Board revision: 1.0

Bios: AX4T R1.05 (02 July 2001)

The Aopen AX4T still includes a host of small components - apparently this manufacturer hasn't yet reached a particularly high level of integration. Instructions for a quick 18-step installation are provided in a leaflet that comes with the board. A real eye-catcher on Aopen is the shielding plate installed underneath the CPU socket to minimize leakage of electromagnetic radiation. In all other aspects, the board is well-equipped. It has a network chip as well as an AGP Pro slot that also supports high-end graphics adaptors with an additional power supply. The front side bus can be set to a range between 100 MHz and 133 MHz. The clock multiplier can be adjusted between 8.0 and 23.0. Last but not least in the array of hardware features is the endplate, while Norton Antivirus is thrown in for free. A look at the benchmark results reveals that, although Aopen might not be at the head of the pack, it still delivers acceptable performance. Of course, all the motherboards in this test perform in a pretty similar fashion.

The three voltage connectors in accordance with the new standard.

Shielding plate on the rear side of the board beneath the CPU prevents electromagnetic radiation.