After MSI’s seven-motherboard AMD 780-series chipset assault, Abit is retaliating with a single mobo based on the competing GeForce 8200 chipset from Nvidia. Dubbed the A-N78HD, the new motherboard combines full Socket AM2+ support for Phenom processors with an integrated DirectX 10-class Nvidia “motherboard GPU” that boasts high-definition video decoding capabilities.
Physically, the A-N78HD is based on the Micro-ATX form factor, so its expansion is limited to one PCI Express x16 slot, one PCIe x1 slot, and two PCI slots. Nonetheless, the mobo has four DDR2-1066 memory slots, six 300MB/s Serial ATA connectors with RAID 0/1/0+1/5 and JBOD support, one IDE connector, and one floppy connector. On the rear I/O hub, you’ll find HDMI, DVI, and VGA display ports as well as FireWire and Gigabit Ethernet ports. Abit has even implemented four-phase pulse width modulation for the processor power delivery circuit, which it says allows greater overclocking potential.
Because it’s based on the GeForce 8200 chipset, the A-N78HD also supports Hybrid SLI functionality. According to Abit, the new board supports both GeForce Boost and Hybrid Power technologies—the former allowing a mainstream discrete GPU to be paired with the IGP for higher performance, with the latter allowing users to save power by plugging their display into the integrated graphics port and tapping into a compatible discrete graphics card as needed.