Announcement

**Greebe** · 12 February 2001, 10:10

The G400 works like a charm on all of these MB's.

**Easty** · 12 February 2001, 12:13

I use mine great with a A7V and the latest A7V133 BIOS.. Most stable machine I've had in ages... But I set a machine up for a lady friend of mine which used a A7V and the older version of the G400 max.. the AGP 2X version.. the one without the 4A on the box code.. and I couldn't get the damn thing to stop locking up with bus mastering turned on..

------------------
Ath SOC1 750Mhz,G4MAX,Asus a7V, Vortex 2, Maxtor+ 40 30GB, 256Mb(133)

**Wombat** · 12 February 2001, 13:03

I built a system for my cousin using the MSI K7T Pro 2A. It's a nice board, and runs great in his system with a G400. When I looked around, people seem to like the 2A over the 2 more than I had expected, and I didn't mind, since the 2A was cheaper.

However, if you're going KT133, I'd consider the KT133A. I really couldn't be happier with my Epox 8KTA3. It's fast, stable, really tweakable, and easy to configure just the way I want. The only thing people seem to consider a downside with this motherboard is the placement of the ATX connector. It is different, but it didn't cause any problems for me or anything.

------------------
Epox 8KTA3 w/ Duron 850@7*133 with Alpha 6035, 256MB Crucial 7E, G400MAX,SBLive!-MP3,Pioneer 10x DVD, Plextor 12/10/32A, IBM 45GB 75gxp, and a Sony 420GS. Running RH7.0 (2.4.0-final), and Win98 (when I have to).

**smcguire** · 12 February 2001, 13:52

Wombat: Thanks for the reply. I like the price of the MSI K7T Pro 2A but I dislike the lack of an ISA slot. My 56K modem is 16-Bit ISA! I don't want to have to replace it as well! I also don't like the CNR slot. What a waste! I am leaning towards the Abit KT7A (KT133A) but I will check out the Epox board as well.

--Stewart McGuire
smcguire@banet.net

**ccoltas** · 12 February 2001, 19:37

How do I know if my G400 Max is AGP 4x or 2x?? Without actually trying to run it in an AGP 4x board? I have as asus K7M right now and it has a max of AGP 2x, which my card is running at.

I wouldn't make your motherboard purchasing decision based on having an ISA modem, personally anyways. I have a PCI winmodem I bought for $20.00 and its fast and sweet. Unless you need a DOS/LINUX etc modem. But I know what you mean about not being forced to buy something new. Its just that a modem can be found cheaper than anything else needed for you system except for a floppy.

What about the MSI K7T Turbo when it comes out? Or do you want to buy right now? MSI's K7T Turbo KT133a chipset board is STABLE as a rock:

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1410

I would say go for one of these:

Abit KT7A-Raid;
Asus A7V133;
EPOX EP-8KTA3;
MSI K7T Turbo.

**Wombat** · 12 February 2001, 20:20

I really like MSI, and kind of hate getting rid of my MSI-6167. However, Epox seems to have the crown again. MSI has no ISA slots on the later boards. Ick.

**DGhost** · 12 February 2001, 20:28

The EPoX boards are awesome, stable boards. I've used and built computers using all of the 8KTA line, and they have all been exceptionally solid boards. Have seen less problems coming from these boards than i have coming from Abit's... damn nice boards....

**Wombat** · 12 February 2001, 20:45

I know that Joel always had bragging rights with his SS7 Epox, but I read a lot of bad reviews of the 8KTA and the 8KTA2. The 8KTA3 is a complete redesign though. It seems to have paid off. And the BIOS code display is a nice touch.

**DGhost** · 12 February 2001, 22:02

the MVP3C and MVP3G series were excellent. some of the few SS7 boards that worked flawlessly and set up easily. the 8KTA series has seemed to fit this.

the major problem(s) that we have seen with the 8KTA/8KTA+/8KTA2 is that 1) performance is usually not quite as good as the other boards, mostly due to a lack of tweaking options, and 2) they do not overclock as well, for the same reason.

We have also noticed a problem with the 8KTA2 and 8KTA3 that we believe is related to the 686B southbridge. The things will not work properly with an IDE zip drive.

Personally, the lack of tweaking options is not a bad thing, as it increases general stability of the board by not trying to fiddle with 'fancy' settings. And, speed is so excessive now that does the 1-2% difference cause that many problems?

The zip drive problems on the other hand is kind of a pain in the ass as we use zip drives alot at work - alot easier to move files around that using a CD-R/RW drive cause they don't require extra software....

the 8kta3 is an awesome board - i consider it more of an evolution than anything else tho. they only added a handful of new features, and most of the ones they added are only useful for overclocking. the ones that are not overclocking related are pretty trivial, with the exception of the KT133A chipset.

**Wombat** · 12 February 2001, 22:43

I have to side with the reviewers that did not like the 8KTA/+/2, citing stability issues, and believe that this new layout must have helped.

**smcguire** · 13 February 2001, 06:31

Thanks everyone for your comments! They have been very helpful! I think I am set on the EPOX 8KTA3 board. Not sure how soon I will buy (these things have to be budgeted right below diapers <grin> )!

ccoltas: I just happened to find a PCI modem on OnSale.com last night for $10 so that eliminates my ISA need but I would still rather have an ISA slot than a CNR or AMR slot!

--Stewart McGuire
smcguire@banet.net

[This message has been edited by smcguire (edited 13 February 2001).]

**DGhost** · 13 February 2001, 07:57

I dunno... have not seen to many boards that can handle a GeForce2 MX and a SoundBlaster Live sharing an interrupt... with the onboard sound enabled and another sound card installed... and all the other slots filled with network cards or modems...

and will still run UT just fine...

what kind of stability issues have you seen?

**Wombat** · 13 February 2001, 10:17

Go to www.epox.com and read the 8KTA3 reviews, for example. The reviews all seem to be less than impressed with past Epox boards. They're not exactly stability issues, but seem to be in reference to OC'ed stability, which is a factor for me.

smcguire,
You might want to start shopping around now. The 8KTA3 boards were on a 2 week backorder when I got mine, but that was partly due to CNY celebrations, I think. I got mine from www.lynncomp.com.

**rylan** · 13 February 2001, 10:51

Personally I have the Epox 8KTA2 board, and its rock stable with my G400MAX and overclocks well also. The board does have a lot of tweaking options in the bios, and also performs very well.
From what I've been hearing of the 8KTA3, it is also a great board. Both retain 1 ISA slot for legacy devices, and have ATA/100 support of course.

Announcement

Bets Socket A Mobo with G400MAX

Bets Socket A Mobo with G400MAX

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment