Recently we tested a second
lot of the VIA KT333 based boards. Today we are going to close the subject
with 5 more boards thanks to the combination of the KT333 north bridge and VT8235
south bridge. Besides, as many our readers are interested mostly in speed we will
add the fastest models from the two earlier parts. It will let us find out the
fastest VIA based mainboard for the Socket 462 (see the review
of the chipset).
Test conditions
Testbed:
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Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2100+ (1733 MHz), Socket 462(Socket A)
-
Mainboards:
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Memory: 512 MB PC2700(DDR333) DDR SDRAM DIMM Samsung, CL 2
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Video card: ASUS 8200T5 GeForce3 Ti500
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Hard drive: IBM IC35L040AVER07-0, 7200 rpm
Software:
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Windows 2000 Professional SP2
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DirectX 8.1
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VIA 4-in-1 4.38
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NVIDIA Detonator 28.32 (VSync=Off)
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VirtualDub 1.4.9 + DivX codec 5.0 Pro
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WinAce 2.11
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BAPCo & MadOnion SYSmark 2002 Internet Content Creation
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BAPCo & MadOnion SYSmark 2002 Office Productivity
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MadOnion 3DMark 2001 SE
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idSoftware Quake III Arena v1.30
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Gray Matter Studios & Nerve Software Return To Castle Wolfenstein v1.1
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DroneZmarK
Here is a comparison table of the boards examined today:
| Board |
Chaintech 7VJL |
FIC AN17 |
Jetway V333DA |
Shuttle AK35GT2R |
Soyo KT333 Dragon Ultra Platinum Edition |
| Links |
Chaintech 7VJL |
FIC AN17 |
Jetway V333DA |
Shuttle AK35GT2R |
Soyo KT333
Dragon Ultra Platinum Edition |
| Chipset |
VIA KT333 (KT333 + VT8235) |
VIA KT333 (KT333 + VT8233A) |
| Processor support |
Socket 462 (Socket A), AMD Duron, AMD Athlon, AMD
Athlon XP |
| Memory slots |
3 DDR |
3 DDR |
3 DDR |
4 DDR |
3 DDR |
| Expansion slots |
AGP/ 6 PCI |
AGP/ 5 PCI/ AMR |
AGP/ 5 PCI/ CNR |
AGP/ 6 PCI |
AGP Pro/ 5 PCI |
| I/O ports |
1 FDD, 2 COM, 1 LPT, 2 PS/2 |
| USB |
2 USB 2.0 + 2 connectors for 2 USB 2.0 |
2 USB 1.1 + 1 connector for 2 USB 1.1 |
2 USB 1.1 + 1 connector for 2 USB 1.1 |
2 USB 1.1 + 1 connector for 2 USB 1.1 |
2 USB 1.1 + 1 connector for 2 USB 1.1 + 2 connectors for 2 USB
2.0 |
| Integrated IDE controller |
ATA133 |
| External IDE controller |
- |
Promise PDC20265R |
- |
HighPoint HPT372 |
HighPoint HPT372 |
| Sound |
PCI Audio, C-Media CMI8738/PCI-6ch-LX |
AC'97 codec, Avance Logic ALC201A |
AC'97 codec, Avance Logic ALC201A |
PCI Audio, C-Media CMI8738/PCI-6ch |
PCI Audio, C-Media CMI8738/PCI-6ch-MX |
| Integrated network controller |
10BaseT/ 100BaseTX |
- |
- |
- |
Realtek RTL8100B |
| I/O controller |
ITE IT8705F |
Winbond W83627HF-AW |
Winbond W83697HF |
Winbond W83697HF |
ITE IT8705F |
| BIOS |
2Mbit Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00PG |
2Mbit Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00PG |
2Mbit Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG |
2Mbit Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00PG |
2Mbit Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00PG |
| Form-factor, dimensions |
ATX, 30.5x23 cm |
ATX, 30.5x24.5 cm |
ATX, 30.5x21 cm |
ATX, 30.5x24.5 cm |
ATX, 30.5x24.5 cm |
Test results
The MPEG4 didn't reveal the difference between the new boards, the leader of the
second part Abit KX7-333R thrives here as well - it outscores its closest competitors
by 4%, and losers by 6%.
The WinAce archiving gives close scores making the difference a bit clearer. The
speed of the Abit KX7-333R is higher by 9% as compared with the outsiders FIC
and Soyo. However, in the WinAce the Gigabyte comes very close to the leader -
it lags behind only by 2%, and the Chaintech and Shuttle are also just a couple
of percents behind the second position. Well, the last winners - Abit and Gigabyte
turn out to be the most efficient boards here as they exchange data with the memory
most intensively.
In the SYSmark 2002 the memory throughput is not the most vital factor in the
test. Here we have new leaders - Chaintech and Shuttle (their results are almost
identical in all tests). The Gigabyte is 2% behind, and the Abit doesn't shine
in the business tests - you might see it in the last tests (probably because of
the worst organization of the hard disc access). The outsiders do not change:
FIC and Soyo.
In the 3DMark working in high resolutions the difference between the participants
is almost unnoticeable - those who work better with the memory have better scores,
the Gigabyte is ahead this time. The layout of the new-comers remains the same.
The victory of the Chaintech tangles the situation, especially considering quite
low results of the Abit. The different between the fastest and slowest boards
is less than 5%.
Conclusion
Well, it's quite complicated to single out a leader. Different groups of
the tests reveal different winners; still, giving credit to the Abit KX7-333R
for the best scores in the memory-intensive tests and and to the Chaintech
7VJL and Shuttle AK35GT2R for their stably high marks, I should admit that
the Gigabyte 7VRXP is the most efficient model. It's interesting that it
was the first model on this chipset that arrived in our lab.
Do remember that the difference of a couple of percents should be a
determining factor when choosing a board. First of all, turn your attention
to the table with brief characteristics of the board. Having chosen the
most interesting and suitable for your tasks models go to their description,
and then, taking into account accessories, functions and speed you should
account for the price.
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