KT333 - Impressions and thoughts

Discussion relating to Socket 7 hardware.
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fireburns
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Posts: 45
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2001 7:57 am

KT333 - Impressions and thoughts

Post by fireburns »

All, <br><br>A family member recently outgrew their VA-503+ system, so I took the opportunity to give them my iWill KA266-R board and upgrade myself with a Gigabyte GA-7VRXP. I got a chance to install the board earlier this week and thought I'd relay my impressions...<br><br>I made the choice after reading a review of KT333 on Tom's Hardware (<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/ ... index.html).">www6.tomshardware.com/mai...dex.html).</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>I loathe the AC'97 codec, but also had concerns regarding the CMI 8738 chipset and issues with the gameport under WinXP. Unfortunately, pretty much every Athlon board these days has one of those two onboard. Mostly AC'97.<br><br>That's when I came across the GA-7VRXP. (Specs at <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.giga-byte.com/products/7vrxp.htm).">www.giga-byte.com/products/7vrxp.htm).</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> I did some searching for reviews, and all seemed to be OK.<br><br>I was impressed with the motherboard bundle, as it came with *3* ATA 100 cables, A usb 2.0 bracket and a USB 1.1 bracket. That's 8 USB ports. It also came with an ATX backplate to fit the board. Most boards I've gotten make you buy the USB brackets separately. Maybe that's just me...<br><br>Software bundle included Norton Firewall, Norton AntiVirus, a system health monitor and a GUI-based overclocking utility. The overclocking utility was full of bugs, but I have yet to fully play with it.<br><br>The board itself is slightly smaller than the iWill board was, and the layout was pretty similar. The caps appear to be far enough away from the socket to not be an issue for larger heatsinks, and mine (<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.nexfan.com/29/206.htm?293)">www.nexfan.com/29/206.htm?293)</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> fit just fine. They give you a pinout for front sound connectors on the board (which was neat, but I'll never use it). I like the inclusion of the clip on the back of the AGP slot in order to keep cards properly seated. I know it's not a new idea, but it's the first time I've had a board with the clip.<br><br>My biggest complaint: only TWO fan headers on the motherboard. I had to y-cable one of the headers to hook everything up (I have two case fans, a blowhole and my CPU fan). Even then, I'm keeping a close eye on that so as not to overstress the header.<br><br>The RAID controller on my iWill board never woke any hard disks connected to it, and the Gigabyte board does do this correctly, in addition to being an ATA133 controller. BIOS gives you the ability to set the controller as RAID-0, RAID-1 or pure ATA133.<br><br>I don't really notice a sound difference in typical Windows operation, but the sound in Jedi Outcast seems to have improved after tweaking it a bit (note SEEMS). I'll probably test things out with a DVD some time over the weekend. Benchmarks (hopefully) to come as well....<br><br>Overall, I gained a good bit in the way of performance (due to the fact that I upgraded to an XP 1800+ at the same time), APM works like it should now, and I gained a lot in the way of upgrade path...<br><br>just my random impressions..<br><br>-fire <p></p><i></i>
fireburns
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Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2001 7:57 am

Hmm...

Post by fireburns »

Let's try that link stuff again:<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/ ... <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>www.giga-byte.com/products/7vrxp.htm<br ... br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>
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blue
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Re: Hmm...

Post by blue »

ALWAYS wait for the 'a'<br>KT133(no 133 support)<br>KT133a(good stuff)<br>KT266(not much better then the KT133a)<br>KT266a(good stuff)<br>KT333(no 166 support)<br>KT333a(who knows) <p>vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv <br>Duron 1ghz@1.17ghz<br>Iwill KK266plus<br>256mb Ram@148mhz<br>C-media 3D soundcard<br>Geforce2 Ti 250@295mhz, Mem 400@485mhz<br>1GB harddrive<br>Windows XP(DASHIT!!!)<br></p><i></i>
p3 1ghz laptop
geforce2 go
256mb ram
Old Elf
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Posts: 137
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2001 2:13 am

Re: Hmm...

Post by Old Elf »

LOL<br>no A this time just SOO VIA don't look so BAD ASS stuppid<br>there next chip will be "400"<br>my Iwill xp333 is a 400 board just not " supported "<br>at that speed. the memory is in the works .............<br>elf'n magic1<br>LOL :-P <p></p><i></i>
io333
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Re: Hmm...

Post by io333 »

WTF are you doing running case fans off the mobo? <br><br><br>!!! (!) ?? <p></p><i></i>
Elf n Magic1
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Posts: 12
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Re: Hmm...

Post by Elf n Magic1 »

no just a delta fan on a alfa pal<br>feels like a hair dryer thought LOL<br>( sounds like one too <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> )<br><br>elf speed mach II coming soon !!!!<br><br><br>Parts list as of 4-25-02<br>xp1800- sometimes at xp2050 LOL<br>461 enermax PS<br>alfa pal 6035 delta blower<br>IWill XP333 at 388 cough cough<br>corsair PC3000 CAS 2 normal<br>WD 120BB...........7200 ATA100...... (video storage)<br>WD 30BB (software drive)<br>PCI modem (lucint)<br>cable modem (usb)<br>SB 16 PCI<br>radeon AIW <br>DVM (to keep the voltages honest)<br>bla bla bla mouses,video camera,scanner 4 printers.<br>K6-III+ 650 system getting dusty<br>IWill KA266-R in now for backup LOL nice board TOO!!!!<br>arhmmm oh ya clip fan 2speed blowing air when needed<br>(mach 1) on MB at memory, also feeds CPU HS and Northbridge.<br><!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br><br>Nice bundle Fire, you are right! most don't give up the good stuff<br><br>Elf<br><br> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub70.ezboard.com/uelfnmagic1.sh ... age=EN>Elf n Magic1</A> at: 4/26/02 3:14:52 am<br></i>
fireburns
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More info...

Post by fireburns »

Blue -> Good point, and I actually considered the same trend before buying the board. Then again, there's always something better around the corner in today's tech market.<br><br>IO -> The reason for running the case fans off the mobo is twofold: 1) RPM monitoring 2) RPM control (ie, running the case fans at a lower speed while running a DVD or a higher speed while gaming).<br><br>Speaking of which, there's no real change in sound while playing a DVD. Then again, my puny subwoofer/2 sat. system leaves something to be desired.<br><br>I also found that there's only one audio connector on the motherboard, so I'm only able to plug one of my CD drives in. While I can live with this, it's still kinda a pain.<br><br>Still working on those benchmarks. Turns out my KA266-R and Viper II video card don't like each other. One issue at a time....<br><br>-fire<br> <p></p><i></i>
anzigo
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Joined: Tue May 28, 2002 10:54 pm

KT333 does support FSB166

Post by anzigo »

Hey, the KT333 does support FSB of 166 and contrary to many reports by ppl that should know better, the KT333 DOES SUPPORT a PCI divider of 1/5... that means that you still have PCI and AGP running at stock speeds (33 and 66 MHz)<br><br>On my Asus A7V333, the 1/5 (33/166) PCI divider comes into effect at an FSB of 160 and higher.<br><br>This KT333 based Asus A7V333 board has been rock solid and a great performer. Also, the onboard firewire support is mighty handy.<br><br>Oh yeah, before I got this setup, I had a K6-2+ in a FIC VA-503A motherboard... If you are having IDE errors in win2k/XP, turn OFF "Spread Spectrum Support" and "Auto DIMM clk control" in the BIOS... fixed my prob after months of fretting. This problem seems to be occuring with many ppl that have Via chipsetted motherboards...<br><br> <p></p><i></i>
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