Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/542



VIA's KX133 is the clear choice for an Athlon chipset at this point in the game. Its support for AGP 4x and PC133 SDRAM are its biggest features - features that allow it to push ahead of the AMD 750 "Irongate" in virtually all performance related aspects. From a motherboard manufacturer's perspective, the KX133 also helps reduce manufacturing costs thanks to the ease of designing a 4-layer PCB with this chipset and the level of integration offered by the VIA 686A South Bridge, one of the components of the KX133 chipset.

While we saw only a few manufacturers producing boards for the Athlon at first, this is quite possibly due to the AMD 750 chipsets more complex design requirements. Now that the KX133 is here and shipping in full volume, we're seeing a flood of motherboard manufacturers jump on the Athlon bandwagon.

Gigabyte is one motherboard company that has been there from the beginning of the Athlon craze with the GA-7IX that was based on the AMD 750 chipset. Will that experience help them edge out everyone else in the race to make the best KX133 motherboard?


Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
100 / 110 / 115 / 120
124 / 129 / 133 / 138 / 143
Voltages Supported
Auto Detect
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots (3 Full Length)
1 ISA Slot (0 Full Length)
Onboard Sound
Analog Devices AD1881 AC 97
Creative CT5880 PCI Sound (optional)
BIOS
AMI Simple Setup 1.20C
Gigabyte DualBIOS

The Good

The GA-7VX is actually Gigabyte's second entry into the quickly growing VIA KX133 based Athlon motherboard market. It is the standard ATX version of the GA-7VM microATX KX133 board we looked at in our March 2000 Athlon Motherboard Roundup and includes a few new features not found on that more cost conscious board. Those features include Gigabyte's DualBIOS and true hardware based PCI sound. As a result of the standard ATX format, there are more expansion options. The 5/1/1/1 (PCI/AGP/ISA/AMR) slot configuration is unique, not for its number of slots, but for the shared AMR/ISA slot. Despite its rarity, we'd still like to see a 6th PCI slot on any newly released motherboard.

Their DualBIOS utility means there is actually a backup copy of the BIOS on the motherboard. If there is corruption in the main BIOS for any reason, the backup BIOS takes over to allow the system to boot. With viruses beginning to attack the BIOS and the possibility of failed flashes, DualBIOS is a good safe guard measure that you'll see more and more manufacturers implement on their boards.

The optional hardware-based PCI sound comes in the form of the Creative Labs CT5880 chip mounted just behind the PCI slots. We see this chip on a number of motherboards and it provides good basic sound acceleration that is far better than the AC'97 software CODEC that has become virtually standard on any new motherboard. Drivers are available for the CT5880 under Windows 9x, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Linux and even BeOS. Gamers looking for a full 3D positional sound solution should look elsewhere, however.



Located between the Slot-A connector and the memory banks is the KX133's North Bridge. The 371 North Bridge brings the main features of the KX133 to the table: 133MHz memory bus and AGP 4X support. The beauty of the 371's memory controller is that it can run your memory at either 133MHz or 100MHz using a multiplier of the FSB frequency. So those users with PC133 SDRAM can take advantage of the increased bandwidth (1.06GB/s vs. 800MB/s) over PC100 SDRAM, while allowing backwards compatibility with older PC100 SDRAM. While the memory controller boasts support for Virtual Channel SDRAM, we have yet to see a real reason for upgrading to VC100/VC133 SDRAM since the performance improvement over regular PC100/PC133 SDRAM is negligible in real world situations, which doesn't justify the price premium that you currently have to pay for it.

The GA-7VX, as is the case with most Athlon motherboards, features 3 DIMM slots capable of accepting PC100/PC133 or VC100/VC133 SDRAM running at either a 3:3 (1:1) ratio with the FSB (by default, 100MHz) or a 4:3 ratio with the FSB (133MHz by default). This is the recommended maximum for PC133 support according to VIA. The GA-7VX also features a universal AGP slot which isn't keyed specifically for AGP 2X or AGP 4X cards, which lets the user install virtually any currently available AGP card in the slot, whether it is an AGP 1X/2X or 4X card. Gigabyte adds a nice little feature to the AGP slot - an AGP retention mechanism. Apparently some OEM's were having trouble with AGP cards coming loose during shipping, so the retention mechanism serves to make sure this doesn't happen.

The VIA 686A Super South Bridge helps reduce costs by integrating a number of features into a single chip. The VIA 686A actually adds a number of features, including support for 4 USB ports, integrated hardware monitoring, and an AMR interface. Two of those USB ports are available via the standard ATX I/O panel, while the other two are only available with an optional cable that can run to the front or back of your case. The Analog Devices 1881 AC97 CODEC provides host-based audio support for those that don't include the optional Creative hardware PCI sound.

Unlike just about every other manufacturer out there, Gigabyte still uses a DIP switch based CPU setup. Four dip switches control the FSB speed, which can be set to 100 / 110 / 115 / 120 / 124 / 129 / 133 / 138 / 143. FSB speeds of 120 MHz or above all include a 1/4 multiplier to the PCI bus to keep it as close to spec as possible. Unfortunately, we've had little success on any motherboard getting the EV6 bus of the Athlon to run stable over about 110 MHz, and the GA-7VX was no exception. We highly recommend using a "Golden Fingers Device" if you choose to overclock your Athlon. In order to supply a stable signal to the Athlon (something that is critical to the stable operation of any Athlon system since the Athlon draws so much power), Gigabyte outfitted the GA-7VX with twelve 1200uF and one 330uF capacitors next to the Slot-A connector.

