Abit KR7A-RAID VIA KT266A socket A DDR
Tuesday, February 19, 2002
Introduction
Today, we'll be reviewing Abit's newest high-end entry into the motherboard market: the KT266A-based KR7A-RAID. As its name suggests, the KR7A-RAID comes complete with a Highpoint HPT372 ATA133 RAID controller, as well as Abit's familiar Soft Menu III system, and a long list of Overclocking functions. In a welcome act of generosity, Abit has even included 4 memory slots, and no fewer than 6 PCI slots. They do seem to have omitted to include an integrated sound-card; this may not prove to be much of a drawback though - users typically end-up installing their own cards in most cases.
Now then, let's say we get down to the review, and see what else the KR7A-RAID has in store.
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Characteristics of the Abit KR7A-RAID
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CPU
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AMD Athlon XP 1500+
~1900+/AMD Athlon 700MHz~1.4GHz or future
Socket A Processors based on 200/266 MHz(100MHz/133MHz
DDR)
Support AMD Duron 600MHz ~
950 MHz or future Socket A Processors based
on 200 MHz (100MHz Double Data Rate) |
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Chipset
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VIA KT266A VT8366A + VT8233
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Form factor
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ATX - 30.5cm X 24.5cm
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Expansion
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6 PCI - 0 ISA - 1 CNR - 1 AGP - 6 USB
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Memory
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4X 184-pin DIMM 4Gb DDR SDRAM PC1600 - PC2100
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FSB
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100Mhz to 200Mhz in steps of 1Mhz
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Vcore adj.
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1.1 to 1.85v in steps of 0.025v
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Vio adj.
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3.50, 3.65
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Audio chipset
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none
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Configuration
The Abit KR7A-RAID's design is completely Jumperless by nature; there's not a single on-board jumper to be found, other than the one used to reset the BIOS.
As a logical result, all alterations of system settings are made via the BIOS, with CPU-specific changes made primarily through the Soft Menu III menu.
Once located their, users are presented with a number of options. These include the ability to set the FSB to between 100MHz and 200MHz in 1MHz increments, set the clock multiplier to between 5X and 13X, and adjust the Vcore and Vio voltages to the values indicated by the table above, as well as set the DRAM voltage to between 2.5v and 2.85v.
Another menu option, labeled "CPU Fast Command Rate", is also present, and can be used to determine just how aggressively the processor should be addressed. As you might guess, the more aggressive the setting, the greater the hit to stability, so users should take particular care when experimenting with it...
Finally, and not unexpectedly, the "Advanced Chipset Features" menu includes a large amount of options allowing for the adjustment of various memory timing settings. The most important of these, of course, is the ability to set the independent memory bus to 100MHz, 133MHz, or SPD (Serial Presence Detect), which allows the system to determine an appropriate setting automatically.
Next: Technical details.
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