This article was originally posted here.
Introduction:
I was very excited to find the Abit F-I90HD motherboard for use in my HTPC,
primarily because it had an onboard HDMI connector.
I purchased two boards, but I ended up returning them both because of problems.
Instead I purchased two Intel DG33TL boards, read about that experience
here.
The Good:
- Onboard HDMI with 7.1 digital audio over HDMI.
At least on paper, I never got to test it.
The Bad:
- No ability to pick a boot device at POST time.
Whenever I want to boot from my USB key, or CD, or external drive, I had to
edit the BIOS settings then reboot. - BIOS screen will hang on the monitor hardware page if any fans are
connected to the AUX fan connectors.Abit support told me the fans draw too much power, but the board is rated as
6W max per fan and my Antec fans only draw 2.8W.I connected the fans directly to the PSU for power, and only connected the
fan speed monitor wires to the motherboard, BIOS still hangs.I had to disconnect the fan speed wires.
- The Vista install takes a very long time.
When the Vista install enters the last phase of the installation, right
before entering graphic mode, the Vista install just hangs.Some users on the Abit user forum recommended that I edit the BIOS and
increase the voltage for the Crucial Ballistix memory, made no difference.
The Outcome:
- I returned the boards.
Links:
Pieter Viljoen's Blog 