ABIT
officially unleashes the top-end IC7-MAX3 motherboard
MAX3: The Rise
of Cooling
ABIT officially
unleashed its new IC7-MAX3 motherboard that became company's
top-end product. The new board features all ABIT's latest
technologies, including OTES, SecureIDE, FanEQ, CPU ThermalGuard,
TweakGuard, FlashMenu, SoftMenu, GigaSystem Overclock.
Following in the footsteps of MAX1 and 2, MAX3 is poised to
change the world of motherboards forever. What now seems like
a radical design will soon become a standard that other companies
will soon adopt; ever the innovator, ABIT seeks to release
enthusiasts cast down by thermal oppression and usher in a
new era of cool, stable computing.
 Built for Overclockers by
Overclockers
The ABIT Engineers have always sought to challenge established
dogma. The first overclockable motherboards were fashioned
by ABIT at a time when overclocking was known as the Black
E Art, practiced by those who dared to unleash nameless forces.
While other companies were cowering in the darkness, producing
soulless clones, the ABIT Engineers were busy in their hidden
laboratories, creating a living BIOS that would allow overclockers
to gain full mastery over their systems, giving them power
over their machines.
The Birth of MAX
 The original MAX series arrived at a time of
great uncertainty in the motherboard industry, and was seen
by many enthusiasts as a new hope amidst a sea of despair.
What was needed in motherboards was a new way of thinking,
and MAX gave hope where before there was none. The words legacy
free had been but a concept cherished by enthusiasts who looked
forever forward, rather than clinging to fade glories and
tarnished ideologies. MAX I was the first motherboard created
looking completely towards the future without being constrained
by the old ways thinking. Its release transformed an industry
grown complacent with pushing derivative products on woefully
jaded enthusiasts.
MAX3: The Rise of Cooling
 Abit says "MAX3 promises to take this world,
the world transformed by MAX I and II, and illuminate the
inherent darkness that has come to symbolize the desktop motherboard
market. ">>> Is this little blurb aiming at
the gaming comunity ?:-)
In my
humble opinion Abit really doesnt need such tacky marketing
slogans 'cause the reputation and the specs talk for themself
.
ABIT
IC7-MAX3 main specs:
Supports Intel Pentium
4 with 800/533/400MHz FSB
i875P + ICH-R chipset
Supports Intel HP Technology, PAT, ABIT Game Accelerator
OTES with FanEQ implemented
Supports dual-channel DDR400 with ECC
Intel CSA Gigabit LAN
AGP Pro 8X/4X (0.8V/1.5V) slot
6 x Serial ATA 150 ports: two (supporting RAID 0) in ICH5R
Southbridge and four (supporting RAID 0/1/0+1) in 4-ch. Silicon
Image controller
3 x IEEE1394 ports
8 x USB2.0 ports
Optical S/PDIF, 6-ch. audio codec
4-phase power stabilizer
ATX form-factor
The new board features all ABIT's latest technologies, including
OTES, SecureIDE, FanEQ, CPU ThermalGuard, TweakGuard, FlashMenu,
SoftMenu, GigaSystem Overclock.
The
Evolution of OTES 
The original
OTES redefined VGA cooling to the point where manufacturers
are now using gimmicks like multiple fan combinations on VGA
cards in a vain effort to match the cooling prowess of OTES.
Now, in the interests of cooling and performance, OTES has
been redesigned to cool the hottest part of a motherboard:
the PWM power regulation mosfets and capacitors. While active
cooling on the northbridge has been developed in recent years,
the PWM area has been completely ignored. OTES fills this
need, while also serving to exhaust air outside of the PC
case.
The
SecureIDE feature is worth a closer look.
It is a special hardware encoder (on eNOVA X-Wall chipset)
which protects IDE hard drives with passwords, blocking access
if it's incorrect. Moreover, the drive will be inaccessible
even if installed into another system.
Wondering if and when they are going to bring it out for serial-ata
?
Another worthy novelty is the 4-phase power system with high-quality
RubyCon capacitors, providing stability even at serious overclocking.
By the way, the OTES cooling is used exactly for capacitors and other
circuitry of ABIT IC7-MAX3. Combined with a dedicated monitoring chip,
FanEQ enables automatic fan rotation speed depending on system load.
 ABIT
GAME Accelerator Technology is an advanced SoftMenu
feature, enabling CPU adjustments via BIOS. The newer technology
adds the ability to fine tune memory subsystem. The user can
choose from four modes: Auto, Turbo, Street Racer, and F1.
each of these can be adjusted manually according to the system
specs. According to the press release, just Game Accelerator
alone provides up to 17% performance boost.
Abits marketing machine proclaims "It is a new way of thinking!
" Lets wait for some reviews and see what it really has to over
!
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