ABIT KR7A-133 or IWILL XP333 ? Also, which DDR ?

[psxjunky]

Newegg was very kind to RMA my (sort of old) IWILL KK266-R after it proved to be flaky (at best) with my new Athlon XP 1700+ ... so now I am in the search of a new motherboard.

I am having a hard time deciding between the ABIT KR7A-133 and IWILL XP333 ... and hence turning to you guys for suggestion. Which one do you think is a better choice ? I am not planning on overclocking just yet, but I am sure I'll gather up the courage to unlock my new XP someday and try it (on my old KK266-R I was running a Duron 800 @ 1007). Also, the price difference between the two is not an issue for me ... I am even ready to spend upto $150 to get the best board possible.

After reading the VIA KT266A Motherboard Roundup - January 2002 I am leaning somewhat towards the KR7A ... but I definitely haven't made up my mind yet. That review was for KR7A-RAID, but I guess all the KR7A boards will basically be the same, including the KR7A-133 (what's the difference between the KR7A and KR7A-133 anyway ?)

I will even consider a third board if there is enough justification to do so.

So what do you guys think ? I will HIGHLY appreciate ANY comments - positive or negative.


Also, while we are at it ... I need some new memory too, since the 3 x 256MB SDRAM sticks I have now will not work with any DDR board out there. So I have been thinking about the Kingston ValueRAM 256MB or 512MB PC2100 DDR. What do you guys think of this ? Is this a good enough memory or should I go for a different one (Crucial ? Crosair ? Micron ?)

 

[psxjunky]

Or should I wait for the KT333 offerrings from ABIT and IWILL ??? Decisions ... decisions ...

 

[psxjunky]

Anyone ?

I am out of a computer at home now, and would like to place the order for the new mobo/memory first thing tomorrow morning ... so ANY replies will be HIGHLY appreciated !!!

 

[ahsia]

Okay, I don't know much about the IWILL board, but I HIGHLY recommend the ABIT KR7A. It is probably the 2nd best KT266A board, with ASUS edging the ABIT in performance. But for the price, the ABIT KR7A is the way to go. I would not go with the ASUS simply because for the money, the ABIT is just as good, and a much better overclocker if you plan to OC.

BTW, KR7A-133 has ATA133 support. Also, DO NOT wait for KT333. because KT333 is no a KT266A upgarde, it is basically replacing KT266A, with support for DDR333. With the ABIT KR7A, you can use DDR333 already, and it will support the memory speeds up to FSB 200MHz! Most boards won't be stable higher than 166MHz.

For the price and performance, there is no finer KT266A board than the ABIT KR7A.

 

[WatermelonBonkers]

I like the IWILL XP333, it does everything the ABIT KR7A-133 board does and for a few bucks cheaper (around $10 cheaper i think). Also if you look back at the KT266A motherboard roundup i do believe that the IWILL board posts slightly higher numbers than the ABIT board when they oc'ed them both

 

[AkumaBao]

I would say the XP333 all the way! It has got to be the first board I've installed and didn't have to do BIOS update on. Talk about stable!! If you can, spend the extra $10 to get the XP333-R.

 

[psxjunky]

Thanks Guys !

Any recommendation on which DDR RAM I should get ? I am pretty much decided on getting some PC2100 RAM, and would like to get two 256MB sticks or one 512MB stick. Which brand will you guys suggest ?

Thanks in advance

 

[han888]

corsair make a good ram

 

[balakov10]

Kingmax Tiny BGA is supposed to be pretty good...

 

[ShinSa]

Im using a KR7A right now and I wouldnt trade my board for anything in the world.

Im not too famillar with the IWILL but I love the design layout for the KR7A.

The HPT controllers controllers are located far from the VIA controllers which makes the board really easy to work with.

The Kr7a has more tweaking options so I'd come short of saying that "Xp333 has everything Kr7a has".

In my opinion, 4 dimm slots are unnecessary but I really love the 5 onboard fan headers.

Also note that IWILL XP333 does not use the KT266A chipset but the ALimagik chipset which is somewhat slower (not that anyone would know the difference. )

As of yet, the KR7A does not have support for 1/5 divider but that can all change with a new bios.

 

[psxjunky]

One thing I don't like about the XP333 is the positioning of the main power connector ... it is placed very badly right next to the AGP connector ! I like the layout otherwise and just wish they had changed this one thing.

As mentioned aboce, I was using the IWILL KK266-R so far ... and I am VERY happy with IWILL's support so far. I have never used an ABIT board before, but have heard a lot of good things about ABIT ... so I am very tempted to try them.

Can some of the ABIT owners please comment on how ABIT's support is ? How frequently they bring out BIOS updates ? How easy/difficult is to RMA a board if you have a problem (I know IWILL's RMA policy is simply great ... they'll even send you a new board first and then you can send back yours).

