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KT7A RAID @ 145 FSB!

Technonut

Diamond Member
I posted this in the Motherboard forum also, but thought it belonged here too.

I just received an ABIT KT7A RAID mobo, and so far I am very pleased. No installation problems, painless setup, and very fast.

I am currently running an 1100 T-Bird underclocked to 800 to bring the FSB up to 145MHz, which gives a DDR of 290.39 , with the T-Bird at 1161MHz. So far very stable in looping 3DMark2000, and playing Q3A. I will post Sandra benchmark screenshots later.

EDIT: Everything works, including insert key reset, USB ports, with hub, modem, scanner, printer, and digital camera working well.

Sandra Memory Benchmark @ 145MHz CAS2: 615/655

Content Creation Winstone 2000 (Updated) 45.4

Sandra RAID Drive Benchmark (2 40GB Maxtor ATA 100's) 37254

EDIT: Memory settings have been tweaked a little more 🙂
 
Hey wingnut, he has a KT133 "A", not just the KT133 which is not stable much past 110mhz FSB. The KT133A is the new chipset that support 133mhz FSB!😉
 
DarkMajiq,

He's got a Abit KT7A-RAID board with the VIA KT133A chipset not a KT133. It supports FSB of 133. Anyway nice memory scores Technonut.
 
Technonut, how much did you pay for it? i just bought my kt133 and saw that they have kt133a now .. will try to exchange ..
 
KIDO1, It was around $160.00 + shipping. As a previous KT7 owner, so far the KT7A RAID is worth every cent as far as I am concerned. They are starting to become more available, so the prices probably will be lower soon. I have built 6 KT7 non RAIDS, and this is my first KT7A RAID. Out of the 5 KT7's I have built for customers, I have had no complaints. Mine was fantastic, and this current KT7A RAID is better yet. Out of the box, into my system, and no problems so far at all.
 
KT7As are all over pricewatch today Im sure the prices will fall in the coming weeks but not alot. I think $150 is as low as you will see for the Raid by the middle of next month and I think it will stay at that for awhile. I am putting order in for one allthough I dont need it but what the hell.
 
<DarkMajiq,

He's got a Abit KT7A-RAID board with the VIA KT133A chipset not a KT133. It supports FSB of 133. Anyway nice memory scores Technonut.>


Haha, you're right, shows me not to eat and post on AnandTech at the same time, the reading and typing are distracted by the eating lol 🙂
 
Hey Technonut or anyone else for that matter I have a Question. I have a KT7 now would it be worth upgrading to the KT7A?? for one I want Raid now and didnt get it with my KT7 was thinking of just buying a raid card but would rather just get the KT7A and get Raid and faster FSB to boot. what you think is it worth it ? I have someone who will buy my KT7 for $85 so it will only cost me like $90??
 
if you run your chip at 133 or more on a KT7A then it will be significantly faster than where you are now. if you can sell off the KT7 then go for it, although it probably isn't the most necessary upgrade in the world.
 
If money is a big factor, then the Epox mb will get you there (~$120).

Wait!! I take that back. I've been hearing that Epox is extremely hard to get to 133 (yes...I'm talking about the KTA3 model with KT133A chipset).
 
Lets say im running my Duron 600@1GHz at 110FSB running that at 145 FSB is a nice performace boost . Technonut
Any higher than 145 FSB with your new KT7A??
 
Sorry I have not replied sooner. I have a couple of rush systems that I am building for customers, plus I have been fooling with my new toy 🙂

I am just letting some Arctic Silver Adhesive set up on a Blue Orb that I installed on the Northbridge. I'll see how much further I can go after that. As for it being worth the upgrade, I am happy with it. It looks like another Mountain Dew night for me 🙁 , so I will post any further interesting results later... So far it is a damn good board IMHO.

Insane3D, are you up and running yet? LMK how it goes.
 
Technonut:

No, it's not setup yet. I am being tortured too. I am typing this right now with a KT7A-RAID and my Hedgehog heatsink sitting next to me in their boxes....but my 1.2ghz won't be here until Friday. 🙁 I was thinking that I might add a different heatsink to the northbridge too. When you took off the original heatsink, was there thermal compound, or did Abit just put it on without compound? Also, did you notice that in between the third and forth PCI slot, Abit put a green sticker over the &quot;KT7&quot; on the board. It looks like they still had KT7 PCB's when they switched to the KT7A....
 
Technonut: does your Northbridge chip get hot?? No matter what I clock my bus at on mine the HSF never even gets warm. I've come to the conclusion that the stock HSF are fine, have you had other experiences? LMK.
 
Insane3D, Yes, mine has a green sticker also. As for the Northbridge HSF, there was a small dab of white thermal grease on it. Not really much where it counts, but at least some. The Blue Orb pin mounting holes do not match up, so I ground the tabs off, and lapped it before I attached it.

I have not had time to mess with more tweaking yet, but I bet you will have fun with that 1200 on Friday 🙂 I can run my 1100 at a little better than 1200 at a straight multiplier, but I prefer to underclock and raise the FSB and memory bandwidth. 290 DDR is pretty good to me (especially with an OEM 200 DDR 1100 T-Bird). Be sure to post your results over the weekend.
 
Gettin my KT7A board real soon (had enough of this P150 bull). Is the chipset fan loud? I am going for a quiet computer, so the loudness is a real issue. Also, I was considering the Taisol HSF for the sys. Will it fir on the mobo? Where did you get the hedgehog, and for how much? Is it quiet? I heard the Taisol is the quietest with still good cooling... Staying away from the Orbs... have heard bad things about them.
 
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