DFI AK76-SN Review

Author : Wayne Date : 17th August 2001

3DVelocity would like to thank DFI and especially Eliza (Huang Yi-Chin) for their help and courtesy in providing this motherboard for review.

Introduction :

It's not exactly been the must-have technology that it was touted to be, but DDR is slowly finding its way onto more and more systems worldwide. Based on the initial pre-production hype, most users assumed that double the data rate meant double the performance, it was therefor a rather sobering experience to see average performance gains settle at around the 5% mark.

Just as happened with initial USB and AGP enabled boards, prices for DDR are now cheap enough that the mentality has become one of getting it because it's there rather than because it's essential, although with refined BIOS tweaks and chipset improvements things are improving and there's really no good reason not to buy DDR right now.

The Features :

Today I want to look at the AK76-SN from DFI. This is in all honesty a no frills offering that's aimed at providing a solid, flexible and reliable DDR based solution at a price that shouldn't bring you out in a heat rash. Having said that, it's not exactly a featureless board, it just doesn't sport things such as RAID, onboard sound and CNR slots, things hardly likely to be missed in the majority of situations. In fact it's almost a breath of fresh air to get my hands on a board that isn't trying to be all things to all people, I mean how many of us use the onboard sound? And RAID is for people who can afford a couple of fast HDD's, not people like me who had to save just to get one!

So we know what the AK76 hasn't got, let's now take a look at what it has got.

Memory 2 DDR DIMM sockets max. 2GB (unbuffered) or 4GB (registered) Supports PC200/266 and ECC DDR SDRAM PCI IDE Dual PIO mode 3/4 EIDE channels up to 4 IDE devices UltraDMA/100 transfer rate up to 100MB/sec Super I/O 2 x NS16C550A compatible UARTs 1 x SPP/ECP/EPP parallel port External Connectors 2 x USB, 2 x DB-9, 1 x DB-25, 1 x PS/2 keyboard, 1 x PS/2 mouse Internal Connectors 2 x external USB, 1x IrDA, 2 x IDE, 1x Floppy, 1 x ATX power, 4 x fan, 1 x WOL, 1 x WOR Power Management ACPI and OS direct power management Wake-on event: RTC/Modem/LAN Hardware Monitor System, processor temperature, voltage and fan speed Expansion Slots 1 AGP slot (Supports 4x/2x AGP) 6 PCI slots BIOS Award / 2Mbit Form Factors ATX, 4 layers 30.48cm x 22cm 12 inch.x 8.66 inch. Correct at time of going to press

Although based on the AMD 761 North Bridge, the AK76 is not strictly an AMD760 board as it uses the VIA 686B South Bridge. This is a decision that seems to popular with most board makers at present due to that fact that the VIA South Bridge is not only cheaper, it also offers better features.

Those who have followed the progression of the AMD 760 Chipset are no doubt aware that it shouldn't even be around today. The 760 was devloped by AMD as a temporary solution for getting DDR and a 133MHz FSB out in to the market place. Plans were that as soon as VIA, SiS and Ali got their chipsets ready to roll AMD would cease production and let them carry the torch. Unfortunately none of these chipsets proved to be a match for the 760 so AMD decided to keep on with production. The balance is now beginning to change with the SiS735 and the new (BO) revision of the ALi Magik 1 competing on an equal footing, although the KT266 from VIA is still struggling a little to keep pace.

That's not to say the the AMD chipset is perfect. It may offer excellent performance and top notch stability, but it also has some considerable limitations. To begin with it's only able to support four banks of the more common unregistered DDR SDRAM, which means most boards will only be kitted out with 2 DIMM slots. Also, the 761 North Bridge relies on a synchronous memory controller meaning that the memory can only be made to run at the same speed as your FSB. This might sound a little worrying if you use a 100MHz FSB Athlon as it means your memory will essentially run at the equivelent of PC1600 DDR SDRAM, but in practise most if not all 100MHz FSB Athlons will run quite happily at 133MHz allowing you to reap the full benefits of your PC2100. It was only the limitations of the VIA KT133 that pegged the Athlon back to below 115MHz.

The AMD 760 reference design also initially required a six layer PCB in order to implement which added to the price, though most manufacturers have now figured out ways to switch back to the cheaper four layer design, and indeed the AK-76 is just such a four layer board. Add to this the fact that the AMD 760 relies on nothing more than the primitive PCI bus to connect North Bridge to South Bridge and it's a wonder that it's remained so popular.

The Board :

The AK76-SN is your typical four layer ATX motherboard with a moderate 30.48 x 22cm stature. Clearly aimed at the end user rather than the OEM this time, DFI have stripped away features unlikely to be needed by the enthusiast and have produced a clean, solid board that does what's asked of it. Gone are all unpopular riser card slots in favour of a full six PCI slot layout. Also gone are all onboard sound capabilities.

The socket is kept beautifully clear of all obstructions which should make even the bulkiest of heat sinks a doddle to fit. The socket is situated right at the board's edge with the retaining lugs used to secure your HSF facing out the side which also makes for an easier time.
DFI have also stuck with their three phase power supply circuit meaning ample, clean power is supplied at all times, though unlike on the AK75 they have decided to fit active cooling to the North Bridge this time.

You will also notice two banks of Dip switches in the picture above. For reasons best known to themselves, DFI have chosen to offer only FSB adjustment through the BIOS while core voltage and multiplier adjustments are set through these Dips.

Multiplier adjustment ranges from the standard 5x to 12x in 0.5x increments while voltages ranges from 1.475 to 1.850 volts in 0.025 volt increments, plus of course a full auto-detect option. Reassuring news for the overclocker is that FSB adjustments are available from 100 to 166MHz in 1MHz steps, though the range needs setting from 100-133 or from 133-166 using on-board jumpers.

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