Introduction
Even though the updated version of the VIA KT133 chipset, the KT133A, was released a number of months ago AOpen choose to use the older version for their
AK73-Pro and AK73-1394 motherboards. The only tangible drawback of this for end users is the lack of support for the 133 MHz DDR FSB Athlon CPUs; however, this could be a key feature for some people’s system plans. The upside is that using the older chipset will reduce the cost of the board and money saved is always a good thing.
That being said, this will probably be one of the last boards released using this chipset. As the market moves towards greater support for DDR SDRAM, VIA’s latest option for Socket A, the KT266, will become more prominent and the KT133 (as well as the KT133A) will slowly away into computing history.
Today, we’re looking at the AOpen AK73 –1394. AOpen is one of the Big Names in the motherboard industry and their mobos are known for high quality and excellent stability. The company is also known for their superior response to customer needs and requests. With these high hopes fresh in our minds let’s get our hands dirty with AK73-1394.
Specs
| CPU Interface | Socket A |
| Chipset | VIA KT133 |
| IDE | 2 –Ultra DMA 33/66/100 IDE channels |
| RAM | 3 – 168-pin SDRAM DIMM slots |
| Expansion | 1 AGP (2x/4x) / 5 PCI / 1 AMR |
| FSB Speeds | 100 / 102 / 104 / 106 / 107 / 108 / 109 / 110 / 111 /
112 / 113 / 114 115 / 116 / 118 / 120 MHz (via BIOS) |
| Clock Multiples | 5 to 12.5 (via DIP switch) |
| Core Voltages | 1.10V to 1.850V in 0.025V increments (via BIOS) |
| I/O Voltages | 3.2V to 3.5V in 0.1V increments |
| AGP Voltages | n / a |
| Other | Onboard Firewire, Onboard Audio, Award BIOS,
Dr Led (optional) |
The feature that definitely stands ahead of all the others is the onboard Firewire support, which is rare to see on mobos, but is an excellent feature none-the-less (providing you have Firewire devices to make use of it). AOpen even includes a two-port Firewire header, so this feature can be used right out of the box. Interestingly, the IEEE 1394 is provided by a single chip solution; most boards up to now have had to use two chip solutions which inevitably brings up the production costs. Higher costs tend to mean lower sales so this single chip solution is likely the reason AOpen chose to release this Firewire-enabled board.
The 1 AGP / 5 PCI / 1 AMR configuration is pretty good, although in a perfect world the AMR slot would be replaced with another PCI clot or even a legacy ISA slot (for those late adopters in the crowd). The Audio Modem Riser is useless for end users as they are designed almost exclusively to save OEMs money. As the OEM deals bring in the big cash for mobo manufacturers it is understandable that some features are catered to their needs.
The overclocking features are modest, but adequate for most overclocking pursuits. The KT133 is generally unstable running at FSB speeds above 110MHz which puts extra emphasis on support for the speeds between 100MHz and 110MHz. The second most important overclocking setting for socket A tweaking is the clock ratio setting which is thankfully made available, but not-so-thankfully it is accessed via a DIP switch. BIOS settings are preferred tenfold due to general laziness as it much easier to modify the BIOS rather than twiddling around inside of the case. That’s only a minor gripe though and since the core voltage settings are pretty good, overall the overclocking features aren’t too bad at all.
AOpen provides an interesting debugging solution called Dr Led that is an optional feature on the AK73-1394. Dr Led comes in a the form of a Front Panel that fits in a 5.25” drive bay (like the SoundBlaster’s Live! Drive) that has 8 LEDs, each one lighting for a specific problem. This is a unique solution to the common problem of system debugging. To ease the pain of sacrificing an entire drive bay, the panel doubles as a 10 CD storage box which provides quick access to frequently used CDs. This solution isn’t for everybody, but it definitely shows progression in terms of debugging methods.
Also note the ever so sweet black PCB. Mmmm…
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