Abit AV8 layout + Seasonic Super Silencer

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 7:46 pm

I guess this really should go in a motherboard section

The Abit AV8 ATXPWR1 and ATX12V1 connectors are located in a rather bad part of the motherboard, IMHO. They are in the back, right between the CPU and the I/O panel, so that the cables will be covering much of the case exhaust fan out-take. This is further exacerbated by the Seasonic Super Silencer's 24-to-20-pin adapter for powering the AV8. Unlike cables, the big plastic adapter can't really be bent/moved out of the way of the air path. Tom's Hardware has a big photo of the AV8 here (power connectors are in upper right corner just below the pink parallel port).

The Super Silencer refers to its ATX12V1 connector as a "4P for Pentium 4 (+12V Power Conn)". Since I have an Athlon64 motherboard, does that mean I don't have to plug this in?

What kind of motherboard takes a 24-pin connector for power?

I really wanted the Abit AV8 because it was the only socket-939 motherboard I could find with SPDIF *input* (most have only 1 or 2 outputs, with no inputs), and it is also one of the cheaper ones, since it doesn't have bundled WiFi.

Does anyone else have an Abit AV8? Any ideas for moving these cables out of the way of the exhaust fan? Or does it not really matter? I have an XP-120 with Yate Loon fan, so maybe that will blow the air kind of around the intermediary cables? Should I just give up on the AV8 and SPDIF-in, and get a different motherboard and sound card?

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 8:36 pm

i gave up on abit a long time ago because of poor mobo layouts and their constant pursistance to keep putting small fans on just about everything. northbridge, power regulators etc. you name anything on a mobo that generates any kind of heat, and i bet i can find you an abit board with a loud ass fan that cools it.

im not sure what you need an SPDIF input for. but if you want a mobo recomendation:

i just got the MSI: K8N Neo4 Platinum. this board rocks. SPDIF coax and optical outputs. pci express, dual gigabit lan, 4 usb on the i/o panal and 6 more on the mobo, firewire on the i/o panel as well as one on the mobo, a great motherboard layout.

only thing i didnt like about it was the fan on the northbridge. i think the reason they did it was cause large passive heatsinks could interfere with video cards. i put the large zalman heatsink on it, and it did get in the way of my video card, but it wasnt anything a dremel couldnt fix

other than a different mobo, i really like cleaning up messy wires with black spiral wrap. you can get it at almost any hardware store. looks alot better than loom IMO.

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 11:59 pm

Can't you route the cabling under the exhaust fans? It'll require some serious bending but it should fit. Take a look at where the 12V CPU line runs in my Thor rig. I did the same with an Epox board that had the 20pin socket in the exact spot you're complaining about and it worked.

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 4:42 am

Aris wrote:i gave up on abit a long time ago because of poor mobo layouts and their constant pursistance to keep putting small fans on just about everything. northbridge, power regulators etc.

im not sure what you need an SPDIF input for. but if you want a mobo recomendation:

Yeah, the AV8 actually has passive cooling (one of the other reasons I selected it). I want an SPDIF input for recording stuff from other sources. In particular, I would like to record some soundtracks from some of my Playstation 2 games.

burcakb wrote:Can't you route the cabling under the exhaust fans? It'll require some serious bending but it should fit. Take a look at where the 12V CPU line runs in my Thor rig. I did the same with an Epox board that had the 20pin socket in the exact spot you're complaining about and it worked.

I tried, but I can't. On the AV8, both the 12V and 20-pin headers are right up between the CPU and exhaust fan. The 12V line can go around the exhaust fan because it's just a few wires, but the 24/20-pin adapter really just can't get out of the way.

Thanks for your input; I think I'll just RMA and eat the restocking fee

. Now I know how to look more carefully at motherboard layout, and I'll probably just look for a real soundcard later for recording.

Can anyone answer my earlier questions (for my own education)?

What kind of motherboards take 24-pin power lines?
Why does Seasonic call the 12V line a "Pentium 4" line, if AMD motherboards also need this anyway?

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 3:25 pm

rtsai wrote:What kind of motherboards take 24-pin power lines?

Dual processor server motherboards have been using 24-pin power connectors for some time. The new Socket-T (S775) motherboards from Intel need 24-pin power connectors too.

rtsai wrote:Why does Seasonic call the 12V line a "Pentium 4" line, if AMD motherboards also need this anyway?

The design standards for PSU's are created by Intel. They introduced that connector for the Pentium 4. Intel doesn't really care if AMD procs need it too. All other manufacturers just follow the naming in the standard.

rtsai · Post by **rtsai** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:28 pm

Tibors wrote:The design standards for PSU's are created by Intel. They introduced that connector for the Pentium 4. Intel doesn't really care if AMD procs need it too. All other manufacturers just follow the naming in the standard.

Ah, so this connector is not optional for AMD CPU/mobos and it still needs to be plugged in?

Thanks.