Introduction

I would like to thank Abit for supplying us with the tested motherboard.

Abit has had a few rough years in the past. After the merger with USI they call themselves Universal Abit. Just like their tradition, Abit has set out to create the ultimate enthusiast motherboard for the Intel Core 2 platform.
Their chipset of choice is Intel's i975X which is Intel's designated highest-end chipset.

Features

ABIT AW9D-MAX
Processor	All Intel LGA775 processors, including Core 2 Duo
FSB	533 MHz / 800 MHz / 1066 MHz
Chipset	Intel i975X, ICH8R
Memory	4x 240 Pin DDR2, Dual Channel DDR533//667/800, up to 8 GB
BIOS	AwardBios
Slots	2x PCI-E x16 1x PCI
HDD Connectivity	1x ATA-133 7xSATA-II + 1 eSata-II
Networking	2x 10/100/1000 Mbps - Realtek RTL8111B via PCI-E
Ports	8x USB 2.0 (4 on Back Panel) 1x Firewire
Audio	7.1 Realtek ALC882M HD Audio
Form Factor	ATX 218 x 305mm

Specifications from Manufacturer

CPU

• Designed for Intel® LGA775 processors with1066/800MHz FSB
• Supports Intel® Core™ 2 Duo(Extreme Edition) & Pentium® Extreme Edition & Pentium® D & Pentium® 4 Processors
• Supports Intel® Hyper-Threading / XD-bit / EM64T / EIST Technology / Virtualization Technology
• Intel® Quad Core ready.

Chipset

• Intel® 975X / Intel® ICH7R Express Chipset

Memory

• 4 X 240-pin DIMM sockets support max. memory capacity 8GB
• Supports Dual channel DDR2 800/667 Un-buffered / Non-ECC memory

Graphics

• Supports Dual PCI-Express X16 slots (dual ATI® CrossFire™ Graphics)

LAN

• On-board Dual PCI-E Gigabit LAN controller supports 10/100/ 1000M Ethernet

Audio

• abit AudioMAX™ HD 7.1 CH
• Supports Jack Sensing and S/PDIF In/Out
• Dolby® Master Studio Certificated

Expansion Slots

• 2xPCI-EX16,2xPCI-EX1,1 xPCI, 1x AudioMAX™

Internal I/O Connectors

• 1 x Floppy port, 1 x UDMA 100/66/33 connector,
• 7 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
• 2 x USB 2.0 headers, 2 x IEEE1394 headers
• 1 x FP-Audio header, 1 x CD-IN

Back Panel I/O

• 1 x PS/2 Keyboard, 1 x PS/2 Mouse
• 4 x USB 2.0, 2 x RJ-45 LAN,
• 1 x eSATA

Serial ATA

• ICH7R: 4 x SATA 3Gb/s supports Intel® Matrix Storage SATA RAID 0/1/0+1/5
• ICH7R: Support SATA AHCI, providing native command queuing and native hot plug & play
• Silicon Image:3132: 4 x SATA 3Gb/s, two SATA connectors of the same area can support SATA RAID 0/1

IEEE 1394

• 2 ports IEEE1394a at 400 Mb/s transfer rate

RoHS

• RoHS Compliancy

Form Factor

• ATX form factor 305 x 245mm
• PCB Color: Black & Blue

abit Engineered

• abit µGuru™ Technology
• abit AudioMAX™ HD 7.1 CH
• abit Silent OTES™ 2 Technology
• Quick Power & Reset Buttons
• Back-light Blue LED's
• Low ESR and high ripple conductive polymer aluminum solid capacitors