Iwill XP333 users PLEASE READ need input!!!

[AkumaBao]

Sorry to bother all of you. My reseller just got the XP333's in, and the RAID version is $124! I'm thinking about buying it in about 30 minutes. Please tell me what problems you (XP333 users) are having, if any, before I do so that I don't regret it. Thanx everybody!

 

[Eforster]

Pretty Easy


:QALI

 

[meson2000]

There arn't any real downsides. It is the first motherboard that has offical support for 166mhz FSB.
The only downside is that it uses an ALI chipset. The rev. c that this board uses it much better than
the original ALI DDR chipset, however, it still lags behind the KT266A in terms of performance. However,
this is a mute point because once you run the XP333 at 166mhz FSB, it will blow any KT266A board
away in any benchmark. The only other problem is finding true DDR333 memory. It will be more
expensive than DDR266 and it is tough to find. Kingmax is the only memory seller that is offering
'true' DDR333 that I have seen. However, you will have to take them at there word that it is 'true'
and not just overclocked DDR266. My 2 cents.

 

[meson2000]

Buy the way, what reseller is selling the XP333 (with RAID) at $124 bucks?? Are they online??
I haven't seen any prices that low. I would buy one myself if I could get it that cheap.

 

[panhead49]

me too!!!!!!!

 

[AkumaBao]

Hehe. That was not the downsides I was looking for, I know all about the boards features, and I've been waiting for it since October 7th. I was looking for issues people were having with it. Oh and it's $124 here. The one without RAID is $107!!! I don't see why Newegg seems to be the place people buy part from when I see prices lower at this site every time.

 

[AkumaBao]

As for you Ali Bashers, I'm running a board with a Via KT266 now, which I switched from a Iwill KA266, and regret it. It didn't seem to be that much of a performance increase.

 

[Ionizer86]

KT266 almost sucked as bad as ALi Magik 1 Rev A. You should've gotten a AMD760 back then. But now, KT266A is incredible, topping all the benches. I wouldn't trust ALi. Their first Magik 1 was pretty sad. They didn't release a Rev. B bc they wanted to match KT266A, which may be quite unattainable for a while, just like how it was hard to get better DDR performance than what AMD760 provided for its duration.

One more note, the XP333 is using the Iwill KA266 PCBs. I wouldn't really want a board with recycled PCB. I don't know what I'd do to EPoX if my 8KHA+ arrives and turns out to be a modified 8KHA board with an 8KHA+ sticker on top of the 8KHA text.

 

[AkumaBao]

Please, I know what the board is, and what it has. I just want to know what issues people have been having using it!

 

[meson2000]

Actually, I have been checking around and I see that the board is pretty cheap everywhere. About
$130 shipped with RAID. Nice. I have read a few good reviews of the board. I don't think too many
people have this board because it uses ALI. I am going to wait a little while to get it too. Plus, I am
waiting for DDR333 to come down in price too.

 

[tonyou]

XP333-R user here. So far the only problems I have is I can't use Alpha PAL8045 on it and that it needs a 400W+ power supply.

I didn't spend much time overclocking it. With a Crucial PC2100 DDR 256MB, I got up to 150MHz FSB with slower default timings but decided to leave it at 133MHz CAS/RAS 2 instead. So far the system is rock solid and runs pretty fast in 3DMark (8000+) w/ OEM Radeon 8500 and XP1800+


Tony

 

[AkumaBao]

Cool. I've already got some PC2400 DDR, and didn't see that the 2700 was that much more. When I ordered the 2400 though they didn't have the 2700 in stock. Oh, well.

 

[FiveDoubleO]

I also owned an I Will K266-R

Does not crash and the performance is not that bad. I wouldnt see a difference for what I do.
When I purchased this the AMD-761 was in at about 200 bones then. This only cost me 135 with raid!

As far reusing the PCB post, I wouldnt listen to him. The PCB says KA266plusR which is the revision. Just because they change the name does not mean a thing. They were trying to ride the MS and AMD name wave. Many other companies use unused PCBs. Its not like those are returned or defunked older KA226s. I can see your concern but honestly nothing is wrong with the PCB.

Granted the VIA266A is the fastest out of the gates at normal speeds.

The I Will XP333 just holds some thing special being able to reach those speed and being rather stable.

 

[AkumaBao]

Thank you. I don't see why people bash Iwill. Probably just a bandwagon thing, but when I switched from Intel to AMD, I looked a numerous boards, and didn't know anything about the companies. I did my reserch, and the Iwill boards seem to have just fit exactly what I was wanting. So far I am Pro-Iwill, and will probably stay that way since it never gave me problems and a good first impression. The only problem I've had with any Iwill was when the KA266 came out, and I was running an ATI All-In-Wonder before the BIOS update. The stability is so great I don't think I'll ever change. Plus the price is right. I guess I'll be getting the XP333 by Tuesday. Ordered it Friday, and I will post benchmarks, and my review. Thanx to the ones who have replied, and to the ones soon to.