Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/493



While Las Vegas' Fall Comdex and Taipei's Computex may be big computer shows, the largest of them all is CeBIT which is held in Hannover, Germany. Unfortunately, due to the close proximity of CeBIT to the Intel Developer Forum that we just recently got back from, we were only able to get limited coverage from the show floor courtesy of our resident Cooling Products Editor, Tillmann Steinbrecher, who currently lives in Germany.

Not too long after publishing his roundup on Heatsinks for use with the AMD Athlon processor, Tillmann brought us back what he considered to be one of the most prevalent faces at this year's CeBIT, Athlon motherboards.

We have seen the number of Athlon motherboards grow considerably since the introduction of AMD's flagship processor back in August of 1999. At the time of the release of the Athlon there were a total of two motherboards available, the Gigabyte GA-7IX and the Microstar MS-6167. Those two were joined by FIC's SD-11 and later by the ASUS K7M as well as a solution from Biostar, but in the end, the number of Athlon motherboards was no where near the number of motherboards available for the Pentium III platform.

At last year's Fall Comdex in Las Vegas we did notice a few more Athlon motherboards but that was nothing compared to the twenty Athlon motherboards Tillmann was able to take a look at while at CeBIT. While this short article will start and conclude our coverage of CeBIT, there were some other interesting things that took place at this year's CeBIT.

3dfx displayed the Voodoo4/5 running on some demo systems, but the chips were not up to par with what the final shipping silicon will be capable of achieving. This isn't a huge surprise since it wasn't too long ago that 3dfx told us that they still hadn't had silicon of their V4/5 parts. It may have been a mistake for 3dfx to demo their Voodoo4/5 at CeBIT since it attracted quite a bit of attention, it seems like if anything 3dfx wanted to show the world that they do indeed have a working sample of their upcoming parts. What this ended up turning into however, was more of a "we've waited all this time for this?!?" response from those that saw the demos of chips only running at 100MHz. Luckily these demos were on very early hardware and it was expected that they operate at a frequency lower than what they'd be shipping at. Regardless, there hasn't been a change in the specs for the V4/V5 clockspeed, so there's no reason to worry.

AMD showed off their 1.1GHz (1116MHz to be exact) Thunderbird platform at CeBIT, just like they did to us at the Intel Developer Forum a couple weeks ago. In spite of these recent demonstrations, AMD's next clock speed release won't be based on the new Thunderbird core but the K75 core that we've been used to. The Thunderbird core will eventually make its introduction around the April/May time frame, just in time for E3 which, if you recall, is where AMD first introduced their K6-2 from 2 years ago. We'll have more information about Thunderbird as well as Intel's competing solution, the Willamette in an upcoming article about the future of the desktop, workstation and server PC markets based on current roadmaps.

But now to the topic at hand, Athlon motherboards, so without further ado let's get to the pictures...



AOpen AK-72

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slots
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

 

This is a board we have been waiting on for quite some time. We were originally supposed to take a look at the board at the end of January, but the design was held up as the BIOS was tweaked but is now finally nearing completion. It shouldn't be much longer before we see the AK-72 in our hands and shortly thereafter, available on the market.

One interesting thing is that AOpen stuck the AMR slot on the end of the motherboard, although they may decide to kill the AMR slot in the end. The beauty of putting the AMR slot on the end of the motherboard like that is that it doesn't prevent you from having a full 5/1/1 expansion slot configuration. Most manufacturers simply place the AMR slot next to the AGP slot, other than Tyan that outfitted their i810 board with a shared AMR slot stuck on the end of the board like this.

AOpen has always been known for their high quality products, and as the second largest motherboard manufacturer in the world they have a huge reputation to keep up. The AK-72 shouldn't be a disappointing solution if AOpen sticks to tradition, in fact it should be one of the better Athlon motherboards on the market.

AOpen has won more Editor's Choice awards here on AnandTech than any other manufacturer, so we're definitely anxious to get the AK-72 in our hands.



