A good Athlon/Duron motherboard
Written: Jun 02 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to set up, inexpensive, a good MB for an inexperienced computer builder
Cons: No DDR memory support.
The Bottom Line: If you want an inexpensive route to upgrade to a 1Ghz+ CPU, the Abit KT7 is a good choice, though not the fastest option.
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| elsaf's Full Review: Abit KT7 Motherboard |
I selected the ABIT KT7A because I've had good luck with previous ABIT motherboards, and it was quite reasonably priced ($129).
My only warning is: Watch which fan header you plug the CPU cooler into. There are two side-by-side, and I chose the wrong one first. This didn't result in any damage, but it did make the board power up and immediately shut itself down. It took quite a bit of research before I discovered the problem. In short, this board monitors its components and if you plug into the wrong fan header, it thinks you're trying to power up without a CPU fan -- something that would destroy your Athlon CPU in about 8 seconds flat (according to AMD).
Other than that, this project went without a hitch. I used a 1.1Ghz Athlon CPU, 256MB of PC133 SDRAM, a Seagate UDMA100 7200rpm hard drive, Antec 400W power supply, and a 16MB ATI Expert AGP video card. The result was a computer that runs like a dream, and does all I expect of it -- though it's not the fastest kid on the block.
To get the full benefit of the Athlon CPU, you need a board that supports DDR RAM, something the KT7A doesn't. That doesn't bother me, though. I'm not a gamer, and blazing speed isn't my primary consideration. My major use for this machine is running Adobe Photoshop as a drawing program (I'm a digital artist), and the performance boost I got in moving from an AMD K-6-II 500mhz processor was well worth the very reasonable cost.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 129
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Epinions.com ID:
elsaf
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Location: Eastpointe, MI
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 1 member
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