Abit Kt7 RAID Question

[LXi]

<<One thing is painfully apparent...Member rating has no correlation to member intelligence....This may apply to me as much as anybody, but one thing is for sure>>

This statement sounds like you're trying to imply that whoever disagree Abit being the best is dumb. Im sorry dude, but thats not much different from being a racist, I may have higher member rank but its not something I brag about. Your statements showed little about your intelligence because they're never justified, I can care less about how good the KT7 is, but the best you can do is keep saying &quot;KT7 ownz j00&quot;. Come on now, I've seen much better Abit zealots than you.

Oh yea, btw, have you guys ever had any experience with boards other than Abit? That tells a lot about why you praise Abit as well, 'cause 9 out of 10 times all they have owned is Abit.

 

[PCResources]

Hmm, that does it, this thread was good, but now it is dead.

LXi had some points there, where he pointed out that none of the sites recommending Abit actually uses Abit for their own purposes.

I do not recommend, nor would i use Abit ever again, there is a story to this, but it has been told so many times and i hate repeating myself.

Patrick Palm

Am speaking for PC Resources

 

[billyjak]

I have the Abit KT7 Raid and the MSI Pro2
Both boards are well made and both are fast.
I like the Abit for adding devices, cheaper option than buying controller cards seperately and works well.
MSI Pro2 would be the choice if you want to buy a Promise or Abit Hot Rod 100 card.
Both Boards are of High Quality, so let your choice be yours and yours alone, that way outside influence dosen't piss you off as much if something goes wrong.

 

[Shockwave]

Well, I have to agree with Patrick for once...This thread is dead! LXI, No, Abit is not the best. Its what I prefer (did anyways) But, to me, Asus, Abit, either one and you wont go wrong.

Final thoughts....See yain the next thread where we can all once again have a good time

 

[LXi]

<<to me, Asus, Abit, either one and you wont go wrong.>>

MSI is still crap in your book right? Nevermind, no more of this crap.

 

[Stormblade]

What do you think of this system setup. It's nearing the time when I'll start building it.

Case : SuperMicro Case (SC760-A)
CPU : AMD Athlon 1.2 Ghz
MB : Asus A7V Motherboard
Video : Asus AGP-V7700 Geforce2 GTS Deluxe (64 Meg DDR)
Memory : PC133 SDRAM DIMMS (256 megs+)
Monitor: Viewsonic 21&quot; Monitor (Not sure which Model Yet Price req around
$600)
RAID : FastTrak100 ATA100, 7200 RPM
HD : IBM Deskstar 75GXP 45 Gig ( 2 of em to start off )
Sound : Sound Blaster Live Platnum 5.1
CDROM : Kenwood 72X
UPS : Smart UPS 1500


Case : http://www.supermicro.com/PRODUCT/Chassis/sc760A.htm
CPU : http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/athlon/index.html
MB : http://www.asus.com.tw/products/motherboard/socketa/a7v/
Video : http://www.asus.com.tw/products/addon/vga/agpv7700d/index.html
Memory : http://www.crucial.com
Monitor: http://www.viewsonic.com
RAID : http://www.promise.com/Products/ideraid/ft100page.htm
HD : http://www.storage.ibm.com/hardsoft/diskdrdl/prod/ds75gxp40gv.htm
Sound : http://www.creativelabs.com/sound/live-platinum-51/
CDROM : http://www.kenwoodtech.com/72x.html
UPS : http://www.apc.com/resource/include...SU1400NET&amp;language=EN&amp;country_code=US

Here's an interesting review on the Fastrak100 vs SCSI based

http://www.gamepc.com/reviews/hardware_review.asp?review=cheetahx15&amp;page=2

 

[Stormblade]

I bought one Abit board because I heard so much about em. I returned it that same month and got an ASUS based board. I was told by a bunch of people that I should give them another chance and that I just got a bad board.

Well, that was my first and last Abit. As long as ASUS makes an alternative I'll probably go with them. They've never let me down. I've used INTEL boards as well as an Acer board I think it was long time ago and now I stick with ASUS if I can.

 

[LXi]

I thought you posted a thread about your setup, anyway, I would swap the A7V with the MSI K7T Pro2, and I would consider Samsung or KDS 21&quot; instead of the ViewSonic. The TrueX is NOT a good CD-ROM because most of the time it will have difficulty reading your CDs, I would recommend TEAC or Toshiba CD-ROMs instead.

 

[Shockwave]

What?! The TrueX is an AMAZING cd-rom!! Actually, j/k! =) No, thats one point we *definitely* agree on, the Phillips arent the best drives out there.... Wow, this thread is gettin hammered to death
As for MSI...

M ostly
S crap
I nside

I'm joking again, can you joke? ...Nothing wrong with them, most mobo makers out there arent bad....But I'm stickin wit abit

 

[AbRASiON]

Well the KT7 reviewed well at so many places that I figure it cant be too bad.


