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Abit's
KR7a RAID (Via KT266A)
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Author : Martyn
Date :17th Jan'02
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3DVelocity
wish to thank Abit and particularly Lester for providing this
motherboard for review.
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...Product
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Abit KR7a RAID Motherboard
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...Manufacturer
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...Supplier
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Abit
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...Price
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£150
Approx.
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Part One: The Abit
Legacy...
Abit have been providing quality mainboards for
some time now. Most users have experienced the huge array of
options and performance offered by Abit boards in the past.
My personal experiences of these motherboards date back to the
first KT7 board offered by Abit. It was quite simply the best
board for the Athlon / Duron user available and I never had
a moments displeasure from it. While the limits of the KT133
chipset meant overclocking via the FSB was somewhat limiting
(most users reported speeds of 119Mhz at best) the sheer wealth
of options and quality that oozed from the board ensured I remained
happy with my purchase. Shortly afterward the KT7a was released
and overclocking was taken to new heights. With the newly implemented
266 FSB avid tweakers were running stabily over 150FSB for one
of the first times from an Abit motherboard. But Abit's success
not only relies upon willingness to adopt new technologies,
it also relies on the exact opposite: knowing when not to adopt
the latest chipsets. A short while ago we were all wondering
just where Abit's DDR based board was. The VIA and ALI chipsets
had been out for sometime yet Abit still kept their cards close
to their chest about their upcoming DDR board. Clearly spotting
the fact that VIA's chipset was performing worse than first
expected, Abit adopted AMD's chipset and went about producing
one of the finest DDR based mainboards to date. The KG7. By
waiting, Abit had made sure their enviable reputation for quality
boards would remain intact as their new DDR board ripped apart
it's competition on all fronts. Abit also continue to provide
excellent solutions for other CPU's too. The newly introduced
P4 based boards have taken performance and tweaking to a whole
new level. Meanwhile Abit continue to provide excellent support
for it's P3 and Celeron based motherboards.
We have all seen the excellent performance offered
by VIA's new KT266a chipset so the announcement Abit were adopting
this chipset came as little surprise. Can Abit add to their
reputation or will the KR7a turn out to be a blip in their excellent
history? Lets find out as we review the KR7a RAID...
Part Two: The Board
[1]
A quick look at the product packaging here tells
us Abit's boxes, implemented around the time of the KG7's release,
remain unchanged. The distinctive packaging has already become
synonymous with Abit's products.
The now familiar red and black packaging. 'Speed
. Stability . Power .' Certainly true of the older KG7, but
we shall see later if this is true of it's younger brother....
The only identifying features on Abit boxes are
the stickers placed upon the top of the box.
This is the first box I have seen with this sticker
on however. With compatibility so important in today's market
it's unsurprising that Abit wish to promote their XP support
fully.
Page Two: The Board [2]
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