Friday, September 15, 2000

Introduction

The ECS K7VZM is a Socket A, microATX format motherboard. It's also the first Socket A board of this particular format that we've tested. As a result of its small form factor, the K7VZM's expansion options are necessarily more restrained than full-figured ATX motherboards. So, it stands to reason that the primary buyers of this particular type of board will be those among us seeking to construct a basic computer system, or else need a Socket A logic-board for some sort of embedded application. With that in mind, let's get down to business, and take a look at our latest Via KT133-based contestant...

The features

The K7VZM's is expandable via its 2 PCI slots, AMR slot, and single AGP port; sorry, no ISA slots to be found here! There are also 2 168-pin DIMM sockets which can support upto 1.0GB of PC100, or PC133 memory. As you can tell, this is a fairly simple list of expansion options, but that does come as a natural result of the board's small size.

Configuration of ECS's K7VZM is accomplished entirely from within the BIOS. Inside the "Frequency/Voltage Control" in particular, there lays the option of setting the Front Side Bus to a frequency ranging from 90MHz, to 124MHz, including: 90Mhz, 95Mhz, 104Mhz, 100Mhz, 105Mhz, 112Mhz, 117Mhz, and 124Mhz.

Unfortunately, no option is available for altering the processor's core voltage.

Finally, an option within the "Chipset Features Setup" BIOS menu allows the operating frequency of the memory bus to be set to a value 33MHz higher or lower than that of the FSB.

Technical details

There is more than sufficient space available for the installation of a processor heatsink.

The memory slots have been placed far enough from the AGP port that the memory retention clips stand little chance of coming in contact with an installed graphics card.

There are 12 2200Mfd capacitors surrounding the processor socket, which - in our opinion - provide excellent power supple filtration.

The locking lever of the CPU socket is made of metal, and is located sufficiently low that it shouldn't obstruct the installation of a large heatsink.

Due to its small format, this board can be installed in practically any enclosure.

Next: Additional features.