Category: Motherboards
Manufacturer: Universal ABIT
Product: AW9D-MAX
Price: $229.99

Introduction
Abit was once one of the premier motherboard manufacturers. In the late 90’s, their boards were regarded with awe when it came to overclocking and features. From Softmenu to the uGuru to the heatpipe OTES cooling system, Abit has been a pioneer in the industry. In recent years, other manufacturers have stepped up their game, and Abit has lost some of their luster. From their capacitor problems a while back to the company’s financial issues of recent years, Abit hasn’t been one of the “go to guys” when it comes to motherboards.

Enter the Abit AW9D-Max, Abit’s new high-end solution to the Intel Core 2 Duo processors and the 975X Express chipset. The Max line is built for overclocking and the AW9D isn’t meant as an exception to the rule. Is Abit back in the game? Is this motherboard a worthy foundation of your next generation Core 2 Duo setup? Will my fellow gamers and enthusiasts benefit from this platform, or will the AW9D fail to separate from the pack? These and other answers await us.

The Motherboard
So what is under the hood of this new release from Abit? Let’s take a peek at the features of this board:

• Built for Intel LGA775 processors – Core 2 Duo, Pentium D, Pentium 4, and Pentium Extreme Edition
• Intel 975X / Intel ICH7R Express Chipset
• Dual PCI-Express X16 Slots ( for CrossFire and SLi (?) support )
  
• Onboard Dual PCI-E Gigabit LAN
• Abit AudioMAX 7.1 onboard sound
• 2xPCI-EX16,2xPCI-EX1,1 xPCI, 1x AudioMAX
• 1 Floppy port, 1 PATA connection
• 7 Serial ATA ports
• 2 USB 2.0 jacks and 2 FireWire jacks
• Abit Specific Features: uGuru Technology, AudioMax, Silent OTES 2.

As we take a look at the packaging we begin to see the great style and how this motherboard’s features really grab your eyes.


This board is inspired by Bushido, “The way of the warrior”, featuring a samurai warrior and his blade looking very Tom Cruise'ish in the "Last Samurai". In concept, it’s designed to show off the board as a “slayer of the competition”, so to speak. This board definitely has the potential to do just that.


This retail box comes packed to the brim with accessories; all the necessary goodies and a few things to add some icing to the cake:

• Quick install manual
• uGuru manual
• Abit AW9D-Max Manual
• Jumper settings and board layout stickers
• 3 SATA RAID driver disks
• Abit driver/utility cd
• I/O port backplate
• 7 Red SATA cables
• Red ATA cable
• Floppy cable
• USB and FireWire add on dongle
• AudioMax sound card
• SPDIF out cable
• And a mysterious SLI bridge...