ABIT KT7A-RAID

Company: ABIT
Product: KT7A-RAID Motherboard
Street Price: ~ $160
Complete Motherboard Spec's: ABIT-USA Spec's
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2001
Reviewed By: Jason

Overclocking:

While I encountered no stability problems running at the standard 100 or 133FSB speeds, I wasn't able to achieve any long term stability at FSB speeds greater than 133FSB with the Duron. I could boot up at 150FSB just fine (with only 2x AGP though) and could run it for about an hour or two (Running Prime95 the whole time for stability testing), then the system would lockup if I tried to run a 3D program (I would usually try 3DMark), same thing if I ran a 3D program in loops, after about an hour it would lockup.

*UPDATE*
Humphrey @ PCNut was kind enough to supply me with a 1GHz Athlon (THANKS PCNut!) and that CPU ran stable @ 150FSB! It was running smooth at 1.12GHz with no problems whatsoever. So now I'm at a loss to explain why one CPU will run stable at a higher FSB, but the other won't. I used the exact same hardware, just a different CPU. If anyone has any explanations on this weird situation, email me please. I don't know if it's a combination of the CPU & Northbridge, or it could be something with BIOS timings for the different CPU's, there are just so many variables and I only have 2 AMD CPU's to test with.

Conclusions:

The KT7A-RAID design has proven to be most excellent in layout, functionality, and performance. The new chipset promised 133FSB and that is exactly what it delivered. I like ABIT's SoftMenu III because I can do everything in the BIOS and don't have to worry about and jumpers or dipswitches to mess with. Performance-wise the increase from 100FSB to 133FSB isn't anything astronomical, so I wouldn't recommend upgrading from a regular KT7 to the new KT7A. However if you are upgrading from something older, or looking to build a new system, definitely get the KT7A as every little bit of extra performance helps.

A big reason for the push to 133FSB support is because of the 12.5 multiplier limit, meaning with 100FSB you can only get 1.25GHz, but now with 133FSB chipset can support up to 1.66GHz which should hold us over for a while at least. Another reason is the updated voltage / amperage requirements at these GHz speeds meant motherboards needed to undergo slight revisions to stay within spec.

Overall I am really pleased with my KT7A-RAID, it ran at 133FSB flawlessly, and overclocking my CPU was a breeze with the SoftMenu III. If you are planning on doing a major upgrade to your system, or building a new system, the KT7A (or KT7A-RAID) is an excellent foundation to plan around. I would recommend getting the RAID model for the few extra dollars because it gives you two extra IDE ports (or four extra device connections), and if you are like me and have a CD-ROM, CD-Burner, Zip Drive, and a pair of HD's, then you definitely need the RAID model.

Pros:
Official 133FSB Support
3-Phase Power Solution
RAID 0/1/0+1 Ability
SoftMenu III Allows Jumperless Setup
4 on board power connectors
Fan on Northbridge Chip

Cons:
Capacitors Near CPU Clips Are A Little In The Way

Rating:
10 / 10 - This board is just so sweet, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up!

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