Either way mine's on it's way, and I have every intention of &quot;figuring out&quot; how to get it working optimally and stably like everyone else.

 

[LXi]

<<Nothing wrong with them, most mobo makers out there arent bad....But I'm stickin wit abit>>

You call us close minded, and yet, I findd the above statements being very close minded. You dont seem to look at offers by other companies at all, even if there are better offers you'll still deny it. Just some authority on the matter, you havent owned any non-Abit boards, right? Well I own all three, Abit, MSI, and Asus. I think you should try the other companies out once in a while so you get see more than just the Abit logo when you wake up, just the same reason why you want us to give Abit a try.

Awful
Bitter
Incompetent
Trash

 

[Stormblade]

Lxi, Yeah I did. Still new to this forum format and didn't get any e-mail notifications about any replies in it and I thought I subscribed to it. Let me go looking for it again then.

But in any case, thanks for the replies. The CDROM was a last minute addition and not something I was going to spend my time on. If I were gonna do the SCSI thing this time around I'd get the Plextor but for IDE CDROMS I have no idea of the good ones.

This one seemed to get good reviews and all that but I'll check out the others you mentioned. Teac you say?

The format of these messages is very difficult. I prefer threads formatted with the replies cascading. You know, the traditional view.

Also, can you give me some reasons why you feel I should swap the Asus A7V with the MSI MB you mentioned? What advantage will that offer me?

 

[LXi]

Well... many here believe had problems with the TrueX, its very expensive, not very reliable, and readability just falls flat. Yes its extremely fast but like I said 50% of the time it wont read anything. The TEAC CD-540E 40x is a very high quality and performance CD-ROM, highly recommended by many, if you're considering getting a burner and copy some software, Toshiba would be a good choice too.

As for swapping the A7V for K7T Pro2, I have a few reasons, first of all the K7T Pro2 is $20 cheaper than the A7V, second its the most stable KT133 board around, Anandtech even use them in the servers which host these very forums, and finally its overclocking design is fully jumperless, multiplier adjustment, front side bus, voltage, everything can be done in the BIOS, the A7V requires jumpers to set the multiplier. I just thought it would be a better buy for you.

 

[Stormblade]

Lxi,

Thanks. That does sound nice. I didn't know if the Asus A7V was jumperless although I'm used to jumpers. I'm not a big overclocker or fiddler with my settings once I get it in which is why I tend to go with Asus. They are stable. The board you mention sounds good as well but Asus is a name I know and trust and if the other doesn't give me too much over the A7V except for features I'm not likely to use I'll stick with Asus.

I have changed my config to the Teac CDROM so it looks like this now:

Case : SuperMicro Case (SC760-A)
CPU : AMD Athlon 1.2 Ghz
MB : Asus A7V Motherboard
Video : Asus AGP-V7700 Geforce2 GTS Deluxe (64 Meg DDR)
Memory : PC133 SDRAM DIMMS (256 megs+)
Monitor : Viewsonic GS815
RAID : SuperTrak100tm Ultra ATA/100 RAID 3 &amp; 5 Card
HD : IBM Deskstar 75GXP 45 Gig ( 2 of em to start off )
Sound : Sound Blaster Live Platnum 5.1
Speakers: Desktop Theater 5.1 DTT2200
CDROM : Teac 40x CD-540
UPS : Smart UPS 1500
KeyBrd : Microsoft Internet Keyboard
Mouse : Microsoft Intellimouse Pro

I'm trying to get a price quote from a local company on this monster and see what I'll have to hobble together. I saw that Micron is offering systems that use the new DDR memory although I haven't seen em anywhere else and although I'm itching to get the latest and greatest, there are advantages to NOT being on the bleeding edge.

 

[LXi]

Just to let you know, I own Asus personally, I've had excellent experience with MSI, they're labeled #2 behind Asus, but in reality they're just as good, both Asus and MSI are ranked above everything else. So I just want to say that you're not gonna go wrong with the MSI. But if you have your mind set, I have little reason to go on.

The monitor, consider a better one. The KDS AV-21TF, with Sony FD Trinitron tube, can be found for as little as $700, it can do 2048x1536 @ 75Hz, excellent image quality, great warranty policy.

 

[Stormblade]

Lxi,

Yeah on the motherboard unless I change my specs dramatically as in getting DDR memory and such I'll probably stick with Asus since they've never let me down.

However, on the monitor, WOW. You sold me on that one. Flat screen and that high of a resolution! The equivalent ViewSonic I think sells for close to $1,000 so I've changed my mind on the monitor. I guess you're paying more for the name than anything. Thanks for the lead.

 

[LXi]

First of all I dont like ViewSonic as a brand, second the GS810 is not that good of a monitor, so I think you're much better off with the KDS. Here is a couple of places to them,

Amazon.com $698, plus there is a $15 coupon, free shipping.
Onvia.com $703, free shipping.

