Thoughts, HEXUS.awards, HEXUS.right2reply
It's as fast as, the BIOS is as good and the feature set is as rich as the AW9D Max. Yes, it doesn't support CrossFire by virtue of the fact it lacks the slot for a second graphics card, and it simply doesn't look as cool, but you'll find it a struggle find anything else that'd tempt you to choose big brother over this supposed little one.It's a shame the UK pricing doesn't reflect the reality of the current US pricing $150 at Newegg is awesome value for the board, whereas UK pricing sits at a slightly disappointing £106 inc right now at a number of retailers, including Scan International.
The layout is odd in places but overall the AB9 Pro really shines, and that's mainly down to a BIOS that's excellent and a feature set that gives away nothing for the user that cares not about dual graphics cards. Therefore if you have a Core 2 Duo in mind and some DDR2 worthy of the slots the AB9 Pro carries, definitely put it on your shortlist. P965 is great and abit take the sting out of ICH8R's lack of ATA, keeping the AB9 Pro currently relevant and appealing for a bunch of folks. We like it a lot, we just wish the UK price would drop to the £80-£85 range sooner rather than later.
Our US readers get one heck of a bargain, though. Great stuff.
HEXUS Awards
The AB9 Pro certain deserves its Extreme Recommended award, since it punches well above its supposed weight. We wonder how long high-end i975X boards will hold price given hardware like this.
abit AB9 Pro
