Accessories
The fan on the left edge of the ATX panel is for cooling the power converter. The noise level is only minimal though.
Luckily they didn't forget to include the appropriate ATX panel, as the backplane's design is quite different from typical components. Also in the package was Abit's SecureIDE module alongside the usual line of suspects (user manual, installation guide, driver CD, RAID driver diskette). This unit consists of an encryption chip (Nova X-Wall LX-40) resting on a compact module that is placed between ATA/100 hard drive and controller. A small cable leads out from a FireWire looking socket to which one of the two decryption modules gets connected. Without one of these you can't decode hard drive contents, making the system secure from unauthorized access. It's interesting to note that SecureIDE runs on other motherboards too.
Along with all the other important drivers, the software CD also contains the Winbond Hardware Doctor and AbitEQ, both of which monitor system parameters such as temperature and voltage.
Alongside the ICH5R's two SATA connections, Abit is equipped with four other ports via the Sil3114 from Silicon Image.
SecurIDE gets stuck between ATA controller and hard drive and encrypts the entire hard disk contents in real-time. A good solution, though 128 bit would look better on it instead of 40 bit.
The cable set includes SATA cabling for four drives (incl. power), IDE and floppy round cable, and a panel adapter for two FireWire and two USB 2.0 ports.
The manual is not perfect, though it is comprehensive and very easy to understand.
