MSI K7T Pro2 (MS-6330)
BIOS Version: 1st December 2000
Board Revision: 1.0
MSI has gone back to the drawing board with the K7T Pro and made a few changes to improve system stability. The K7T Pro2 is now excelling in the present version with 686A Southbridge through its excellent tuning capabilities. In addition to the possibility of changing the multiplier, the CPU core voltage (Vcore) can be adjusted between 1.550 and 1.850 V, and the system bus can be adjusted in 1 MHz steps (DEC numbers).
With a maximum memory of 1.5 GByte and 6 PCI slots, the K7T Pro2 from MSI offers the extension-mad user sufficient room to move. In this context, it needs to be noted that only 4 interrupts are available for 6 slots. Therefore, a full conversion with extension cards may sometimes test your patience until the correct sequence is found. Additionally, MSI throws in a CNR slot. However, with prices for complete network cards at their lowest, this slot is a waste of space and only increases the cost of materials. On the other hand, the retaining clip on the AGP slot, which prevents the graphics card from slipping out, only makes sense. A variation available from MSI is the K7T Pro2-A, which contains the new 686B-Southbridge with ATA/100 support. The remaining specifications are identical to those of the K7T Pro2.
When problems arise during boot-up, four diagnostic LEDs or voice output show the condition of the main board. A postcode card is, therefore, rather unnecessary, since the source of the error can easily be found in the well-structured handbook. The current BIOS 2.01 update from December 2000 protects, among other things, the BIOS from being overwritten by Windows 9x, uses a new algorithm and a new time behaviour for the SPD chips of the SDRAM modules.
To reiterate the differences to the previous K7T Pro, we have compiled the following table for revision 2:
| Board | K7T Pro (Rev. 1) | K7T Pro2 (Rev. 2) |
|---|---|---|
| PLL Chip | ICS9248AF-141 | ICS94220AF |
| FSB setting | 1 MHz step between 100 and 120 MHz | 1 MHz step between 100 and 166 MHz |
| Error diagnostic with voice output | no | yes |
| Capacitors for voltage stabilisation | 5x 4700µF @ 6.3 V2x 3900µF @ 10 V | 4x 4700µF @ 6.3 V3x 3900µF @ 10 V |
| AGP Clip | no | yes |
