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Date |
: Dec 24th, 2001 |
| Category |
: Motherboards |
| Manufacturer |
: AOpen |
| Author |
: Jin-Wei Tioh |
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The highlights of the AK77 Plus are its packaging, black PCB, two ATA-100 RAID headers and hefty size of 12" x 9.5" (HxW). The packaging has a cutout "window", giving a peek at the contents within. The motherboard, cables, documentation and CDs are all encased in a plastic clamshell case with an emblazoned AOpen logo, clearly showing AOpen's intentions to bring attention to their product. About the only other motherboard we've seen in similar packaging is IWill's KK266 (powering the system of yours truly).
As with the other two AOpen motherboards that have been evaluated, the AK77 Plus is a hefty package of electronics, which may cause some amount of grief (usually it's removing all 5.25" devices) for end-users with small cases. Component placement this time around is excellent, with one minor gripe. The power supply connector sits close to the right edge of the motherboard, parallel to the DIMM slots. While being appropriate, since it means that the power supply cables would not run over the CPU, the connector is a mere 0.25" away from the DIMM slots. With the average human finger being 0.3" thick, unplugging the power supply cable could present a minor problem.
The DIMM slots are about half an inch above the AGP slot, making DIMM installation/removal a non-issue. On some motherboards such as the ASUS TUA266, it is necessary to first remove the AGP card before installing / removing DIMMs.
AOpen again decided to integrate only 2 USB ports, including 2 additional headers on the board as well as a bracket to provide another 2 USB ports. The second and third USB headers are placed parallel in between PCI slots, an ideal arrangement for case modders and those with cases having lower-front USB ports, such as the SkyHawk aluminum line. As done on most motherboards, the front panel connectors are placed in the lower-left corner of the motherboard, ensuring that the cables do not get in the way of any expansion slots.
The regular IDE, ATA-100 RAID and floppy connectors are located right at the bottom of the motherboard, roughly half an inch from the DIMM slots. This minimizes potential cable clutter because the headers are closer to the storage devices. Another plus is that the cables do not obstruct the airflow to the CPU, which helps with overclocking. Unlike the AX3S Plus (a Socket-370 RAID motherboard), the RAID headers do not obstruct any slots. Every single slot on the AK77 Plus is able to accommodate a full-length card, a commendable layout achievement.
Capacitor placement alright, though 3 2200uF units can stand to be placed a little further from the CPU socket. Another point that we have thus far neglected to highlight is the "no mount zone" specified by AMD. Both the AK77 Plus and AK73 Pro (A) (which we previously reviewed) follow this specification, enabling the usage of heatsink/fan units which use the 4-lug mounting system, such as the Zalman CNPS5000 and the Swiftech MC462A.
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