Conclusion and thoughts
Let's get one thing straight at the outset of the conclusion. If you're planning on running at stock speeds, and stock speeds are now such that they'll take almost anything we can throw at them, then there's little point in considering the IC7-MAX3. Don't get us wrong, it's a great board with a multitude of features, but you somehow get the pervasive feeling that you're paying for features that won't be used at 200FSB. The board is literally screaming out to be pushed to its limit. The fanciful yet useful OTES cooling system may not guarantee stability at, say, 300FSB, but it should help to boost the board's appeal to enthusiasts. Keeping vital components cool by removing unwanted heat is a sane method of trying to obtain a stable, high overclock.
The MAX3 arrives chock-full of extras. We always view that as a good thing. However, in this instance, wouldn't have been prudent to allow the SecureIDE extra as an option ?, much in the same way EPoX do with its extras. The reason for that comment lies in the board's price. We've looked at various online retailers and have yet to find it below the £175 mark. That's an awful lot of money when Springdale boards, equipped with PAT-like BIOSes that nearly match the MAX3's, can be had for up to £75 less. Price maybe an issue but board layout and quality of components aren't. The layout is as good as any Canterwood's, helped by the sensible decision to route most of the cables to one side. The BIOS, too, is an exercise in easy-to-navigate design and flexibility. Of concern was the inability to always reboot at 250FSB+. We fully expect users to hit and surpass these numbers; that's one of the main reasons why you buy a decent Canterwood. The on-board sound problem and 5:4 ratio will be aspects that need to be looked at. We hope they're an isolated case and not the norm.
What's clearly evident is that the ABIT IC7-MAX3 is an extremely fast board that packs a hard performance and benchmarking punch. Whether it's for you depends upon your needs. If you're looking for a board that will almost definitely do 250FSB+ with ease, has a robust feature set and BIOS, and includes some nice extras, the MAX3 would be a good choice. Our reservations in awarding the MAX3 top marks stem from its price and a few niggles. However, it's a solid board that'll sell well. Kudos to ABIT for trying something a little different than most. We'd have liked some form of IDE RAID, on-board power and reset switches, a guarantee that it'll reach 250FSB+ and a cheaper price. That would have made it untouchable. It's damn good as it is.
