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AOpen AK89 Max / AK86-L (AMD 64) Mainboard Layout and other Features (AK89 Max) Some of the other differing features of the AK89 Max will be better shown with the boards layout so let's move along. As you can see below, the nForce 3 based board is set up a bit differently than the rest of the field. Three DIMM slots capable of supporting a gig stick of DDR400 each, reside above the CPU socket. This is a big reason for the board being so much larger than the AK86-L. Thirty-four millimeters may not seem like much but mounted in a case it is quite a bit.
Capacitor count to keep the power even is up from six to seven on the AK89 Max. Like the AK86-L, we didn't find any heatsink mounting problems nor do we expect any with any cooling products coming out in the near future.
Four fan headers are scattered about the board. In my opinion, the fan headers seem to be more efficiently placed than on the AK86-L. Not that I'm saying their placement is bad on the AK86, just that its better on the AK89. You can see what I mean below. The headers are circled in yellow. The ATX power connector is smartly grouped with the IDE channels keeping cable clutter to a minimum. The 12v ATX connector rests at the apex of the ESR capacitor placement.
I have VIA so ingrained on the brain that I still catch myself looking for a Southbridge. The nForce 3 chipset is an all in one number providing for the CPU socket, DDR and AGP in addition to the IDE, PCI and USB that on a VIA board are relegated to the Southbridge. The SATA is handled by the Silicon Image SATA Controller as we already noted. A short passive cooler is mounted on top of the nForce 3 chipset to keep things comfortable.
Here we see a better shot at the way AOpen has grouped the IDE and FDD connectors next to the ATX Power connector. Anytime I can bind several things with a single zip tie I'm happy. The pic on the right shows the AGP/PCI slots. The lowermost PCI slot is colored blue to indicate it is self powered. You may also notice the single IEEE1394 connector to the right of the fourth PCI slot.
Below are a couple of shots of the four SATA connectors and the Die Hard BIOS II. Both of these features I find very impressive. The AK89 Max like the AK86 has its front panel connectors color coded.
The rear I/O plate is identical to the AK86-L in all respects but one. This being a second COM port. As we said earlier, this could represent a big deal to those needing it but I believe these persons will be few.
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