Presentation and bundle
ABIT's gone for an understated box that highlights the AX8's µGuru features. µGuru, together with bundled Windows-based software, allows the enthusiast to control a number of performance parameters from an OS environment. Voltage-reporting and speed manipulation are the obvious choices, and µGuru also allows the user to set pre-defined performance modes at the touch of a button. It works well in practice, and can give the system extra speed without having to input frequencies/voltages within BIOS. Definitely a handy touch. µGuru also serves as a means of updating the board's BIOS via the web. This, however, is dependant upon ABIT keeping the weblink up-to-date.
The hybrid bracket adds in a couple of extra USB2.0 ports and both a regular 6-pin and smaller 4-pin FireWire ports. 4 SATA cables allow you to use the board's complement immediately, and colour-coded IDE and floppy cables are also a nice touch. ABIT's usual well-written manual provides decent reference information to novice and experience users alike. However, certain debug LED codes appear to be missing from the reference section at the end of the manual. A smaller µGuru manual takes users through a step-by-step tour of the microprocessor's abilities. The AX8, from bundle to board features, seems like a more expensive board than its £79 price tag, which can only be a good thing. Software-wise, there's the usual set of drivers and µGuru OS-based software.
