The AOpen AK77-333 is a pretty basic KT333 motherboard, with only dual ATA-133 IDE ports, 3 DIMM sockets and the standard ATX backplate. The board does support USB 2.0 through an included bracket and has 5.1 AC'97 audio, but does not feature on-board RAID or LAN capabilities. AOpen has included the option of DualBIOS protection, but in our review board, this was an option and there was only a blank space for the second BIOS chip. Processor setup options were spread out between hardware and software, with the multiplier selectable through a dip switch, while front-side bus (FSB) speeds and core voltages are handled by the system BIOS.
The AOpen AK77-333 retail box contains the motherboard, one Floppy cable, two ATA-66/100/133 EIDE cables (jet black), one USB 2.0 bracket, a driver CD, a bonus Norton AV 2002 CD, and a hardcopy user manual and quick install guide. This is pretty well what you would expect, but we felt that while the quick install documentation is excellent, the full manual should have covered the more detailed areas of the BIOS, rather than leaving it up to the user to experiment.
The overall layout of the AOpen AK77-333 is quite good. There is ample room to install and remove a heatsink-fan (HSF), and although there are a few capacitors in close proximity, these don't really come into play and the board itself has a lot of lateral room for large heatsinks. The DIMM sockets are placed high on the board, and are well above from the AGP video card.
In performing our GeForce4 Ti 4600 test, we noticed the board has absolutely no components below the AGP card, and the IDE and floppy connectors are also placed high and well out of the way. Even the ATX power connector is well positioned, and from an overall perspective, the AOpen AK77-333 is a very well designed motherboard. It also perfectly matches the ATX format and offers a great fit (with no board overhang) when installed. The only possible complaint is the position of the USB 2.0 connectors, which may be a problem for older, longer PCI cards in the bottom slots.
AOpen motherboards have historically been an absolute breeze to install and the AK77-333 is no different. One of the benefits of going with a more Spartan design is that both the hardware and software setup is incredibly easy and even new users should be up and running in no time.
If there is one area that AOpen could improve on, it is the overclocking setup. It all looks good from the specifications, as all the features are there. But the CPU multiplier and FSB dividers (100/133 only) are hardware-based, while the FSB speeds and core voltages are available in the System BIOS. This makes the AK77-333 a fully-featured motherboard, but one that whose hybrid design is a bit more difficult to actually use and brings with it limitations in high-end FSB overclocking.
If a fast and stable system is your goal, and overclocking will be kept to a minimum, then the AOpen AK77-333 is a very good option. It is easy to setup, performs very well and has one of the better layouts we've seen. Overclockers have better options, but for more general users, there are definitely advantages in both cost and installation, associated with going the more basic route.
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