Layout and more features
The layout of the Albatron K8X800 Pro II is
pretty nice, and I especially like the positioning of the ATX power, and
IDE headers. If you're using a longer videocard you'll have to remove it when
installing system memory, but that's a small price to pay for the luxury of six
PCI slots.
As in typical Albatron fashion, all the device headers
(USB, IEEE 1394, etc) are placed at the bottom edge of the motherboard where
they are easy to access, and out of the way of your PCI peripherals.
The Albatron K8X800 does not have a version that comes with an Athlon64 processor,
and so I'd expect the board to retail for around $180USD. So far, MSI
are one of the very few companies to offer their K8 motherboard in a
high-end version that ships with an actual Athlon64 3200+ CPU.
The
motherboard is fairly well detailed and Albatron does a great job with the user
manual and the quick installation guide. If you ever get lost simply refer to
those two pieces of documentation and they'll help you find your way.
For
enthusiasts, one
of the biggest features of the Albatron K8X800 is its ability to
lower the CPU multiplier... but more on that later
in the review.
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