I/O Options

As it befits a top-of-the-line motherboard, the Foxconn BlackOps comes with an incredible array of I/O options. Let's start with the rear I/O ports (first picture below).

At the far left, you will find the standard mouse and keyboard PS/2 ports. Behind it and to the right is the 8-pin +12V supplementary ATX power connector. The orange-coloured ports are eSATA ports, which are followed by the single IEEE1394a (FireWire) port overlying two USB 2.0 ports. Next to it are two sets of LAN port and USB 2.0 ports. There are a total of six USB 2.0 ports here. Finally, you will find the optical S/PDIF out and the coaxial S/PDIF out ports.

At the lower-right corner of the motherboard, you will find the other I/O options (second picture above). At the far left is the blue IEEE1394a (FireWire) connector for a second Firewire port at the back or the front of the chassis. The white connector next to it is for an RS232 COM port for those who are still using it. Finally, there are three USB 2.0 headers that allow you to add up to 6 additional USB 2.0 ports. In all, the motherboard supports up to 12 USB 2.0 ports.

SATA Ports

The Foxconn BlackOps comes with six SATA II ports that run off the Intel ICH9R south bridge chip. They support the standard SATA II features of a 3 Gb/s peak bandwidth, hot plugging capability and native command queuing.

In addition, the ICH9R offers support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 5. It also supports the Intel Matrix Storage Technology.

Troubleshooting Features

This is one of the best features of the Foxconn BlackOps, especially for enthusiasts and overclockers who prefer to run their systems "in the nude". For such users, these features make the BlackOps motherboard much easier to use and troubleshoot.

First off, the BlackOps motherboard comes with three onboard buttons. The red button on the far left is the Power On button, while the black button is the Reset button. The yellow button allows you to clear the CMOS settings. To do that, just turn off the AC power to the power supply and hold this button for a few seconds.

The motherboard also comes with a 2-digit LED readout that displays the hardware status and allows you to troubleshoot problems with the motherboard. Finally, there is the BIOS select jumper that allows you to switch to a second BIOS in case the first is corrupted.

That's not all though. Elsewhere on the motherboard, Foxconn even included a FSB clock jumper. This jumper can be used to force the motherboard to use a certain FSB speed, irrespective of what was previously set in the BIOS. This is very useful if your motherboard fails to boot up because of an overly high FSB speed.

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support out work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!