Abit KV8-Max Mobo Editorial
The Inq: [link=http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=14013]I've Abit of an axe [/link] (To Grind)
[link=http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=14013]Full Article[/link]
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Leading Edge is Bleeding Edge...Wait for the 2nd Gen Motherboards (Due Mar/Apr 04)
I WOULD love it if this were a cool hardware review, where I give a glowing review and Abit loves me and sends me cool schwag and a free sample of their socket 939 board "for testing purposes" but never asks for it back.
It’s not.
Abit has a beautifully featured board for the Athlon 64 called the KV8-MAX3. Default memory timings are “by speed” on this board. No trouble there. DDR-400, PC 3200 is recognized properly, and latency settings get applied to the memory as its timings dictate.
All would be roses except for a small matter. Default FSB clock is set in BIOS to 204MHz. OK, so simply set it to 200, the lowest setting available, and things should be fine. No dice. The 200 setting is actually 203.6. The 204 default is actually 207.4. This board has a default factory overclock of 74MHz on an Athlon 64 3000 or 3200, when most Athlon 64 processors average a 100MHz overclock.
Some processors cannot pull a 74MHz overclock.
On to the memory. DDR-400 is expected to run at 414 Mhz without an automatic adjustment of its latency settings to less aggressive levels. Testing with QuickTech PRO, if the board even boots to the floppy without its cute little post code readout screaming FF, reveals that there is no brand of memory, latency setting adjustments, chip manufactures or pounding of the bench in frustration, that will make anything labeled DDR-400, PC 3200 work with this board.
[link=http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=14013]Full Article[/link]
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Leading Edge is Bleeding Edge...Wait for the 2nd Gen Motherboards (Due Mar/Apr 04)
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