Signal Ground: AOpen’s AX34 Pro II a.k.a. the Black Beauty [Motherboard Review]

[ Thanks to Tom
Moran for this link. ]

“If you’re in the market for a unique Socket 370 motherboard
with a cool look and features galore, you’ll definitely want to
consider the AOpen AX34 Pro II mainboard. This is yet another full
featured design built upon the ever popular VIA Apollo Pro 133A
chipset and sporting a unique black PWB material (hence the
nickname – Black Beauty). The SignalGround team employs OSes
ranging from Caldera OpenLinux 2.4 to Red Hat 7 and even Windows ME
as we explored this board’s stability and compatibility.”

“If your getting the impression that AOpen is one of our
favorite motherboard manufacturers, you’re right. Not only have we
been extremely impressed by the quality of their products, AOpen
openly supports Linux (as evidenced by our past industry
overview article). The last Socket 370 board from AOpen we
reviewed, the AX3S Pro, got a totally thumbs up review as we stated
that it was among the elite boards we?ve been able to test.
Following on the heels of that excellent design comes this new
design being referred to as the Black Beauty, the AOpen AX34 Pro
II. The picture below can’t really do justice to how cool it is to
see a board laminate that is totally black. It’s a real head turner
to finally get to hold one in your own hands and give it a closer
inspection.”

“The AX34 Pro II is based on the VIA Apollo Pro 133A (694X)
chipset and includes the majority of features found on all previous
Apollo Pro designs and even adds to that list. AOpen decided to use
a specially formulated BLACK PWB laminate for this board to give it
a very distinctive look and hopefully add to its high end appeal.
Previously AOpen had used the BLACK PWB material on a specially
released Millenium edition of the AX6BC. Also included is an extra
large silver aluminum heatsink on the VIA northbridge chip which
adds to the board’s overall good looks.”

Complete
Story