Six Athlon Boards With The KT600 Chipset

Conclusion: Best Offers From MSI And Gigabyte

Thus, in the age of dual-channel DDR400, why still buy single-channel memory? While Nvidia successfully put its money on a dual interface in the NForce 2 recently, VIA has begun to gradually optimize its single-memory technology. All six test candidates feature the VIA KT600 chipset, that besides DDR400 support also sustains an FSB speed of 200 MHz. In price terms, the field runs from $77 (€70) for a Soltek brand, to $164 (€149) (Soyo). Even with such tightly budgeted mainboards, a Serial ATA controller is now standard equipment. The boards from about $93.5 (€85) also offer an additional module for network and FireWire. In terms of performance, the VIA KT600 chipset is certainly a contender to the NForce 2 since maximum data rates are in any case limited by the FSB (3.2 GB/s). At any rate, the KT600 certainly demonstrates high memory performance (approx. 3 GB/s), with the payoff in accessing the T1 command. Compared to its predecessor, the KT400, only the FSB speed has been raised to 200 MHz and stability improved. The bottom line is: Dual DDR400 memory technology is not necessary a compelling argument to buy - Nvidia's NForce 2 chipset certainly doesn't offer any better performance.

A short glance at the test field: MSI makes by far the best showing. Excellent features coupled with a great number of accessories and decent performance secures test victory for this board and a THG recommendation to boot. If you can do without several equipment features, a look at the Gigabyte GA-7VT600 Ultra will pay dividends. It costs just $93.5 (€89).

In answer to the e-mail queries that many readers are bound to send: Unfortunately, Abit (KV7) and Asus (A7V600) couldn't make test boards available for the test although they are already in the stores.

Award: MSI KT6 Delta

In this test, THG confers its award on the MSI KT6 Delta. Of all the test participants, the MSI KT6 Delta offers the best combination of features, equipment and performance. The boards can be picked up from your corner store for around $147 (€134) - serious price cutters should certainly be able to negotiate a cheaper price.