AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard<base href="http://www.atruereview.com/" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.atruereview.com/images/favicon.ico" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/template_css.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/style10.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/slimbox/slimbox.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/css/rokmoomenu.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.atruereview.com/images/favicon.ico" /> <style type="text/css"> td.left div.moduletable, td.right div.moduletable, td.left div.moduletable-hilite1, td.right div.moduletable-hilite1, td.left div.moduletable-hilite2, td.right div.moduletable-hilite2, td.left div.moduletable-hilite3, td.right div.moduletable-hilite3, td.left div.moduletable-hilite4, td.right div.moduletable-hilite4, td.left div.moduletable-hilite5, td.right div.moduletable-hilite5, td.left div.moduletable-hilite6, td.right div.moduletable-hilite6, td.left div.moduletable-hilite7, td.right div.moduletable-hilite7, td.left div.moduletable-hilite8, td.right div.moduletable-hilite8 { width: 175px; } div.wrapper { margin: 0 auto; width: 868px;} </style> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/js/mootools.r462.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/js/roktools.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/js/mootools.bgiframe.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/js/rokmoomenu.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> window.addEvent('domready', function() { new rokmoomenu($E('ul.nav'), { bgiframe: false, delay: 500, animate: { props: ['opacity', 'width', 'height'], opts: { duration:400, fps: 100, transition: Fx.Transitions.sineOut } } }); }); </script> </head> <body id="page_bg" class="f-default"> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.atruereview.com/templates/rt_versatility_iii/js/slimbox.js"></script> <div id="fxContainer"> <div id="fxTarget"> <div id="fxPadding" class="wrapper"> </div> </div>  </div> <div id="template" class="wrapper"> <div id="header"> <a href="http://www.atruereview.com" class="nounder"><img src="http://www.atruereview.com/images/blank.png" style="border:0;" alt="" id="logo" /></a> <div id="banner"> <div class="padding"> <form action="index.php?option=com_search&Itemid=5" method="get"> <div class="searchroflmao"> <input name="searchword" id="mod_search_searchword" maxlength="20" alt="search" class="inputboxroflmao" type="text" size="20" value="search..." onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='search...';" onfocus="if(this.value=='search...') this.value='';" /> </div> <input type="hidden" name="option" value="com_search" /> <input type="hidden" name="Itemid" value="5" /> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div id="horiz-menu" class="moomenu"> <ul class="nav"> <li><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/news/">News</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/search.html">Search</a></li> <li><a href="http://atruereview.com/oldrev.php">Old Reviews</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/atruereview/articles.php">Old Articles</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/contact/contact.html">Contact</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/links/links.html">Links</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/accessories/2.html">Reviews</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="top"> </div> <div class="clr" id="mainbody"> <table class="mainbody" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td class="left"> <div class="moduletable"> <h3> Main Menu </h3> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr align="left"><td><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/" class="mainlevel" >Home</a></td></tr> <tr align="left"><td><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/news/" class="mainlevel" >News</a></td></tr> <tr align="left"><td><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/search.html" class="mainlevel" >Search</a></td></tr> <tr align="left"><td><a href="http://atruereview.com/oldrev.php" class="mainlevel" >Old Reviews</a></td></tr> <tr align="left"><td><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/atruereview/articles.php" class="mainlevel" >Old Articles</a></td></tr> <tr align="left"><td><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/contact/contact.html" class="mainlevel" >Contact</a></td></tr> <tr align="left"><td><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/links/links.html" class="mainlevel" >Links</a></td></tr> <tr align="left"><td><a href="http://www.atruereview.com/accessories/2.html" class="mainlevel" >Reviews</a></td></tr> </table> </div> <div class="moduletable"> </div> </td> <td class="mainbody"> <table class="sections" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td class="section w99"> <div class="moduletable"> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <div class="padding"> <h1 