Impressions:
 

Box Cover Front	Box Cover Back	Features
Box	Catchy	Opened

Being that this is FOXCONN's most current Core 2 Duo Socket 'T' motherboard, one would expect a better than average or typical looking motherboard. Opening the 975X7AB box, I was greeted by several baggies containing Firewire, USB PCI Brackets, SATA cables, IDE cables, Manuals, and the Driver CD. There are also plenty of extras for whatever configuration you intend to use, whether RAID or not. FOXCONN also includes a quick reference guide explaining the motherboard and BIOS in greater detail. While we should always read the manual, the reference guide can save you some time and help you work through any issues quicker.

Accessories	Manual, Reference, CD	Quick Reference
Bios Options	Explanations	Board Details

FOXCONN has two versions of the 975X motherboards with mainly minimal differences. The 975X7AA features 2 PATA (IDE, ATA) and 6 SATA/2 devices while the 975XAB features 4 PATA, 4 SATA/2, and Digital PWM (Power Management). The most major difference between the XAA and XAB is the speed of the DDR2 memory modules used. The 975XAA uses memory specified up to 667Mhz DDR2, while the 975XAB uses memory up to 800Mhz DDR2.

Also please note that the main difference between the 975AA and 975AB boards is that the AB supports C2D/E/Q and the AA does not.
 

Front	Back	PCI and PCIE
Onboard Realtek 7.1 HD	Heat Sink on Power	Chipset Fan

As you can see, green is out! It's always a nice thing to see something other than the default green PCB and white peripheral slots. What you have here is obviously a nice red PCB with a few various other colored slots. Fortunately, FOXCONN didn't go crazy using all kinds of different colored slots. Not many people like the "rainbow" boards since they tend to make a board look more chaotic than technically organized.

This motherboard has the latest 975 chipset with ample features ranging from plenty of USB possibilities to dual PCI Express. There are only four SATA/SATA2 receptacles on the motherboard. For the average user, this isn't a problem especially since you have the benefit of the two PATA (IDE, ATA) devices such your older IDE and ROM drives which are still being purchased. Users with more than 4 SATA or SATA 2 devices may find the need for more slots later, but then this is why we have external drive storage and SATA cards.

Desktop machines realistically aren't meant to be used as a storage server which negates the need for an exuberant amount of drives connections. However, the 975X7AB does have an external SATA port next to the Serial ports for any external SATA drives or port multipliers that work with a hot swap function. This is a very nice addition to the features, especially for those needing the extra SATA capabilities.

Serial, SATA, Optical, USB, Dual LAN, Sound	Chipset, SATA Ports, BIOS Chip, CMOS Jumper
RAM, 24-Pin Power, PATA, & Floppy	Bottom PATA Connector & extra USB

Power connectors and their locations are actually pretty well placed. I personally like the fact that the 8-pin Auxiliary power connector is left of the CPU socket at the top of the motherboard. At least now the wire only passes by one side of the CPU heat sink rather than having to wrap it, possibly block air on two sides. The IDE 4-pin power connector commonly located near the Dual PCI-Express slots is placed above the top PCIE slot which again makes for an easier task of connecting power connectors.

8-Pin Aux Power

4-Pin Aux Molex

COM1, Speaker, 1394

USB connector placement is also easier to get to which is more commonly used for the two USB PCI Brackets that come with the motherboard accessories. Even the 1394 connector is accessible at the bottom of the motherboard as well as the second PATA socket. The onboard sound port is at the bottom left just under the bottom PCI slot. Quite a few people are more likely to use PCI sound cards as opposed to the onboard sound. It basically looks as though FOXCONN has placed each connection in a location based on its usage.

SATA Cable

Connected

The included SATA cables are now my new favorites and is something that the motherboard industry should have included long ago. One end is straight with a default connector, while the other end has a 90 degree connector. This should help keep the wires more organized in smaller computer cases and hard to maneuver systems.