Installation and Testing:

After removing the old motherboard and reinstalling the components of choice, a fresh copy of Windows was installed. The latest motherboard drivers and updates were installed as well. Sisosft Sandra XI Professional was used to check Bus and CPU performance. As for 3D performance, Fear with its latest patch was used in the testing. The final stage of the tests included overclocking and finding the optimal maximum frequencies the motherboard was stable under.

The Test System

Plenty of Cooling

First, we I needed a quick tour of the BIOS to get familiar with its layout and organization. To be honest, this is one of the easier BIOS layouts I've worked with thus far. It wasn't hard at all to figure out or manage the pages. And in case you haven't noticed, the red background is kind of cool. Anything, but pastel or neutral colors are welcome.

BIOS Menu	SoftMenu Setup	SoftMenu Setup
Memory Timings	PC Health Status	More Health Status

Test System:

• Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo

• ABIT Fatality FP-IN9 SLI

• 2x1GB OCZ Flex XLC PC2-6400

• 7600 GT PCIE Super Clock

• Bluegears 7.1 b-Enspirer Audio

• Thermaltake 700 Watt Toughpower

• 2x80GB Seagate SATAII

• Windows XP Pro SP2
   

Three days in to fully testing the motherboard, I realized that while this board may not have every single bell or whistle as its older brother the IN9 32X-MAX, it performs absolutely rock solid. Even during overclocking and testing, the platform is simply a stable choice. When the motherboard didn't like one of my BIOS settings, it simply seemed as though it just needed powering off and on to get it back to form. A quick BIOS change and it was back to testing.

"Impressive!"

Stock performance is quite good and bested the 975X motherboard that is the closest Intel chipset comparison I could find. Base model 975X motherboards tend to have reach the same frequencies as the 650i chipset, yet are considered flagship motherboards for many other makers. Only a select few seem to have the benefits of the 965X chipset in the area of overclocking. Compared to many other boards, the RAID installation went well without issue and 3D graphics never once let me down.

What about the Supercharged System Bus you ask? Does it impact or have any positive or negative effects? Heck No! The motherboard exhibited that Bus speed potential in one specific test. SISOFT's Memory Bandwidth benchmark scored 5620 MB/s the first test and the results continued to increased each consecutive refresh till the results topped out at 7507 MB/s. To confirm these results, I swapped the memory out with some Patriot PC2-6400LLK and repeated the test once more. The results were close with 5660 first test and eventually topped out at 7503 MB/s. 

Higher is Better

During a few demos of Quake 4 and Fear, I noticed that the FP IN9 SLI a bit smoother under settings that the 975X motherboard seemed to struggle with even though test results were pretty close. The first couple of graphics test showed an average frame rate change from 53 to 63 as the game test progressed. The Fear test demo gives you both highest, lowest, and average frame rates. The 975X had comparable scores in the highest frame rates. The FP IN9 SLI had better scores at the lowest and average frame rates. No doubt, the System Bus makes a bigger difference and helps in the graphics department.

FP IN9 SLI @ 63 FPS Avg	FOXCONN 975X @ 53 FPS AVG
FP IN9 SLI @ 168 FPS	FOXCONN 975X @ 159 FPS

Despite the already factory overclocked System Bus, the motherboard does have a little bit more to offer when it comes to overclocking.  At 1300MHz Front Side Bus, it passed stability testing while using AUTO and manual voltage settings in the BIOS. The system reached a maximum 1333MHz Front Side Bus in both Linked and Unlinked in the BIOS although it wasn't quite stable revealing a few Windows program issues. Relaxing the memory timings to 5-5-5-15 didn't help stabilize the platform. Being this close to stable leads me to believe that a few more BIOS tweaks like adding more chipset voltage would get it where it would be perfectly stable.

1333MHz Front Side Bus

4-4-4 @ 1000MHz

5-5-5 @ 1000MHz

If you recall, the ABIT Fatality AN9 32X came with AudioMax which was just a bit better than basic onboard sound. Alas, the onboard audio proved to be plenty sufficient unless you are an extreme audiophile needing some extra functions that only upscale external Audio Cards have to offer. The sound quality will be more than enough for the gamers who choose to use the onboard audio for their next game or desktop system. Besides, you spend that extra money you would have spent for a more expensive audio solution on a worthwhile upgrade you may really need.

Conclusion:

Performance is surprisingly good, yet well worth every penny. The layout is simple and clean with very few real issues in terms of connectivity or function. Features are right on with the 650-SLI Chipset and offer the Supercharged System Bus. This is further evidence the 650-SLI is quite a bit more capable with a little extra juice under the hood. Overclocking aside from the Supercharged System Bus is still decent, but not quite what any extreme overclocking enthusiasts would need. It's best work is done in game and during those hard hours behind the keyboard slaying monsters and fragging the world.

With a Supercharged System Bus, what more could you want from the ABIT FP-IN9 SLI Motherboard? If you do not intend to overclock, why spend money on a more expensive motherboard? Any other NVidia 6xx highly overclockable motherboard will cost you quite a bit more which is why this one of the simplest choices you could make if you don't have a lot to spend and want good frame rates instead. The platform offers a little bit of both worlds, including SLI capabilities. Gamers of all styles will appreciate its stability, layout, and design. The Supercharged System Bus is quite the benefit which helps keep those frame rates and bandwidth up, while keeping the price down. It's really an easy choice and fills a void many gamers have been waiting for. Don't get caught with your frame rates down! You can grab this board at newegg right now for just $136!