align="center">AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard (cont.) </h1> <p><b>Installation:</b></p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/AOpen/19.jpg"><img src="atruereview/AOpen/19th.jpg" width="250" height="123" border="0" alt="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard" title="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p>Overall, the layout of the AK79D-400 Max is pretty decent but there are a few design flaws. The location and orientation of the CPU socket makes installing a CPU heatsink inside a case next to impossible. Later on down the road, if the CPU heatsink is changed, either the motherboard or the power supply will need to be removed first. This orientation will also prevent the use of really wide heatsinks in all but the biggest cases because they clash with the power supply. </p> <p>Another design nuisance is one that most motherboards seem to have. This flaw is that the second and third memory slots are awfully close to the AGP slot. This means when adding or removing memory, the video card will most likely have to be removed first.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/AOpen/12.jpg"><img src="atruereview/AOpen/12th.jpg" width="250" height="134" border="0" alt="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard" title="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font></p> <p>The memory slots are mislabeled. They are labeled 0 to 2 from left to right, but the 0 slot is really on the right. I initially installed a stick memory into the labeled 0 but Sandra showed that the memory was installed into slot 2. After some searching on the net, I found an <a href="http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/nforce2-1vs2channels/">article</a> that confirmed Sandra was correct and indeed the memory slots were mislabeled. The following is an excerpt from the article that drew my attention:</p> <blockquote> <p>What's needed for the dual-channel mode of the nForce/2? At least, two memory modules, with one installed exactly into the DIMM0 slot which is arranged differently than DIMM1/2 or DIMM1, with the DIMM2/3 being provided as well. In case of wrong installation the second memory controller might not operate. The modules can be different (as well as their producers), but their speed characteristics should be the same, otherwise the system will operate at the speed of the slower one (for example, DDR266 in case of one DDR266 and one DDR400 modules). It's also possible to use three modules, but remember that the dual-channel access can be set only for the memory size equal to the double size of the first module (which is installed into the slot of the lowest number), and if the size of the first module does not exceed the sum of the sizes of the second and third modules. Obviously, there are two most optimal cases: equal memory modules inserted into the first and second slots, or three modules, with the first one being equal to the sum of the other two modules.</p> </blockquote> <p>The excerpt also mentions that memory modules do not have to match in order to run in dual channel. Even more interesting is that slots 1 and 2 can be combined as one module to dual with the slot 0.</p> <p>The included I/O shield is rather plain; each port is labeled with a metal indent icon and is not colored. </p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/AOpen/16.jpg"><img src="atruereview/AOpen/16th.jpg" width="250" height="79" border="0" alt="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard" title="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font></p> <p>The included CD has all the drivers and software needed to get the motherboard up and running. The Promise Serial ATA driver is on both the CD and a floppy.</p> <p><b>BIOS:</b></p> <p>The AK79D-400 Max uses the Phoenix AwardBIOS. This particular board came flashed with the latest BIOS, 1.07a - Feb. 20, 2004. One very useful feature that I noticed right away is the Save EEPROM Defaults. This is a timesaver for overclocking; when a certain setting causes the system to not boot and the BIOS has to be reset, I can simply load the EEPROM defaults that I saved. Needless to say, it is very important to save the EEPROM defaults with settings that you know the system will boot with. </p> <p>Most of the submenus have settings that are common to all nForce2 boards. Here are a few of the note worthy submenus and description of note worthy features.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/AOpen/chipset.jpg"><img src="atruereview/AOpen/chipsetth.jpg" width="250" height="181" border="0" alt="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard" title="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font><br> </p> <p>The Advanced Chipset Features menu allows you to manually adjust memory timings or set it to SPD. This menu also has settings for CPU Thermal-Throttling which is a feature that Pentium 4s have that allow the processor to slow down if a certain temperature is reached.