Features:   

Retail Box:

Retail front	Retail rear	Preview window
Open flap	Full View	A box in a box

    The retail box for the new Sapphire motherboard is more in line with the rest of the retail packaging. The box is white to match the motherboard on the inside, which can be viewed through the front window. The front of the box has a flap that is held in place with some Velcro, and under this flap is the window and a small list of features. The back of the box lists the specifications of the motherboard.

Contents:

Manuals	CD's & Unidentified Black Object	Included Cables
Firewire Bracket	USB Bracket	SPDIF I/O
Video Bracket	Serial Bracket	DVI Card

    Some manufacturers load up the box with tons of extra hardware, while with some others you are lucky to get a cable. The Sapphire folks usually fall in the middle with just enough gear to get you going. The contents of the PI-AM2RS690MHD are:

• 1 IDE ribbon cable

• 1 Floppy cable

• 2 Molex to SATA adapters

• 2 SATA cables

• SPDIF In/Out PCI bracket

• VGA PCI Bracket

• S-Video/RCA Video out PCI bracket

• DVI Expansion card

• Software and Driver CD's

Motherboard Layout:

PI-AM2RS690MHD

AM2 Socket

Rear Bracket

Chipset Functions

    This is the section were I go over the layout of the motherboard and explain some of the components. The PCB on the Sapphire motherboard is white, but to me it looks like it has that glow in the dark paint covering it with a slight greenish tint. Unfortunately, it doesn't have that on the motherboard, and it does not react to an UV light very well. The CPU bracket is held to the motherboard with screws to the back plate, versus some that have snap on brackets. The AM2 socket is the typical ZIF socket.

    Working our way around in a clockwise pattern, the RAM slots are up next with a total of four slots on this motherboard. They are: four 240 Pin DDR2, Dual Channel DDR533/667/800 slots, can handle up to 8GB.

    Next is the ITE IT8712F-A, which is a Super I/O device with Environment Controller integration. IT8712F provides the most commonly used legacy Super I/O functionality plus the latest Environment Control initiatives, such as H/W Monitor, Fan Speed Controller, ITE's SmartGuardian function, and Smart Card Reader Interface. IT8712F meets the Microsoft PC98/99/2001 System Design Guide requirements and is ACPI and LANDesk compliant. There are twelve logical devices integrated in IT8712F. IT8712F features the enhanced hardware monitor providing 3 thermal inputs from remote thermal resistors, or thermal diode-connected transistor (2N3094).
 

PWR/Floppy Header

IDE/Front Panel I/O

SATA/SB600

LED's

    Below the ITE chip are the floppy header and the motherboard 24pin power header. Working our way down the motherboard, we find the Primary IDE header along with the front panel header connections, four SATA headers, Phoenix BIOS chip, and the Southbridge SB600 chip. The ATI SB600 Series offers advanced technologies and superior performance to any chipset platform solution for AMD or Intel-based desktop and mobile applications. With superior performance and broad-based connectivity, SB600 is rich in all the latest advanced features such as 10 USB 2.0 ports and HD audio. Designed for full data access for the fastest Windows Vista experience, this Southbridge features new disk controller technologies that ensure fast file access while providing encryption for data security. ATI SB600 is designed with advanced power management for low power consumption and energy efficient platforms. (- From the AMD website.) Next to the front panel header are two flush mount LED's: one red and the other green. The red LED stays lit all the time to indicate that the motherboard is getting a constant 5 volts from the power supply. The green LED is the power indicator LED for the motherboard.

Expansion Slots

Realtek Chip

SPDIF/Audio/TV Out

    Moving around to the lower left corner, at the bottom there are two USB headers and one IEEE header. Moving up, there are the two PCI slots, one PCI-E x1 slot, and one PCI-E x16 slot. Just behind the PCI-E x1 slot is the RTL810S-32 Gigabit Ethernet chip. In front of the two PCI slots is the Realtek ALC882D, which supports Dolby Digital Live output and SPDIF input and outputs with the included bracket. The front panel audio header is in this location also.

    Just about smack dab in the middle of the PI-AM2RS690MHD motherboard is the new AMD 690G Northbridge chipset. The AMD 690 Series chipset delivers a Windows Vista™ Premium experience, handling the rich Aero™ user interface and the most demanding workloads with ease. Coupled with the latest AMD processors, the AMD 690 Series offers exceptional experience in today's graphics and video applications. For the first time ever on an AMD chipset, the AMD 690 Series features Avivo™ technology, delivering the most vibrant images and smoothest video playback for the home or the office. This platform delivers the most stable and reliable experience for commercial use, businesses have the peace of mind of a highly capable platform. With more display choices than ever before, the AMD 690 Series Chipset is the first chipset with integrated HDMI and DVI outputs. Whether it is digital multimedia, 3D gaming, commercial applications or everyday computing, the AMD 690 Series Chipset is the platform of choice. (- Again from the AMD website.)

Audio Ports

USB/LAN Ports

VGA/HDMI/PS2

    Lastly are the rear panel I/O connections, with the 2 PS/2 ports for the mouse and keyboard, 25pin parallel port, HDMI port, VGA port, a DVI port (can be found on the included PCI expansion card,) four USB ports, one LAN connection, and six port audio connections.