Documentation, Downloads, Drivers
Hardware and BIOS aside (for the moment) - the first big positive aspect when you chose a mainboard of a still existing manufacturer for your retro build, is, that you'll most likely won't have too much trouble finding documentation and BIOS files.
The support site for the A7V133 can be found easily when you go to your search engine of choice and type "a7v133 support".
Asus still offers the manual, the latest BIOS versions and even drivers for download.
Unfortunately Asus does not bundle a BIOS flash tool with the BIOS downloads and the utility is also not available for download in the BIOS & Firmware download section of the support page. The required "Aflash" utility can be found under Driver & Tools - there you have to select "Others" at the "Select OS" drop-down list:
In the drivers section of the support site, there are drivers for the (optional) VIA audio chip, the promise RAID chip as well the VIA 4in1 drivers available. The version of the VIA driver (4.37v) is not the most recent but fits the older chipset, the VIA audio drivers are from 2002. In case you want to use the (optional) onboard audio, you might be better off looking for a newer version elsewhere. The RAID driver is not exactly “ancient”, but I still recommend downloading the latest driver the manufacturer's website: https://www.promise.com/Support/downloadcenter
There is also a CPU support list directly on the board's support page, where you can easily look up compatible CPUs for the A7V133. On top of that, Asus also offers a global CPU Support search. Here you are not only able to search for a specific mainboard model but also the other way round: If you have an old CPU laying around, you can use the search form to find compatible mainboard models and maybe to get inspiration for your next retro build.
You can find it here: https://www.asus.com/support/cpu_support
The only thing that cannot be configured via BIOS is the I/O voltage. To configure it, you have to set a jumper, which gives you the following options: 3,35 V / 3,56 V / Test Mode. Apparently, Asus initially planned with lower voltages (3,30 V / 3,45 V / Test Mode), as there is contradictory information in the manual for this setting:
The imprints on the PCB are 3,35 V / 3,56 V / Test Mode, like I wrote above, with the default setting being 3,56 V. This is a fairly high default voltage and I don't recommend using the “Test Mode” setting, although I don't know exactly how far the I/O voltage is raised in this setting. With the 3,35 V setting applied, the board doesn't start.
The options for memory and chipset settings are not as elaborate as on the KT133A offerings from Abit or Epox, but definitely more extensive than the ones found on the Gigabyte and MSI boards. I was able to configure the memory timings to CL2 2-2-6 and the board showed no issues running in this configuration.
The next step was to find out the best possible distribution of the PCI cards over the five slots available. Fortunately, there is an INT routing table in the manual, so you don't have to figure this out manually:
According to this, the sharing between expansion slots and onboard devices is as follows:
- PCI #1: shared with AGP
- PCI #2: shared with RAID controller
- PCI #3: shared with (optional) onboard audio
- PCI #4 and #5: shared with USB controller
Unfortunately, the Promise controller can not be disabled completely (neither via BIOS nor by jumper), so we have only one sharing-free PCI slot (since this board doesn't have an onboard audio chip), which is slot #3. Since I know from experience, that two Voodoo 2 cards in two shared PCI slots usually don't work, we'll have to “waste” the sharing-free slot and end up with both expansion cards (SB Live! and 3Com NIC) sharing IRQs with onboard devices (RAID controller and USB controller(s)).
Therefore, the setup looked like this:
- PCI #1: free
- PCI #2: 3com NIC (shared with RAID controller)
- PCI #3: Voodoo 2
- PCI #4: Voodoo 2
- PCI #5: SB Live! (shared with USB controller)
The BIOS detects the IRQ sharing with the Promise controller during the POST and displays a warning message (fortunately only the first time when this is detected):
Despite the sharing, all tests went well and I didn't experience any issues. This changed, when I removed the Voodoo 2 cards to install the SATA controller into PCI #3 for PCI bandwidth measurement.
On first boot, not the SATA controller was detected as a new device, but the network card, which of course was installed and operational before. I experienced this behaviour before on another system and just like then, the NIC could not be installed, the driver was not accepted.
The SATA controller, however, was detected and installed fine. Because I knew removing and reinstalling the NIC would lead nowhere and I didn't have another sharing-free PCI slot available, I just completed the ATTO bench with the SATA controller and removed it from the system afterwards.
But the NIC kept behaving like before, until I removed it from the device manager, moved it into another slot and installed it again. Afterwards, it also worked fine again in PCI slot #2, where it was originally plugged in. Fun with old VIA chipsets.
Fortunately, the subsequent tests with the Voodoo 5 then completed without further issues.
Asus A7V133 (VIA KT133A)
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Layout
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Features
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Overclocking Options
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Compatibility
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Documentation & Support
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Performance: GeForce 4 Ti 4200
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Performance: Voodoo 5 5500
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Performance: Voodoo 2 SLI
OVERALL
| Pros | Cons |
| + Easy to set up | – Bad PCI performance |
| + Great CPU cooler compatibility | – Promise RAID chip cannot be deactivated |
| – Location of fan connectors | |
| – Possible issues with PCI expansion cards |