</p> <p>The Silent BIOS/HW Monitor menu has settings very similar to a fan controller. There are numerous customizable fan speed settings. The fan OS speed works with the SilentTek utility to control fan speeds within Windows. The CPU Warning Temperature setting at the top of the menu is where the temperature is set that determines when the CPU Thermal Throttling will kick in. This should really be in the same menu with the Thermal Throttling. The bottom half of the menu monitors the temperatures, fan speeds, and voltages.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/AOpen/Frequency.jpg"><img src="atruereview/AOpen/Frequencyth.jpg" width="250" height="185" border="0" alt="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard" title="AOpen AK79D-400 Max nForce 2 Motherboard"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font></p> <p>The Frequency/Voltage Control menu will in no doubt be the most frequently visited menu if you are an overclocker. The FSB can be adjusted from 133 to 255MHz. The CPU multiplier can be adjusted from 5 to 22X. The AGP and PCI are locked so when the FSB is adjusted, their values will remain the same. They can also be adjusted upwards in 1MHz increments; the initial upward increment will go to the first full MHz (ex. 66.67MHz to 67.00MHZ, then to 68.00, 69.00….). The RAM's multiplier can either be set to auto or set to a fixed value. In auto, when the FSB is at one of the three common values (133, 166, 200) the memory's frequency will be set to the memory's default DDR speed (ex. DDR333 with a AMD XP 2400+, auto will set memory frequency to 333MHz with even if FSB is 133). When adjusting the FSB in values between the three common values, the DDR speed will raise in inconsistent increments (either1, 2, or 0 MHz). The memory multiplier can also be manually set with values: 1, 1.2, 1.33, 1.5, 1.6, 1.66, 2.0, 2.4, 2.5, 2.66, 3.0, 3.33, and 4.0. Finally, the CPU, DDR, AGP, and CHIP voltages can be adjusted.</p> <p><b>Setup:</b></p> <ul> <li>The AK79D-400 Max was equipped with the following:</li> <li>CPU: AMD XP 2400+</li> <li>Memory: one stick of Trend PC2700 256mb</li> <li>Video Card: ATI All-In-Wonder 128 Pro</li> <li>Hard Drive: Maxtor 120GB, 7200rpm, 2mb cache</li> </ul> <p>As mentioned earlier, the memory slots are mislabeled and I initially had some system problems with the memory installed in the labeled 0 slot. After reading the digital-life.com article, I moved the 256mb stick to the labeled 2 slot (which is the one on the far right by itself) and the problems ceased. I should also mention that I tried using a stick of SimpleTech 512mb PC2700 but it caused serious stability problems with the board. There could be some compatibility issues, but it is strange how the AK79D-400 Max can use a stick of ultra generic memory like Trend but has problems with a relatively known brand like SimpleTech.</p> <p><b>Overclocking:</b></p> <p>With all the voltage, multiplier, and FSB adjustment possibilities, the AK79D-400 Max looks to have the potential for some serious overclocking. Because the memory was PC2700, I naturally raised the FSB to 166 and brought the CPU multiplier down to 12 which gave me the equivalent speed of 2400+ but now achieved with a higher FSB. The system had no problems with these settings so I tried raising the FSB some more, but any settings above 166 caused the system to not boot. Even at a FSB of 200, where the memory speed automatically brought itself down to 333, and various voltage adjustments, the motherboard would not boot. Of course, if PC3200 RAM was used I am sure the AK79D-400 Max will run with a 200 FSB, but this setup maxed out at 166.</p> <p>With the FSB limit reached, my attention moved to the CPU multiplier. I was able to reach 13 without any problems but when I got to 13.5, the system booted and Windows loaded, but right before the Welcome screen displayed the system would reboot. Therefore, the maximum Overclock result was 166x13, which is a speed of 2158MHz. I was also able push the memory timings to an aggressive and stable 2, 2, 2, 5; but that's more of a reflection of the memory itself.</p> <p>A minor note: at every speed setting, the AK79D-400 Max will automatically raise the FSB up 1 MHz and fluctuates between an additional .1 and .0. So, if the FSB is set to 133, the motherboard will automatically make it 134 making the bus speed 268 and the memory frequency 134.</p> <table width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td><a href="atruereview/AOpen/nforce.php"></a> <a href="AOpen/nforce.php">Previous (Description)</a></td> <td><div align="right"><a href="atruereview/AOpen/nforce3.php"></a> <a href="AOpen/nforce3.php">Next (Testing)</a></div> </td> </tr> </p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div id="footer" class="clr"> <div class="rk-1"> <div class="rk-2"> <div id="the-footer"> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-6922792-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}</script>  </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html>