When AMD launched the Athlon processor last year, they had a CPU superior to Intel's then best offering. Yet, many users didn't choose it because the available motherboards were unstable. Choices were limited to only a handful of boards, all with stability issues, and none was as refined as boards designed for Pentium III processors. Most motherboard manufacturers decided to sit on the sidelines for the first generation board release cycle. Abit was one of them. They released the KA7, after ironing out the problems other boards were encountering, in time for the second generation release cycle.
Abit's KA7 Motherboard Specs
CPUs Supported
AMD-K7 AthlonSlot A, 200MHz FSB 450-800
Bus Speeds
100-183MHz (in 1MHz increments)
System Memory
Four 168-pin DIMM sockets support PC100/PC133 SDRAM modules Supports up to 2GB max. (Chipset supports only 1.5 GB.) 6 chip Data Buffer Set Supports ECC
Chipset
VIA VT8371(KX133)/VIA 686A
Expansion Slots
1 AGP, 6 PCI, and 1 ISA
Internal/External I/O
On board Bus Master IDE Ports supporting UDMA 33/66 PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Connectors 1 Floppy Port (up to 2.88MB) 1 Parallel Port (EPP/ECP) 2 Serial Ports 2 USB Connectors On board USB header for two extra USB channels
Form factor
ATX (approximately 30.4 x 23cm)
Miscellaneous
Built-in Wake on LAN/Wake on Modem Built-in IrDA TX/RX header One Thermal Sensor Cable Included VIA VT8371(KX133)/VIA 686A Supports Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (ACPI) Supports AGP 2x/4x (Sideband) 3.3V device Supports 100/133MHz Memory Bus Settings SOFTMENU III Technology
Summary
Price
Street
$127
+ Six PCI expansion slots Four DIMM slots 84 FSB settings Excellent stability - AMD moving to Socket A architecture
No onboard sound
Not OEM friendly
Overall
The KA7 is a virtually flawless board. It is for overclockers of the Athlon CPU as well as any midrange to high end Athlon user.
Setup as tested: AMD Athlon 700MHz 128MB PC133 SDRAM Sony 5x DVD drive 20.4GB Maxtor ATA/66 7200rpm hard drive Diamond MX400 sound card Diamond Viper II 32MB Windows 98SE
The Board
The board is definitely geared towards individual user needs instead of the desires of system integrators. The first and most obvious example is the lack of a now common AMR slot. While rarely used by home builders, major OEMs use this slot to add features like 56K modems. People building their own systems will rarely find a use for an AMR slot, so it is generally a non-issue for non-OEMs. The board also lacks onboard sound. Many motherboards today include CPU powered AC'97 codecs for low cost integrated sound solutions. This is another OEM favorite that is not present on the KA7, but most custom PC enthusiasts would rather add in one of today's inexpensive audio boards due to their lower CPU utilization and superior quality/feature sets.
Another feature of the board is its four layer PCB design. For quite some time now six layer motherboards have been out in force. The six layer design is slightly more expensive, but at the same time has shown itself to result in more stable boards. VIA's reference board for the KX133 chipset was on a four layer PCB, so Abit felt safe using the cheaper process.
Abit did go all out when it came to memory expansion. Unlike most Athlon motherboards today, the KA7 incorporates four DIMM slots. The KX133 chipset supports a maximum of 1.5GB of memory, and at today's 512MB densities, three DIMM slots would be enough to reach the maximum. The fourth slot is there so that a user can use a larger number of cheaper, lower density modules to reach high levels of onboard memory. Near the DIMM slots, there is a Texas Instruments memory buffer made up of six chips. The usefulness of this feature can be debated; it will come into play only when all four memory slots are filled, meaning that, for most users, this is a small concern.
Abit also was nice enough to go with a 6/1/1 expansion slot arrangement. One AGP slot has been standard issue for a long time, thus is nothing special. The one ISA slot is there for users who have ISA peripherals that they need in their new Athlon powerhouse system, and will probably not be used very often. The inclusion of six PCI slots is nice. Since the ISA slot is all but dead for today's peripherals, the more PCI slots the better.
Three things would help the board be the best on the market, and could perhaps be included in a future updated version. First, the DIMM slots will get in the way of larger cooling assemblies. While not a major issue unless all four slots are needed and the cooling unit is a monster, it still may be a concern for some people. Second, on the board there are silk screened spaces for ATA/100 slots. (This has already been accomplished on the KA7-100.) Although few hard drives can utilize that much bandwidth today, it would be a nice feature for forward expandability. Last would be onboard IEEE-1394 (FireWire) connectivity. While probably not feasible today due to the extra cost involved and the limited availability of Firewire peripherals, it would make a nice addition to a future revision of the board when the cost and benefit of adding this would be justified.
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