Abit AT8: µGuru comes to the RD480

Basic Features: Abit AT8

Specification	Abit AT8
CPU Interface	939-Pin Socket supporting AMD Athlon 64 / 64FX / 64X2
Chipset	ATI CrossFire Xpress 200 (RD480) - North Bridge ULi M1575 - South Bridge
HTT Speeds	200MHz ~ 400MHz in 1MHz increments
CPU Clock Multiplier	Auto, 4x ~ 12x in 1x increments (4000+ CPU setting, maximum multiplier dependent upon processor utilized)
Memory Speeds	Auto, 200MHz, 266MHz, 333MHz, 400MHz, 433MHz, 466MHz, 500MHz
PCI Bus Speeds	Fixed at 33.33MHz
PCI Express Bus Speeds	Auto, 90MHz ~ 140MHz in 1MHz increments
LDT Multipliers	Auto, 200MHz, 400MHZ, 600MHz, 800MHz, 1GHz
LDT Link Speed	Auto, 8-bit, 16-bit
Core Voltage	Auto, 1.4000V ~ 1.8000V (AMD 64 4000+) (settings in 0.0250V increments, base +.4000V for max voltage), (base / max voltage dependent upon CPU)
DRAM Voltage	Auto, 2.50V ~ 3.20V
NB 1.8V Setting	1.50V ~ 2.00V, in .05V or .10V increments
NB 1.2V Setting	1.00V ~ 1.80V, in .10V increments
HT Voltage	1.20V ~ 1.40V, in .05 increments
DDR Reference	Default, +10mV ~ +60mV, -10mV ~ -60mV, in .10mV increments
Memory Slots	(4) x DIMM, max. 4GB, DDR 400/333/200, non-ECC, un-buffered memory, Dual Channel Operation supported.
Expansion Slots	(2) x PCI-E x16 (each slot operates in 1x8 mode for CrossFire operation) (2) x PCI-E x1 (2) x PCI 2.3
Onboard SATA	ULi M1575: (4) x SATA II (3.0Gb/s, NCQ, Hot Plug)
Onboard IDE	ULi M1575: (2) x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33
SATA/IDE RAID	ULi M1575: (4) x SATA II 3Gb/s - RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, RAID 5
Onboard USB 2.0	(8) USB2.0 ports (four ports, two headers for four more ports)
Onboard LAN	Realtek RTL8110SB PCI 10/100/1000Mb/s LAN - LOM Controller
Onboard Audio	Realtek ALC-882D - 7.1 channel capable HD Audio Codec, Dolby Digital Live capable
Onboard Firewire	TI TSB43AB22 IEEE 1394 chipset - 1394A capable
Power Connectors	24-pin ATX 4-pin ATX 12V 4-pin 12V
Back Panel I/O Ports	1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x S/PDIF Optical Out 1 x S/PDIF Optical In 1 x Audio I/O Panel 1 x RJ45 LAN 4 x USB 2.0 1 x IEEE 1394
Other Features	Silent OTES Technology µGuru Technology - Abit EQ - hardware monitoring system - OC Guru - overclocking utility - Fan EQ - fan monitoring utility Flash Menu - windows based flash utility BlackBox - windows based diagnostic utility
BIOS	Award 1.1 (2/15/06, in final testing for public release)

The Abit AT8 is a value-based performance board targeted towards the enthusiast user. The board ships with an extensive accessory package that includes the standard assortment of IDE/SATA cables, power connectors, and USB header cables. Abit also includes an extensive driver CD along with their desktop µGuru utilities.

This is the BIOS setup utility screen and it displays the change configuration categories available on the board. The BIOS features the ability to save and load individual profiles, which can be a time saver based upon whether you want to quickly overclock the system at various settings or operate at stock settings. This feature worked superbly during our overclocking tests.

The OC Guru Configuration section allows the user to manually set the CPU multiplier, HTT speeds, PCI-E clock speed, and multiple voltage selections.

The Advanced Chipset Features section allows the user to manually set individual parameters for LDT multipliers, Video configuration, and DRAM frequency settings.

The DRAM Configuration section allows the user to control memory timing adjustments and dividers. The BIOS allows for an Auto setting that will determine the best timing attributes based upon memory type, divider, and bus speeds. The SPD setting will adjust the memory automatically to the manufacturer's setting or you can adjust the multitude of memory timings manually. We found in our testing that the system would typically adjust the memory clock settings incorrectly when utilizing the Auto setting and would leave the system in a non-post state or unstable state due to the 1.0 BIOS incompatibility issues with several types of memory modules.

The LDT and PCI Bus Control section allows the user to adjust the upstream and downstream LDT bus width bit rate along with the LDT bus frequency. Although the description describes the ability to control the PCI bus, it is actually not available, although the frequency is fixed at 33.33MHz.

The Abit EQ configuration section allows the user to monitor and set parameters for temperature, voltage, fan speed, and fan control (up to six fans). This feature set is extensive and allows monitoring and control of several board features either from the BIOS or the windows based EQ monitoring system.

Abit includes their excellent µGuru windows utility that allows the user to overclock the HTT speed, change certain voltages, and monitor hardware settings in real time without the need for rebooting. The OC Guru worked very well during our overclock testing.