Although the BIOS is technically the AMI Simple Setup 1.21, it looks exactly like the Award 4.51PG setup that we've come to know and love. All the tweaking options of the Award BIOS are still there, including control of the AGP transfer mode and the status of AGP fast writes, just like other VIA KX133 based boards.

The typical Gigabyte manual ships with the GA-7VX, which means that it lacks details on installing a motherboard, but is otherwise pretty good for the experienced user, and includes information on all connector pin outs as well as the various BIOS settings.



The Bad

While DualBIOS is a nice feature that can certainly save you in a number of situations, it does make flashing the BIOS a little more complicated since there are physically 2 BIOS chips on board. The GA-7VX would complain that the BIOS was corrupt even though our flash was successful and then proceeded to try to copy the backup BIOS to the main BIOS. Unfortunately, this BIOS copy would fail and the system would lockup. Fortunately, a simple reset brought the system back up, but we were stuck in a loop until we entered the DualBIOS configuration utility. From there, we were able to disable the automatic copying of the backup BIOS to the main BIOS.

Our only complaint layout wise is the positioning of the ATX power connector behind the Slot-A connector - while this isn't as bad as the positioning on some other Athlon motherboards that block the use of larger heatsinks, we'd still prefer to see the ATX power connector at the front of the board per the ATX 2.01 specifications. We were also disappointed that Gigabyte did not include the cable necessary to use the 2nd set of USB ports.


USB Compatibility

  • Number of Front Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

  • Number of Rear Universal Serial Bus Root Ports: 2

  • USB IRQ Enable/Disable in BIOS: Yes

  • USB Keyboard Support in BIOS: Yes


Recommended SDRAM

Recommended SDRAM: 1 x 128MB Corsair PC133 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Mushkin PC133 SDRAM

SDRAM Tested: 1 x 128MB Corsair PC133 SDRAM; 1 x 128MB Mushkin PC133 SDRAM

Manufacturer: Corsair
Purchase Website: http://www.corsairmicro.com

Manufacturer: Mushkin
Purchase Website: http://www.mushkin.com




The Test

In recent times, choosing a motherboard cannot be completely determined by a Winstone score. Now, many boards come within one Winstone point of each other and therefore the need to benchmark boards against each other falls. Therefore you shouldn't base your decision entirely on the benchmarks you see here, but also on the technical features and advantages of this particular board, seeing as that will probably make the greatest difference in your overall experience.

Click Here to learn about AnandTech's Motherboard Testing Methodology.

Test Configuration

Processor(s):
Athlon 800 OEM
RAM:
1 x 128MB Corsair PC133 SDRAM
1 x 128MB Mushkin PC133 SDRAM
Hard Drive(s):
Western Digital 153BA Ultra ATA 66 7200 RPM
Bus Master Drivers:
VIA 4-in-1 v4.20 Service Pack
Video Card(s):
NVIDIA GeForce 256 SDR
Video Drivers:
NVIDIA Detonator 3.76
Operation System(s):
Windows 98 SE
Motherboard Revision:
Gigabyte GA-7VX Revision 1.00

 

Windows 98 Performance

 
Sysmark 2000
Content Creation
Winstone 2000
Gigabyte GA-7VX - Athlon 800 (KX133)
151
29.9
AOpen AK72 - Athlon 800 (KX133)
154
30.7
ASUS K7V - Athlon 800 (KX133)
154
30.7
EPoX 7KXA - Athlon 800 (KX133)
152
30.6
ASUS K7V-RM - Athlon 800 (KX133)
152
30.6
Gigabyte GA-7IX - Athlon 800
(AMD 750 SuperBypass)
154
30.7

 

The Final Decision

Overall, the Gigabyte GA-7VX is a well made KX133 motherboard, but has few features that make it stand out from the pack. If you're looking for a solid KX133 motherboard, the GA-7VX is an above average solution, although not the best out there.



How it Rates

AnandTech Motherboard Rating

Rating (x/10)

Performance

The GA-7VX performs a bit below comparable KX133 boards, but the difference isn't huge.

4.5

Price

Like other KX133 boards, the GA-7VX is a 4 layer design that helps reduce cost. You do pay a bit more for Gigabyte's quality construction, however.

4.5

Stability

While the stability of the GA-7VX was quite good, it wasn't quite up there with the leaders of the pack in this category, such as the ASUS K7V or the ABIT KA7.

7.0

Quality

Gigabyte is well known for the quality components and construction that go into their products, and the GA-7VX is no exception.

7.5

Features

Beyond the standard KX133 features (AGP 4X, PC133/PC100 SDRAM support, etc.), the GA-7VX doesn't have any big features that make it stand out from the pack. In fact, it's still on a DIP switch based configuration.

4.0

Layout

Our only complaint with the layout is the positioning of the ATX power connector behind the Slot-A connector. Otherwise, the GA-7VX is follows the ATX specifications closely and doesn't feature an overly large PCB.

6.0

Availability

While Gigabyte products aren't available everywhere, it is relatively possible to find their motherboards relatively easily. Like most manufactures focused on motherboards, don't expect to find Gigabyte boards in a place like Best Buy or CompUSA. Some local computer shops will carry Gigabyte, but not many.

5.0

Documentation & Software Bundle

The GA-7VX manual, like other Gigabyte manuals, was slightly above average and is at least included in print, unlike some that are only available on CD. Unfortunately, there was little in the way of a software bundle.

5.5
Overall Rating - not an average Click here to find out why
6.0

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