This system is solely used for the global benchmark comparisons on this site. It has enough CPU performance for the fastest DX8(.1) cards out there and its VIA KT333 chipset ensures compatibility to older graphics cards, that can only handle 3,3V AGP. Hardware: EPoX EP-8K3A+ (VIA KT333) AMD Athlon XP-m… Continue reading
Introduction Soyo released some very interesting boards in the early 2000s with their line of D.R.A.G.O.N. motherboards. The DRAGON naming derives from its rich feature list: D – DDR R – RAID A – 6-channel Audio G – AGP Pro O – Overclocking N – Networking Continue reading
Introduction In this huge benchmark roundup, I want to show you which level of performance you can expect from different boards and chipsets, when Socket A is the platform of choice. Especially in high-end Voodoo 5 retro systems, Socket A boards with the VIA KT333 chipset are very common.. But… Continue reading
Introduction The Asus A7A266(/-E) is probably the most common ALi MAGiK 1 based motherboard and also the only model released by a major company. The -E Version of the board (which we are taking a look upon today) features the final revision “C1″ of the ALi MAGiK 1 chipset. This… Continue reading
Introduction The 8KHAL+ was a very affordable KT266A board. Compared to EpoX’ flagship KT266A offering, the 8KHA+, it has only five PCI slots, lacks the POST code display and features only a 2-phase CPU VRM. Despite the fact, that the 8KHAL+ was a product that was clearly aimed towards the… Continue reading
Introduction If you were after a high-performance Socket A board in early 2002, you probably had the Abit KR7A(-RAID) on top of your list. Abit’s KT266A board is a true classic of its generation and among the best OC boards of that time. It was brought to market several weeks… Continue reading
Introduction With the first BIOS version dated to late September 2001 and the first reviews dated to early October 2001, the EpoX 8KHA+ was one of the very first KT266A boards available on the market. The PCB Layout remained unchanged compared to its predecessor 8KHA with the KT266 chipset. Only… Continue reading
Introduction I’ve had many A7V133 boards in the past 15-20 years and I have only good memories associated with them. Although it’s been some time since I last tinkered with an A7V133, I still remember that the dot trailing some PCB revision numbers is very important. A short research on… Continue reading
Introduction The K7T Turbo was the final iteration of MSI’s line of KT133A offerings. There are aspects to it, that make it an interesting choice for a retro build. Firstly, there is a 4-pin 12V power connector on the board, with which you can supply power to the CPU. This… Continue reading
Introduction Gigabyte was about four to six weeks later to the market than many other “big players” with their KT133A board, the GA-7ZXR (Rev. 2.1). But unlike Asus, Abit and MSI for example, they made a lot of changes to the vanilla GA-7ZXR (Rev. 1.x), their previous KT133 offering. From… Continue reading
