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Appearance and Layout

Compared to the Gigabyte K8NNXP, the AOpen AK86-L looks a lot less cluttered due to the additional functionality found on the VIA southbridge as previously mentioned. As usual, the AOpen comes with an attractive Pearl Black PCB. The color scheme is a little on the load side but not quite as over the top as the Gigabyte series. Of particular usefulness is the color coded front panel connectors, something that we are large fans of. Unfortunately they are not labeled; fortunately, the pin outs are easily found on the Quick Install Guide instead of having to rummage through the manual for it. The rest of board is also color coded so it should be less daunting for the first time DIY.

The layout of Athlon 64 boards is much improved over the Athlon XP based ones that we have seen from the same manufacturers. Small annoyances like AGP cards blocking access to the RAM were prevalent in boards across nearly all brands. Another big problem with the amount of space around the CPU socket (usually not enough for bigger heatsinks). With the Athlon 64, it seems that a lot of these problems have been left behind. AMD, adopting a similar heatsink attachment mechanism as the Intel P4 requires a plastic bracket around the socket area so there should be no excuses for overly large heatsinks that will not fit because of capacitors that are packed in there too tightly.

Another gripe of mine is the positioning of the ATX and 4-Pin 12V Power connectors. For the life of me I could not understand why they are usually on opposite sides of the motherboard making for a wiring mess. Well someone at AOpen got it right, because they are right beside each other on the AK86-L meaning less wiring messiness inside the case.

The rear IO has the same layout as previous AOpen boards like the AK79D Max. It would have been nice to see a couple extra USB2 ports on the back; a mouse, a keyboard, a printer and maybe an USB headset would already eat up all of the ports in the rear. As we mentioned previously, there are two USB2 expansion headers on the motherboard but no brackets are included. This should not be an issue for those who have front USB ports on their cases but may be worth remembering for those who do not or think they will require more than what is available.