Athlon has come of Age
Written: May 13 '00 (Updated May 13 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: VIA chipset, good documentation
Cons: limited overclocking capabilities
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| juraj's Full Review: EPoX EP-7KXA Motherboard |
Finally! An Athlon motherboard that doesn't use the old and tired "Irongate" chip set.
Basically, users who wanted to try out the Intel killing Athlon processor out had only once choice when it came to the auxiliary but so important chip set. They were stuck with original AMD "Irongate" set which really was meant to provide only the most essential of functions. All the basics were covered but as the microprocessor itself advanced in speed and new technologies came about the supporting chipset started to really show its age. AMD just did not have the resources to create an updated chipset design while other chipset makers were too busy concentrating on creating ever faster and better chipsets for Intel's Pentium III line. Not until the K7 processor started being taken seriously did it these companies wake up and realize there was money to be made. Critical mass in the consumer marketplace, rather than superior functionality, has a funny way of appointing legitimacy in the eyes of these profit-oriented enterprises. And so the VIA KX133 chipset has arrived. And so Epox is the first to incorporate this chipset in its EP-7KXA motherboard.
The arrival of this new mainboard was a low-key affair mainly due to the hubbub around RAMBUS and Intel's never-ending troubles. Most pundits and experts ignored what was to be the coming of age for the Athlon processor. If you're still using the old chipset, even in such legendary motherboard as the Asus, you're missing out. AGP x4 support and asynchronous memory clock up to 133Mhz are the main features that crown the chipset. One no longer has to debilitate other hardware, such as the new GeForce AGP video cards, so they will function with the Athlon processor.
The Epox mainboard is versatile enough to also allow overclocking - although in a less limited way than one would hope. Furthermore BIOS setup and CMOS features are top notch as well and provide the latest from power management to "health status" features. Important as well is the thorough documentation that Epox supplies with the motherboard - which up to this point has solved all of the queries I had. Overall a good start for the new Athlon era!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
juraj
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Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 7 members
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