AOpen AK89 Max: From Ugly Duckling to Swan

Final Words

The AOpen AK89 Max is aimed at a different market segment than the AK86-L. The AK86-L excels by bringing very high performance and reasonable features to a value-priced board at less than $100. The AK89 Max that we are testing here is aimed at providing everything but the kitchen sink. It is feature-rich with Firewire, 4-drive SATA, Dual BIOS, and optical and coaxial audio IO. It brings with it just about every option that AOpen could cram on a Socket 754 nForce3-150 motherboard. Compared to other top nF3-150 boards, the AK89 Max can certainly hold its own.

If the AOpen AK89 Max is evaluated just on the basis of our benchmark tests, the performance would be considered about average compared to other Athlon 64 motherboards we have tested. However, there is a lot more performance waiting beneath the surface of the AK89 Max - performance that is unique among the Athlon 64 boards that we have tested.

The AK89 Max is the first nForce3-150 board that we have tested with a true working PCI/AGP lock. Other enthusiasts report the Gigabyte K8NNXP and the Shuttle AN50R also to have working locks, but we have not personally confirmed this. We can tell you that with the latest 1.06M BIOS, AGP/PCI lock, and working multipliers, we achieved the highest overclocks yet on the Athlon 64. We were able to achieve a stable 233 FSB setting at default voltage with a standard multiplier. We also quickly outstripped the on-board range to 250 FSB. However, with the free Clock Gen for nForce3 from www.cpuid.com, we were able to fine-tune multipliers and FSB - reaching a truly astounding 347FSB.

When we first looked at the AK89 Max, we were not particularly impressed. In fact, we considered passing on reviewing the board with the first nForce3-250 boards starting to appear. We are glad AOpen persisted, however, because 2 BIOS revisions later, we see a remarkable nF3-150 board with tremendous capabilities. If we have a complaint about the AK89 Max, it is not with AOpen's implementation. AOpen got the nF3-150 right; it is just that it comes very late to the nF3-150 life cycle. The AK89 Max is still hampered somewhat by the maximum 600 HyperTransport of the 150 chipset. While the AK89 certainly makes the most of the 600HT and carries it to heights we didn't think the nF3-150 could reach, it really makes us just that more anxious to see a nForce3-250Gb motherboard from AOpen.

The AOpen AK89 Max is the best nForce3-150 motherboard that we have tested, but we already have nF3-250 motherboards that we are testing, which promise even more with working locks and a 1000 HyperTransport option. We do wish AOpen could improve the CPU voltage range and widen the available FSB settings. The AK89 Max is also the first nF3-150 or VIA K8T800 motherboard we have tested that deserves and can definitely use a FSB range to 350. But even without these options, the AK89 Max set new overclocking records in every category.

If you're currently in the market for a Socket 754 motherboard based on the nForce3-150 chipset, you won't do any better than the AOpen AK89 Max. We can't wait to see AOpen's nForce3-250 motherboard with all the lessons they learned in developing this design.