ASUS K7V-RM

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
microATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Pro Slot
3 PCI Slots
0 ISA Slots
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
AWARD 6.00PG

We've actually had this board in the lab for quite some time now, but at ASUS' request we refrained from reviewing the product. Why would ASUS make such a request?

Remember the K7M? That's all that needs to be said. The situation with the K7V-RM is quite interesting, while the board is a very stable solution (look for our review soon) it may be a while before ASUS claims that they even produce the board. Remember how long it took for the K7M to make its way to ASUS' website? Let's hope that ASUS wises up this time around and realizes that they're going to have to promote this product if they want to succeed in the growing Athlon motherboard market.

ASUS seems to be very intent on outfitting all of their capable boards with AGP Pro slots as the K7V-RM is the second board we've seen from ASUS to feature this slot. This brings one worry to mind, if current power supplies are having trouble supplying enough power to Athlon systems especially with graphics cards that also require quite a bit of current, what is a 50W AGP Pro card going to do to the situation? Luckily we have yet to see any mainstream AGP Pro cards on the market, so this isn't an issue.

ASUS K7V

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Pro Slot
5 PCI Slots
0 ISA Slots
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

The K7V is the successor to the K7M (with the K7V-RM being the successor to the K7M-RM) and should perform identically to the K7V-RM.

If ASUS decides not to actively promote the K7V-RM, don't expect them to promote the K7V much either. But when these K7V boards do become available to the public expect them to be quite popular as ASUS, like AOpen, has always been known for their quality and stability.



Biostar M7MKB

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
microATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
2 PCI Slots
0 ISA Slots
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

Biostar entered the Athlon motherboard market early on with an AMD 750 based solution that was never as widely available as the Gigabyte, MSI or FIC solutions that were available at the time. Thus they never became a huge name in the Athlon motherboard market.

Just like ASUS, Biostar will be releasing two KX133 based boards, a microATX and a regular ATX version of the same design. As we mentioned in our review of VIA's KX133 chipset, the lower cost the 686A South Bridge brings to the motherboard as a whole and the low cost of the 371 North Bridge will make microATX designs quite popular. And the fact that VIA has a fairly solid microATX reference design only encourages motherboard manufacturers to put together microATX Athlon boards.

The Athlon will soon make its journey into the low-end market to compete with Intel's Celeron as the new Thunderbirds are released, microATX boards like those from ASUS and Biostar will help this transition.

Biostar M7MKE

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

The M7MKE is Biostar's ATX KX133 motherboard that is targeted at the performance desktop market segment. Biostar hasn't produced poor quality motherboards in the past, but then again they've never been at the top of our lists, it should be an interesting board to look at but it's doubtful if the board will ever become popular among AnandTech readers; especially with boards like the AOpen AK-72 and the ASUS K7V.



DFI AK70

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
AMD 750
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

DFI is joining the Athlon bandwagon along with the rest of the gang represented here. This is actually the same board we saw at last year's Fall Comdex.

The picture you see above is nothing more than a reference board design with no major modifications to it, it seems like DFI has a little ways to go before they bring their Athlon motherboard to market unless they plan on selling a reference board.

Digicom Group Pro-2000

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
AMD 750
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

This is a fairly new face to us, but the board they had on display seemed to be nothing more than another reference design that used the AMD 750 chipset.



ECS K7VXA

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
2 ISA Slots
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

ECS has been around for quite some time now and we saw three of their latest entries in our VIA Apollo Pro 133/133A Motherboard Roundup, but there's nothing truly special about the K7VXA.

EPoX 7KXA

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
83 / 88 / 90 / 95 / 100 / 110 / 115MHz
Voltages Supported
1.50v - 1.80v (in 0.05v increments)
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots (2 Full Length)
1 ISA Slot (1 Shared / 1 Full Length)
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
AWARD v6.00PG

EPoX's 7KXA is one of the first (if not the first) KX133 boards to hit the streets, we have already reviewed it here: http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1179



FIC SK31

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
microATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
2 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
0 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
3 PCI Slots
0 ISA Slots
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

Yet another KX133 microATX board, these things are going to become quite popular as the Athlon's price drops even further.

