KT133A + Fastest Athlon Processor??

[KGB1]

I have a 4 sticks PC133 256MB SDRAM. Recently, I've been wanting to get in to the Athlon Action I see constantly as of late. I want to know which Athlon SDRAM supports the highest Athlon speed I can purchase. I was looking into the KT133A chipset and MSI, Asus, Abit motherboards, the Abit looks pretty sweet.

I dont want to do DDR just yet (waiting for intel Springdale dual channel ddr 333) So I have a good 1 1/2 year time for my next upgrade I want to make.

I already have:
1 GB SD RAM
Quantum 30GB HDD
TEAC CDRW
Sony CDROM
400 WATT Power Supply
3 Panaflos
Geforce 2 MX 32MB PCI (aww I know)
Case and the regular mumbo jumbo.

Onboard sound is not needed, neither is USB 2, nor Firewire. Raid would be nice I guess.

 

[harbinger52]

The MSI K7T Turbo 2 will support a xp2200 (with updated BIOS)

 

[Doh!]

Many KT133A chipset MB will support the current XPs in the market. I suggest you check here before deciding on a model. One of my systems has Iwill KK266 (KT133A chipset) w/ XP 1900 overclocked to XP 2100. But cold booting requires pressing on a reset button after hitting the power button. Newer KK266s do not have this problem (so I hear from the users w/ newer boards) but to get a feedback from a wide user base, amdmb.com is a good place to research.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: harbinger52
The MSI K7T Turbo 2 will support a xp2200 (with updated BIOS)

I'll second that, an excellent board.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: harbinger52
The MSI K7T Turbo 2 will support a xp2200 (with updated BIOS)

Wrong!

It supports XP2600+.

Talk about sweet.

 

[Peter]

... and of course, we shall not forget that there are boards that use newer, higher performing, DDR capable chipsets - and still offer both SDR and DDR slots. The most popular (and the cheapest) is ECS K7S5A (SiS 735 chipset), and there are others, like the ECS K7VTA2 (VIA KT266A chipset) or the brandnew ASUS budget brand spinoff thing ASRock K7VT2 (VIA KT333 chipset).

regards, Peter

 

[KGB1]

Woah, that MSI K7T Turbo 2 gives me something to think about. Just when I was thinking of getting the Abit mobo, but I soon found out there are "different" models for the same board, (some support Tbird only, while newer ones suport XP to 2200+) The MSI looks to be the good choice, while I could do without the Audio onboard. (can Dremel cut out the audio ports on the Mobo safely?)

Peter, I am not very fond of ECS, though they are a good company for what they do (cheap, useless products) I dont want to be stuck with a bad mobo,

Thanks Harbinger,AnyMal & Iron Maid...I mean Woode for your suggestions.

 

[chizow]

I had an Asus A7V133 (KT133A) before I made the leap to DDR and had a great experience with it. I haven't checked its max speed, but it should be able to support any socket A Athlon given the mobo maker provides a BIOS update supporting the new multiplier. Before I went to my current Epox 8KHA+, I had a 1.4 T-bird in it and also installed an AXP 1800+ before porting it over to my 8KHA+, so, it definitely supports Palominos. It also has some nice features that were pretty rare back then, like onboard RAID and decent integrated audio and OCing features that were in the BIOS (rather than dipswitches).

Just check the mobo manus site for compatibility, but don't take that as the final word, as those sites are sometimes dated. My current BIOS goes up to something like 18.5..so whatever that is x 133mhz is the max cpu it will support. They future-proof the BIOS to some extent. Also, I wouldn't go straight to a vendor for a KT133A mobo, as the last time I checked, they are still carrying price tags close to the newer boards. Run a search in the FS/FT forum and you might be able to get one for a much reasonable price.

As for cpus, have you picked one yet? If not, you should check out that AROIA/AGOIA AXP 1600+, which you can get for around $55. YMMV though depending on the quality of your RAM, and unless you have identical sticks, some may OC better than others.

As for ECS, I can see you did your homework, I've been gone for almost a year and Peter is still tooting their horn...lol.......

Chiz

 

[Iron Woode]

No need to get out the dremel tool. If you don't want to use it, then don't. Backing plates are a dime a dozen. The MSI is a great board. Make sure you get a good PSU.

ECS/Pcchips/Amptron/etc.... aren't as bad as some would like you to believe. They can be very good boards. The MSI 745 Ultra is basically an ECS K7S6A. SIS chipsets have come along way. I used to despise PCchips for years; until now. Sure they are inexpensive, but not cheap quality. They make millions of boards and that is why they are inexpensive. Companies other than VIA force VIA to compete and improve their products.