 

[Shockwave]

http://anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1335&amp;p=6
&quot;You have to believe that Microstar is catching up to ABIT and ASUS.&quot;

http://anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1328&amp;p=5
&quot;In the end, the KV200-R is a solid attempt by Iwill as their first entry into the Athlon motherboard market, however with the presence of solutions such as the ABIT KT7-RAID, the ASUS A7V and the Microstar K7T Pro, the KV200-R will find it very hard to compete.&quot;

http://anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1296&amp;p=6
&quot;AnandTech's Editor's Choice Award is very rarely given out, simply because it takes quite a bit of effort to impress us to the point that we feel a product deserves it. ABIT's KT7-RAID has most definitely convinced us that it is deserving of the award, other than maybe the ASUS A7V, there is no other Socket-A motherboard on the market based on the KT133 chipset that you should consider to act as home to your new Athlon/Duron.&quot;

http://www.apushardware.com/?action=hardware&amp;id=22&amp;order=&amp;select=12&amp;showall=1
&quot;This board gets the 99% since it's the best KT133 motherboard out there. Plain and simple.&quot; - Apu's talking about the Abit

http://www6.tomshardware.com/mainboard/00q3/000919/kt133-27.html#conclusion
&quot;The winner of the test is the Asus A7V. This board convinces with its excellent performance, leaving all competitors far behind. The updated version comes with DIPswitches that allow changing the multiplier of Socket A CPUs (with closed L1 bridges). This makes this board ideal for overclocking. The A7V also possesses an UltraATA/100 controller that drives newer hard disks to peak performance.

A secret tip for overclocking fans is the Abit KT7. The multiplier can be changed in the Softmenu of the BIOS if the L1 bridges on the Athlon or Duron are closed. The KT7 is also available in a more expensive version with IDE RAID controller. For what it's worth, the KT7 lacks sound functionality. The AOpen AK33 and the Soltek SL-75V are solid products in the medium range. Both boards are well-equipped, run stable and offer good performance. Regarding performance the IWill KV200-R gets last place. It couldn't convince in this category.&quot;


I'm through arguing...Read the reviews for yourself.....

 

[LXi]

Reviews mean little to me, and to everybody else. Its a good reference, but rarely do the represent the reality. Plus those reviews are so outdated, the K7T Pro2 was not out by the time those reviews took plcace. Eitherway, you have proved nothing to me, MSI is still better than Abit, period. Instead of digging up quotes from the reviews, why dont you spend some time and answer my question? Are you afraid? Or are you too close minded to give a direct answer to my question?

Oh yea, got any good monitor suggestions?

 

[Stormblade]

Well now, I wouldn't say reviews mean little to me. The first thing I do is go and read every review I can find on a product with an eye on the date of the reviews. That's my first step.

Then I hit forums like this and ask for people's opinions and experiences with the products. Then I talk to friends and co-workers and see if they have any additional insights.

Then I take a look at it myself and not being a hardware guru I won't understand deep specs but I will understand many features like with the FastTrack 100. I was geeked. All reviews looked good. People were raving about it. I came here and heard PCResources speak against it which made me re-evaluate it. I went and found out it only supported RAID-0 and RAID-1. Well it may be great but for my purposes? Nope. I want RAID-5 if I can get it.

So Reviews mean alot to me I just don't base my decision purely on them.

 

[LXi]

<<So Reviews mean alot to me I just don't base my decision purely on them.>>

That is very well said, reviews are only mean for reference, a review is not a law that everybody has to follow, somehow I think shockwave is trying to make us think that way.

 

[PCResources]

<< . I came here and heard PCResources speak against it which made me re-evaluate it. I went and found out it only supported RAID-0 and RAID-1. Well it may be great but for my purposes? Nope. I want RAID-5 if I can get it. >>



I'm glad i could help.

Patrick Palm

Am speaking for PC Resources

 

[Stormblade]

Hey PCResources,

What do you think about the Promise SuperTrack 100 RAID controller? Does RAID-3 and RAID-5. Better than the FastTrack I think. Any experience with it?

 

[PCResources]

It would be better than the Fasttrak, but still, you probably read my private response on what i think about IDE RAID.

I think it would be a good solution, but i would rather invest my money in a single SCSI drive and a cheap controller.

If you are going to run RAID 5 you would need at least 3 disks and that cost would be better invested in a SCSI solution, get the Raid adapter from the start, and you can add disks later.

Patrick Palm

Am speaking for PC Resources

 

[Stormblade]

No I didn't read your private message. It says I don't have any private messages. I am seriously thinking about going back to SCSI. But man the cost. The controllers though look like they're around the same price but the hard drives are the pain. Well, I'm still saving so we'll see.

If I go the SCSI route I will definately be getting top end which will cost me money up the butt.

Can you even have RAID-5 SCSI with only a single drive? If not that means lots more money for me. Ah well, let me ask this, what controller do you recommend? I saw the Adaptec Ultra 160 SCSI or something like that and I like Adaptec