FIC's close ties to VIA and their extensive distributor reach should make it quite easy for them to get the SK31 out into the hands of the public. The best thing about FIC is that they aren't afraid of promoting the SK31 (or any non-Intel based board for that matter) at all. While the SK31 may not end up as the best KX133 board out there, FIC's promotion of the board will definitely be unmatched by any competitor.



Gigabyte GA-7VMM

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
Unknown integrated graphics controller
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
microATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
2 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
0 AGP Slot (integrated graphics)
3 PCI Slots
0 ISA Slots
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

Find it hard to believe that a processor as powerful as the present day Athlon is going to turn into a low-cost competitor to the Celeron? Does the Gigabyte GA-7VMM make it more believable?

While Gigabyte wouldn't reveal the chipset used on the GA-7VMM it does not appear to be a Slot-A version of VIA's upcoming KM133 chipset as we had originally thought. The KM133 comes with an integrated 3D AGP graphics core manufactured by S3 (no word on whether it's Savage4 or Savage 2000 based yet, as of Comdex '99 we were told that it would be Savage4 based). Rather, the GA-7VMM appears to use the KX133 chipset along with a separate dedicated graphics controller integrated onto the motherboard. No word on what that graphics chipset is at this point, however.

For performance users this won't be a huge product introduction, but to OEMs and those looking to build entry level systems in the future, boards like this highly integrated Gigabyte board will become quite popular.



Kinetix KX133 Athlon Motherboard

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

Ever hear of Kinetix? Neither have we :) Their board looks like a pretty generic design, but it's good to see more support for the Athlon platform though, regardless of who its from.

Lucky Tech P6K7A

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
0 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown


NMC 7VAX

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

QDI Athlon Motherboard

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
Unknown
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown



Shuttle A161

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
AMD 750
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
0 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

It's about time that Shuttle got on the Athlon train, but a new AMD 750 based motherboard at this point may be too little too late for Shuttle.

Soltek SL-77KV

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

The Soltek board just adds to the amount of KX133 based solutions that will be coming out in the very near future, once again, it is nice to see such great support for the Athlon platform.



Soyo K7AIA

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
AMD 750
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
0 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

Yet another recently released AMD 750 based motherboard. We've actually had this Soyo board in for a little while now and will be publishing a review of it shortly. The board seems to closely resemble AMD's Fester reference design.

Soyo K7VIA

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
1 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
5 PCI Slots
1 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

Luckily Soyo isn't relying solely on their AMD 750 based Athlon motherboard, as they also showcased a KX133 based solution.



Tyan Trinity K7 - S2380

Motherboard Specifications

CPU Interface
Slot-A
Chipset
VIA KX133
VIA 371 North Bridge
VIA 686A South Bridge
L2 Cache
N/A (on-chip)
Form Factor
ATX
Bus Speeds
Unknown
Voltages Supported
Unknown
Memory Slots
3 168-pin DIMM Slots
Expansion Slots
0 AMR Slot
1 AGP Slot
6 PCI Slots
0 ISA Slot
AC'97
Unknown
BIOS
Unknown

This is another board we have been waiting for and luckily our first sample should be in shortly.

Summary

The Athlon motherboard market has definitely grown since last year, but that was expected. While there is still a bit of fear among motherboard manufacturers about manufacturing Athlon motherboards, the level of fear is noticeably less than what it was when the first manufacturers put forth their Athlon motherboards.

The key players to look out for in the KX133 motherboard market are the AOpen AK-72, the ASUS K7V and the Tyan Trinity K7 S2380. While there will be more options that these three, we have high expectations for the AK-72, K7V and S2380 in particular because of the past history of their respective manufacturers.

As usual, we'll keep you up to date on all of the Athlon motherboard releases with our reviews, and expect to see an Athlon motherboard roundup towards the end of next month.

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