Abit AW9D-MAX

Zitat

The AW9D-MAX will probably be remembered as the 'come back' board for ABIT after their slump in the recent years. Even their Fatal1ty branded boards were not as streamlined and well crafted as the AW9D-MAX. The board's mean black/silver look and low profile Silent OTES 2 cooling makes it more of a classic piece than the loud and brash cooling of old. Designed for performance gaming with the latest hardware, the AW9D-MAX supports Core 2 and is ready for Intel's upcoming quad core parts (probably through a future BIOS upgrade). CrossFire compatibility takes care of the graphics element of gaming, triple high-speed SATA controllers ensure ready HDD performance and comprehensive memory divider functions allow the use of enthusiast parts and a wide range of memory overclocking options.

[...]Performance of the AW9D-MAX is very impressive and it enforces the fact that Intel's 975X Express chipset isn't overshadowed by the newer P965/ICH8R combo. In almost all our benchmarks run, the board was able to stand out, not only against the ASUS P5W DH, but also most of the top P965 motherboards out there. ABIT has successfully optimized the board to create a strong and robust platform for almost anything you throw at it. The only other downside besides expansion issues is its overclocking capabilities, which we have to say have not met our expectations of. Early samples and reports around the web have shown the AW9D-MAX to be an exceptional overclocker with a Core 2 setup, but our retail board didn't even come close. Our score of 360MHz FSB falls more or less in line with the maximum potential of the 975X Express, which isn't too bad, but does dampen the mood somewhat when compared to the initial hype and the P965 Express chipset.