Memory wise, is there any particular advantage (or disadvantage) if I go for a single 512MB stick instead of two 256MB sticks ?

 

[ShinSa]

<< One thing I don't like about the XP333 is the positioning of the main power connector ... it is placed very badly right next to the AGP connector ! I like the layout otherwise and just wish they had changed this one thing.

As mentioned aboce, I was using the IWILL KK266-R so far ... and I am VERY happy with IWILL's support so far. I have never used an ABIT board before, but have heard a lot of good things about ABIT ... so I am very tempted to try them.

Can some of the ABIT owners please comment on how ABIT's support is ? How frequently they bring out BIOS updates ? How easy/difficult is to RMA a board if you have a problem (I know IWILL's RMA policy is simply great ... they'll even send you a new board first and then you can send back yours).

Memory wise, is there any particular advantage (or disadvantage) if I go for a single 512MB stick instead of two 256MB sticks ? >>



Abit does not have cross shipping but then again, if your board is reliable like the KR7A, you wont need to RMA it in the first place.

This is just in my opinion but I frown upon companys that keeps updating their bios. This simply means that the new bios is supposed to fix problems and issues with the board. Why didn't they just get it right the first time???

I purchased an EPOX 8KHA+ after seeing many great reviews. I built the system around for my friend but she had a restart problem and had trouble booting. I flet so sorry for her since i promised I'd build her a stable system. Upon close inspection the board was a revision 1.3 which many people on this forum have had problems with. I swapped it out with an ASUS and shes very happy now.

I've recently purchased another epox for a different friend and it was a reviosn 2.0 which worked flawlessly.

As you can see why I frown upon revisions and bios updates but this is in my opinion and Im not saying that either ABIT or IWILL has more revision than other.

Im sure each companys had their share of updates already.


One last thing. If the cost of those sticks are same, stick with 1 512 mb. It'll give you less headache.

 

[ShinSa]

<< Okay, I don't know much about the IWILL board, but I HIGHLY recommend the ABIT KR7A. It is probably the 2nd best KT266A board, with ASUS edging the ABIT in performance. But for the price, the ABIT KR7A is the way to go. I would not go with the ASUS simply because for the money, the ABIT is just as good, and a much better overclocker if you plan to OC.

BTW, KR7A-133 has ATA133 support. Also, DO NOT wait for KT333. because KT333 is no a KT266A upgarde, it is basically replacing KT266A, with support for DDR333. With the ABIT KR7A, you can use DDR333 already, and it will support the memory speeds up to FSB 200MHz! Most boards won't be stable higher than 166MHz.

For the price and performance, there is no finer KT266A board than the ABIT KR7A. >>



Uhm, i beleive the KT333 will OFFICIALLY support 166. The current KT266A does not support it officially.

Check your pci divider. It does not have a 1/5 divider which means your PCI is always running out of spec.

KR7A-RAID comes with 2 ATA133 controllers, and 2 ATA100 controllers while the KR7A-133 has 4 ATA 133 controllers. No biggie there.

I purchaed a ASUS AV7E and i beleive it's an excellent board. Not all that good for overclocking though. Sort of like a mundane rock stable board like Intel makes. I just hate how you cant control the voltage w/o fiddling around with bios updates.

 

[dmhinz]

I have a single 512MB stick of Mushkin PC2700 and have nothing but good things to say about it. I'm using a P4 board w/ an SIS chipset so I have a 1/5 memory diviser and can run my RAM @ 167MHz. I get nearly the bandwidth of RDRAM using PC2700 and bench much higher that I did using PC2100.

I'm also looking at the IWill board to replace an aging AMD system (2nd pc). My biggest turn off w/ the IWill board is the ACER chipset - I have yet to own a quality product from ACER. Right now I'm leaning toward the new Gigabyte KT333 board. The via266A was a good chipset and since the KT333 is almost identical (adds DDR333) it makes sense to assume it will be equally as good.

I'd definately go w/ PC2700 over 2100 but, you might want to check out PC3000 from www.ocsystems.com I just ordered 3 sticks from them and hope to have it by Friday. They are very cheap on price but, high on shipping and have a painfully slow 3-day processing time

-D

 

[Stang289]

<< This is just in my opinion but I frown upon companys that keeps updating their bios. This simply means that the new bios is supposed to fix problems and issues with the board. Why didn't they just get it right the first time??? >>



Alot of times the BIOS updates are to support new components. I have built some systems with the MSI K7T Turbo motherboard. I am glad MSI updated the BIOS, because now I can upgrade to the newer AMD XP processors.

 

[psxjunky]

Thanks for all the info, guys !

Does the KR7A allow setting the PCI and AGP dividers thru BIOS or jumpers ? I believe lack of this feature in my previous IWILL (KK266-R) was the cause it was so flaky when I set the FSB to 133.

