compression | 3.1 MB/s |
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| Multithreaded Test 1 / File Encryption | 30.54 MB/s |
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| Multithreaded Test 2 / File Decompression | 25.41 MB/s |
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| Multithreaded Test 2 / Image Processing | 12.07 MPixels/s |
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| Grammar Check | 5.54 KB/s |
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| File Decryption | 60.13 MB/s |
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| Audio Conversion | 2635.2 KB/s |
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| WMV Video Compression | 48.07 FPS |
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| DivX Video Compression | 60.66 MFPS |
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Memory Test Suite |
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| Raw Block Read - 8 MB | 5986.04 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Read - 4 MB | 6117.56 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Read - 192 kB | 9809.15 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Read - 4 kB | 25443.36 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Write - 8 MB | 5466.07 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Write - 4 MB | 5466.14 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Write - 192 kB | 6342.22 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Write - 4 kB | 19372.93 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Copy - 8 MB | 2384.61 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Copy - 4 MB | 2396.14 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Copy - 192 kB | 4117.45 MB/s |
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| Raw Block Copy - 4 kB | 10321.04 MB/s |
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| Random Access - 8 MB | 2907.56 MB/s |
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| Random Access - 4 MB | 2920.04 MB/s |
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| Random Access - 192 kB | 6147.09 MB/s |
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| Random Access - 4 kB | 13030.7 MB/s |
We also ran this board through a few CPU tests using Unreal Tournament 2003 and a script from HardOCP. The results are for both OpenGL and Direct3D rendering. Again this board performed great. While watching the script run I was amazed at the speed in witch this script completed its cycle. The changing screens in the test script went by so fast my eyes could barely keep up.
Unreal Tournament 2003 CPU Bench
| 3D Rendering | Resolution | dm-antalus Low Latency | dm-antalus default |
| OpenGL | 1024x768 | 8.698505 | 4.524175 |
| Direct 3D | 1024x768 | 47.951874 | 8.864343 |
| OpenGL | 1280x1024 | 44.214741 | 45.949905 |
| Direct 3D | 1280x1024 | 8.180452 | 8.229813 |
| 3D Rendering | Resolution | dm-antalus Low Latency | dm-antalus default |
| OpenGL | 1024x768 | 252.496063 | 255.744110 |
| Direct 3D | 1024x768 | 196.394547 | 187.515656 |
| OpenGL | 1280x1024 | 201.109360 | 201.955963 |
| Direct 3D | 1280x1024 | 185.684036 | 184.217209 |
| 3D Rendering | Resolution | dm-antalus Low Latency | dm-antalus default |
| OpenGL | 1024x768 | 925.970276 | 955.425171 |
| Direct 3D | 1024x768 | 889.583679 | 901.624390 |
| OpenGL | 1280x1024 | 684.569641 | 653.927002 |
| Direct 3D | 1280x1024 | 891.351868 | 905.268311 |
This test was run using the Direct3D
& OpenGl Rendering Engine
This test was run using the demo version of Unreal Tournament 2003
This test was run using utility provided by [H]ard|OCP
Now let me
tell you a little bit about the software provided with the AN8
"Fatal1ty" motherboard. We will start with the nVidia Firewall software.
The installation went very smooth and the utility seems to perform very
well. You can configure the response in many ways. By default the
firewall will inform you every time an application will try and access
the internet for information. I was a little worried seeing that I play
a lot of online games and I didn't want the firewall to interfere with
my game play. To my surprise the software only asked once for each game
and with the selection to trust these events, the PC performed well
with
no lockouts from the firewall. I tried EverQuest, Battle Field
1942, Star Wars Battle Front, Doom3, and Unreal Tournament. All of these
games performed flawlessly with no interruptions other then their first
connection to the server. Please note that I used default settings
(medium) and you can customize the security you wish to have. The
utility also allows for security logs and statistics so you know who and
what got through the application.
The next piece of software I wanted to mention was the uGuru OC wizard interface. This software is designed to control all of your over clocking needs from Windows. This utility controls voltages, fan speeds, temperatures and frequencies. With multiple selections for CPU and Memory, you can have pre-sets when using the PC in different ways. For example, when gaming hard core and heat is an issue you can over clock the CPU and add speed to your cooling fans in order to increase performance on the fly when needed. Fatal1ty provides some presets so you can see what they do and even use them as references to customize your own presets.
Quality:
There are many things we need to cover when talking about the quality of this motherboard. Let's begin with the packaging, seeing that it is the first thing a person will see when buying this product. The overall look and usability in this aspect is superior to most of the other manufacturers I have seen. The board is encased in a cardboard frame locking the unit into place and also protecting it from any damage that might occur in shipping. Abit takes special care in packaging, not only the motherboard but the add on Audio card as well. Underneath the motherboard box are two other boxes containing all the software and extras, the rounded floppy and IDE cables and all four SATA cables as well. Note to mention the stylish look of the exterior that shows off the main selling features when you open the flip top lid.
Let's now talk about the board itself. Seeing this is the first motherboard Marns CDA has reviewed from Abit, I wasn't sure what to expect, but after using this unit for a week or so I can attest to the superior quality of the manufacturing of this board. With the "Bulletproof" technology and OTES cooling system this is by far one of the best over clocking boards I have used. With the "uGuru" Windows interface even the novice PC enthusiast will have no problem dabbling in over clocking their 939 AMD CPU. This is the first motherboard I have used that even adds cooling to the Southbridge with the aluminum heat sink and fan exhaust.
Pros:
LED readout is a big plus when figuring out problems with setup.
Motherboard control utility in windows is awesome.
Superior cooling on all components.
OTES system is above and beyond.
Raid and drive controls are superb.
Appearance is plan old beautiful the Red LED lighting a must see.
Multiple USB and Fire wire connections for internal and external use more then many others competitors.
Cons:
Rear tin motherboard panel is not made for this board.
Conclusion:
When it comes to gaming and over clocking this is by far one of the best boards for the job. All of the software is designed to make over clocking easy and less harmful to your equipment.. I am very pleased to award the AN8 "Fatal1ty" motherboard our highest honor, the coveted "Editors Choice Trophy of Excellence" for a superior product designed "for" the PC enthusiast "by" a PC enthusiast.. Congratulations Abit and Fatal1ty for creating an incredible product!
Rating: 6 out of 6 Stars
Review Date: 03/30/05
Reviewer: pr101j (Paul)
Feel free to make comments concerning this review on our message board HERE.
Company Info
E-mail Contacts
(CLICK ANY SPECIFIC
LINK TO SEND AN E-MAIL)
Telephone & Fax
Local Phone:
(804) 796-2291
Toll Free:
1-800-336-2719
Fax:
1-443-264-2349
Mail Us
East Luna
6408 Husting Road
Chesterfield, VA 23832-6563
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| ABIT RMA Center | Technical Product Support | |||
45531 Northport Loop WestFremont, California 94538 U.S.A. Tel: 510-492-0882 Fax: 510-623-0443 
For online RMA Requesting or Status Checking, please go to
https://rma.abit-usa.com. |
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Email our technical support center. or call (510) 492-0968. Self-Help Resources |
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| Sales Inquiries | Latin American Sales | |||
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Have a sales representative to contact you. For accessory/parts order, please go to ABIT USA Accessories |
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ventas@abit-usa.com Tel: 510-623-0500 ext 135 |
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| Editors and Public Relations | Web Site Feedback | |||
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Need
public relations support? Please contact the marketing department at marketing@abit-usa.com. |
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Report broken links, non-loading pages or other Web site issues here.. |
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Marns CDA
By
pr101j
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