If you're looking to buy a KT133A motherboard...

[pvsurfer]

...then according to the Lost Circuits' current review (link below), the IWill KK266 is the one to get!

<A HREF="http://www.lostcircuits.com/motherboard/iwill_kk266r/" target="_new">http://www.lostcircuits.com/motherboard/iwill_kk266r/</A>

 

[phsstpok]

Post deleted by phsstpok

 

[pvsurfer]

phsstpok~ I'm never offended by contrary opinions, so no problemo as far as that goes. In this case I wasn't even giving my opinion, I was just reporting what I had read (as you are doing in return). I do not own the KK266 (although I admit I'm considering getting one)...

I'm sure we both realize that we all should take whatever we read (whether it be a seemingly objective review, or a forum post) with the proverbial "grain of salt".

Thanks for bringing that info to my (our) attention.

 

[phsstpok]

"...grain of salt". How true!

I've been thinking about building a second system, myself. I have liked what I have read about the KK266-R, except that one reviewer (I forget which one) mentioned the board does not support 4-way memory interleave. It's not too important now that I know it can be enabled with 3rd party software, such as Wpcredit and Wpcrset.

I presently have an Abit KT7, which I like very much. I am also hearing some interesting things about the KT7A-RAID. The most notable thing is I just read that www.ocworkbench.com has one running at 183 mhz FSB. 183 mhz !!! Learn about it here:

<A HREF="http://www.ocworkbench.com/articles/kt7a183/kt7a183.htm" target="_new">http://www.ocworkbench.com/articles/kt7a183/kt7a183.htm</A>

<A HREF="http://www.icrontic.com" target="_new">www.icrontic.com</A> has a similar claim.

 

[IntelConvert]

I have liked what I have read about the KK266-R, except that one reviewer (I forget which one) mentioned the board does not support 4-way memory interleave.

That reviewer was wrong -- I'm positive that 4-way memory interleaving can be enabled in the KK266's BIOS!

I'd also like to offer my viewpoint re: reviews... I don't place much confidence in any review because of the way the product is obtained. Unlike Consumer Reports, who buys a typical sample of the product on the open market for testing, Tom and all of the other reviewers are loaned evaluation products from the mfr. or distributor. Who believes that these evaluation samples are truly representative of the like product we would buy? Does anyone think for one minute that the mfr. or distributor's evaluation sample is not carefully selected (or even tweaked) to represent the product at its very best?

"Take it all with a grain of salt"? -- absolutely!

 

[bw37]

I've got a new KK266-R board, and it DOES support 4 way interleave ("2 bank, 4 bank" options). I'm really a newbie on this so I haven't even tried to O/C anything yet. Just trying to get all the hardware and software happy in 98 and 2000 . As far as the locked multiplier thing goes, Iwill is sending new mobo's to owners with the problem boards with just a fax including credit card # to hold until the customer returns the original board. See: <A HREF="http://www.iwillusa.com/rma/ecnkk266.pdf" target="_new">http://www.iwillusa.com/rma/ecnkk266.pdf</A> Sounds like a pretty good response to the problem. My board is a v1.1, and doesn't have the problem.

noko (see graphics cards) has a KK266 and has been very generous with his praise.

Wish I could be more help.

BW

the more I learn, the less I'm sure I know...

 

[phsstpok]

...KK266-R board, and it DOES support 4 way interleave ("2 bank, 4 bank" options)

Thanks for the information. It is good to know that this performance enhancing feature is there.

I have to applaud IWill for getting on top of the problem so quickly regarding the rev1.2 boards.

As a newbie, did you find the KK266-R easy to setup?

I thought the Abit KT7 family of boards were very easy to setup and was recommending them to novices because of this ease of setup. Later, I had to adjust my opinion slightly because some KT7A boards were being shipped with the WW BIOS. This BIOS required the CPU fan sensor to be plugged into the mobo header which causes a problem if one is using a premium fan which is plugged into a standard 4 pin connector. If the sensor was not connected, the system would shutdown in 10 seconds. This becomes a bit of a challenge, maybe too much for a newbie. The newest BIOSes turn off this "feature" by default.

 

[bw37]

I'm a newbie, but I usually read manuals (I'm also an engineer) I received my board with the HSF and CPU installed, and the SUPPLIER had plugged the cpu fan into the wrong connector. (I just remembered why they did it wrong: the picture in the manual shows the cpu fan being plugged in next to the power connector (different mobo), but the "fcpu" connector is clearly marked and that's not it.) Because I rtfm, I put it in the right place before I ever powered up. I don't recall if you can disable the fan interlock in the bios.

The manual is a weak point of the Iwill board in my opinion, but I have no reference to compare (except my old Biostar TUC8500). Pretty good "how to" info on the bios set-up but little explanation as to what it means. Alot less options for memory settings than a KT7A (I looked hard at that option) but maybe that's good for us newbies . Very little on basic mobo installation beyond cpu and memory installation (important), then kind of a gap to bios explanations. The whole manual is on their site as a pdf if you want to look.

I'm taking it slow, but hope to get my 850B Athlon up to 933 or more w/ 133fsb without pushing things too far. Unlike the mechanical things I usually work on, in this case it appears I'll be able to "twist it until it breaks, and then just back off". This set-up should hold me until faster C Athlons drop in price or until I decide I need DDR or whatever the next BIG thing is! Eventually I plan on using the RAID capability, but for now it's disabled. I am using the onboard, 4 channel sound until it doesn't meet my needs. That saved me another $40 - $50 bucks, but not the IRQ :frown: . So far so good.

BW

the more I learn, the less I'm sure I know... <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by bw37 on 03/15/01 02:57 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[phsstpok]

Well, good luck. If you get into trouble there is a lot of help available here.

When you get around to BIOS updates would you please clear up a rumor for me? I heard someone mention that the KK266 BIOS update includes 13x...15x multiplier settings. If true it gives the board considerable upgrade potential.

 

[phsstpok]

www.amdzone.com has removed their note regarding the KK266-R board (and so have I).

The boards with the 8.5x multiplier problem are the KK266 (not the KK266-R).

Here is a description (and a fix for those ambitious enough) of the problem direct from Iwill.

<A HREF="http://www.iwillusa.com/rma/ecnkk266.pdf" target="_new">http://www.iwillusa.com/rma/ecnkk266.pdf</A>

Apparently, replacement boards can be obtained with just a FAX secured by a credit card.

Don't blame me I am just the messenger.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 03/15/01 08:41 PM.</EM></FONT></P>