Abit AB9 P965 Conroe Motherboard
Introduction, Packaging and Package
Published: 21st September 2006 | Source: Abit | Price: |
With Core 2 duo "Conroe" chips out for a while and the popularity of the excellent new chip at a high among enthusiasts, we thought that we should look at the things that cause the most concern on Intel's new platform: motherboards.
Intel currently have 2 chipsets that support Conroe: the newer 965 and 975. The Abit AB9 we're looking at today is based on the Intel P965 chipset. The P965 chipset is the newest Intel chipset supporting Intel Core2Duo CPU's and we've seen some pretty decent results from it.
Packaging
Packaging of motherboards has greatly improved over recent years, with people like Asus and DFI producing some really nice packages. Abit's choice for this board is somewhat strange. With a train and the logo: "Xpress for the big tracks", I am left feeling somewhat underwhelmed with the front of the packaging.
The back is far better with a decent view of the motherboard and labels pointing to the board with its main features.
The board has some decent features and it's good to have these feature prominently on the back of the box.
The inside of the box shows quality with two smaller boxes hiding away the parts and pieces.
The inside of the box shows quality with two smaller boxes hiding away the parts and pieces.
This gives a very professional style to the box and is nice to see.
And the board all wrapped up safe with cardboard standoffs. The packaging style is excellent and I wouldn't imagine the board would be damaged. Good work by Abit here overall, despite a slightly dodgy initial impression.
Package
The package with the board is pretty basic, but it gets you there. Everything you need to get set up is included, if nothing more than what you need.
Package
The package with the board is pretty basic, but it gets you there. Everything you need to get set up is included, if nothing more than what you need.
Contents:
* 6 x SATA cables (with easygrip connecters)
* 1 x IDE Cable
* 1 x FDD Cable
* 1 x PSI bracket for USB 2.0/Firewire
* 1 x Motherboard I/O backplate
* 1 x Quick Install Guide
* 1 x Users Manual
* 1 x Abit μGuru™ User Manual
* 1 x Abit AB9 Jumper Settings
* JMicron SATA RAID Driver Diskette
* Abit CD with user Manual/Drivers/Utilities
All in all not a bad little bundle. When we look at this we must bear in mind that the board is in the mid-range price-wise and will not come with the total package that the very ultra top-end motherboards will come with.
As I said before though - everything is there and I was happy with the package.
* 6 x SATA cables (with easygrip connecters)
* 1 x IDE Cable
* 1 x FDD Cable
* 1 x PSI bracket for USB 2.0/Firewire
* 1 x Motherboard I/O backplate
* 1 x Quick Install Guide
* 1 x Users Manual
* 1 x Abit μGuru™ User Manual
* 1 x Abit AB9 Jumper Settings
* JMicron SATA RAID Driver Diskette
* Abit CD with user Manual/Drivers/Utilities
All in all not a bad little bundle. When we look at this we must bear in mind that the board is in the mid-range price-wise and will not come with the total package that the very ultra top-end motherboards will come with.
As I said before though - everything is there and I was happy with the package.
Most Recent Comments
Nice review mate, very well put together! And the board looks nice too :)
Hot pink BIOS :D Nice one kemp, once again a great and thorough review :worship:
Nice review mate :) I gather this is what you were working on when i was talking to you on msn hehe.
That really was a silly place to put an IDE port lol.
Can't get over how HUGE that cpu cooler is, seems to dwarf the motherboard!
That really was a silly place to put an IDE port lol.
Can't get over how HUGE that cpu cooler is, seems to dwarf the motherboard!
Nice review mate :) I gather this is what you were working on when i was talking to you on msn hehe.
That really was a silly place to put an IDE port lol.
Can't get over how HUGE that cpu cooler is, seems to dwarf the motherboard!
Aye twas :)
The IDE is stupid - they look like they've learnt on the AW9D Max tho ;)
Yeah the cooler is awesome - absolutely massive :D
I do believe that's the first pretty positive review of the AB9 that I've seen.
Have you got an AW9D to play with too?
Have you got an AW9D to play with too?
I do believe that's the first pretty positive review of the AB9 that I've seen.
Have you got an AW9D to play with too?
Yeah I am suprised that it's recieved negative reviews. Yes: the IDE placement sucks but apart from that the board isn't mojorly bad and it's actually pretty damn cheap. It's incredibly stable and easy to set up and I'm not too sure what issues others were having but I haven't actually found any yet apart from the IDE placement
No comment :p
Yeah I am suprised that it's recieved negative reviews.
It doesn't seem to have received many reviews though but user feedback hasn't been great, largely it would appear due to various memory related problems.
What BIOS version were you using (BIOS shots looks like 11)?
Canner remember. Didn't have any problems when using memory. Kingston, Mushkin and GSkill worked fine on the board, although I had to make sure that I set the right timings, speed and voltage in the BIOS before I installed a new module.
Most motherboard problems are due to people not reading enough about them and getting RAM or somethng that isn't compatible - imo
Most motherboard problems are due to people not reading enough about them and getting RAM or somethng that isn't compatible - imo
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