Also, the reviews I have been reading shows that most XP333 benchmarks are slightly lower than competitors. How much of a real significance does that have ? Can you even tell these differences in a day to day work environment ?

Do any of you have had the rare first hand experience of using both the KR7A and XP333 ? In general most people who own an ABIT seems to recommend it and anyone who owns an IWILL prefers IWILL ... so I am trying to get a neutral opinion here ...

 

[psxjunky]

Any other thoughts on the KR7A vs XP333 issue ?

 

[rbV5]

I can't say anything about the KR7A, but I do like my new XP333-R. Easy setup, no issues as of yet. Strong points are the memory bandwidth at higher FSB and excellent ide transfer rates. My Kingmax PC2700 is nice as well. cas 2 to 188 FSB, can run it up to 202 FSB cas 2.5 before it starts getting unstable.

Nearly 5300 3dmarks(2001SE) with the 6043 drivers in XP with my AIW 7500 (300/420), and playing 1600x1200 in UT for the first time, seems to be a great all around board.

 

[ShinSa]

<< Thanks for all the info, guys !

Does the KR7A allow setting the PCI and AGP dividers thru BIOS or jumpers ? I believe lack of this feature in my previous IWILL (KK266-R) was the cause it was so flaky when I set the FSB to 133.

Also, the reviews I have been reading shows that most XP333 benchmarks are slightly lower than competitors. How much of a real significance does that have ? Can you even tell these differences in a day to day work environment ?

Do any of you have had the rare first hand experience of using both the KR7A and XP333 ? In general most people who own an ABIT seems to recommend it and anyone who owns an IWILL prefers IWILL ... so I am trying to get a neutral opinion here ... >>



Everything on Abit is done through the BIOS. You will not have to touch a single jumper during the life of your board.

 

[lessell]

Both the xp133 and the abit kr7a are good boards. With no overclocking the kr7a will perform at a higher level the the Iwill board because the via chip set just out performs the ali chip set. Both boards are highly overclockable the results depend upon the skill and the other components of the system but both have all the options necessary for great results. Both companies support their products well with necessary bios updates when new specs become necessary. Iwill's customer service is really excellant while abit's is sufficient at best. I built upgraded my system from a kk266 to the kr7 because I wanted the best performance I could obtain without unlocking the xp to allow extremely high fsb speeds. It is currently rock stable at 11x150. I'm sure you will happy and satisfied with your system with either of these boards.

 

[psxjunky]

Okay, one last question (hopefully ) - what is the best place to buy the Memory from ? I am pretty sure I'll get the mobo from Newegg, but I am not sure where to find the best price for the memory. I have decided to get a single 512MB stick of PC2100 but haven't decided on the brand yet. I am leaning towards Corsair or Micron.

How is the Kingmax stuff ? Who sells this ?

 

[billyjak]

I have 2- 256 sticks of crucial in my Abit KT7A Raid board, great memory and oc/well
I would get the Abit board with crucial memory.
Kingmax is ok, but crucial is better.

 

[jsmckenna45431]

The XP333 finished just ever so slightly behind the KT266a boards in multimedia benchmarks at factory settings, but left them all behind after a little overclocking. The 266a boards couldn't compare when it came to IDE throughput either. I own both an XP333 and a Shuttle AK31a, and I must admit that the XP333 leaves the Shuttle in the dust. As far as RAM goes, I would recommend getting some good PC2700 if you plan on getting the most out of the XP333. The performance gains above 166FSB are phenomenal. The XP333 also has AGP/PCI dividers in the BIOS, so the only thing overclocked at 166 are your memory and CPU.......the AGP and PCI busses remain in spec. My 1.33 Tbird outperforms an XP1600 in SiSoft Sandra2002Pro in multimedia benchmarks.

 

[lessell]

If you are going to overclock your memory then go with the corsair, or crucial, I have nanya 2x256 running max settings on the kr7and it is performing fine but I don't think you would get the overclock out of it that you would the crucial or corsair.

 

[psxjunky]

<< If you are going to overclock your memory then go with the corsair, or crucial, I have nanya 2x256 running max settings on the kr7and it is performing fine but I don't think you would get the overclock out of it that you would the crucial or corsair. >>



I'd love to get a Corsair, but the sticks are soooo expensive !!! 512MB PC2100 Corsair at Newegg is $168 and 512MB PC2700 Corsair is a whopping $206 ! Is there a better place to buy these ?

Also, does anyone know if the Corsair PC2700 is TRUE PC2700 (333MHz) or just overclocked PC2100 (266 @ 333) ?

Will I see a significant performance increase if I decide to fork over the extra 40 bucks for the PC2700 memory ? Is the difference in speed noticeable ?

Mobowise, I am pretty much decided on the XP333-R now, since it seems to be at least equal or better than the KR7A and is a lot cheaper ($109 @ Newegg).