Advantages: 133MHz FSB support, 1/2 AGP divider, stable, inexpensive
Disadvantages: Performance not up to overclocked BX solution

...I would like to share my experiences of the Abit VT6X4 slot 1 motherboard and its VIA Apollo Pro 133A chipset. In the past I have always used boards with an Intel chipset in my own machines. As my PC is important for work and study as well as for play, stability has always been an influencing factor. With the VT6X4, Abit have implemented stability in the VIA chipset. The CPU I am using is a Slot 1 Intel Pentium 3 733MHz (133MHz FSB) chip, which I picked up second hand very inexpensively as an upgrade to my Celeron 366 (overclocked to 550). The P3 is a fast and stable chip - it runs pretty cool for a 733MHz CPU. The VIA chipset is not the fastest solution available; those who lust for those extra frames per second in Quake 3 should consider an overclocked Intel BX chipset solution - the BX chipset doesn't support a 1/2 AGP divider... Read review

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Advantages: All new features, possibility of use all Intel Socket 370 CPU's, built-in quality sound
Disadvantages: none

...This new motherboard from ABIT support both Intel Celeron and Pentium III FCPGA (Coppermine) processors. Based on VIA Appolo Pro 133A chipset, this ATX formfactor motherboard have 1 AGP 4x, 5 PCI and 1 ISA slots. Also equipped with Yamaha sound chip with software midi syntesizer and 2 IDE IDMA/66 ports. I bought this motherboard week ago and very pleased by its design, quality and performance. Very good for overclocking and stable in any Windows applications (both Me and 2000). My Celeron 400 MHz work at 500 Mhz (83MHZx6) without any problems also in games like Need for Speed 5 and Unreal Tournament. So, this mainboard include all new features and is the best choice for home use (especially due to possibility of CPU's upgrade up to 1GHz).... Read review

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Advantages: Ideal for those with digital cameras of video editing
Disadvantages: aimed more towards specialists

...his Gigabyte board is a Flip Chip Pin Grid Array board, using the VIA 594x Apollo Pro Family AGPset chipset, in an ATX format with FireWire support (hence the '1394') in the product name. This latter feature, in particular, is unusual. Where many manufacturers might be tempted to add sound, modem, NIC or even SCSI support, Gigabyte is the first we've seen to add FireWire to this form factor, courtesy of a TI chipset. Also known as IEEE1394 (in deference to Apple) and i.LINK by Sony, this FireWire interface could be described as 'USB, but faster'. Watch for future features on this site where we explain all about FireWire. Back to the board. This unit has five PCI slots, one of which is shared with an ISA slot, along with the obligatory AGP port and an AMR riser slot. Three DIMMs are onboard, each capable of handling PC-133 memory. The I... Read review

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Advantages: Very Stable and Tweaking is easy
Disadvantages: Needs PIII-600 or above

...to start to sink into the dim and distant past and if you actually give the GeForce chipset a try you should come to the same conclusion as i did, this chipset is the New King of gaming. If clocking is your thing then this is one of the most clockable cards you can buy with free software for clocking available throught out the web. Ok its not the fastest in the range but it certanly will give you a foothold into the Nvidia series, one thing you must remember is the speed of your machine, dont waste money on the GeForce 256 if you dont have the processor to push the card to its full potential. My recomendation is a Pentium III-600 on a decent motherboard (Abit SE6/SL6 , Apollo Pro 133A) and 128 meg memory.... Read review

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Advantages: Plenty of features - Good quality
Disadvantages: Drive installation a little confusing

...schewing the Intel route favoured by many motherboard manufacturers, Soyo has chosen one of VIA's chipsets for this ATX board, although for most users the difference won't be too relevant, since the functional differences are minimal. What you get is a board with three DIMM sockets (all rated at PC-133), a brace of UDMA/66 (not 100, at the time of writing) controllers and the usual serial, parallel, USB and PS/2 ports at the rear. Also present on this board is an audio controller, so you get the microphone, line in and speaker ports as well, plus a game controller. Soyo is keen on hardware monitoring and power management features, so the SY-7VCA has voltage and fan speed monitors, CPU temperature measurements, wake-on keyboard, modem, alarm, LAN and more. Soyo has retained backward compatibility with this board, by ensuring that it has... Read review

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Advantages: Overclocking Possibilities
Disadvantages: SB Live Bugs

...After a long while deliberating around various Hardware sites, I made up my mind that my Celeron 600 was going to upsticks from it's 810 board and take pride of place in a Soyo SY7VCA. The SY7VCA is based upon the 694/686 chipset combination from Via which is heralded as the better alternative to the 820 and the cheaper alternative to the 815. This is certianly is - and what a job it does. The SY7VCA has a 4x AGP slot, 1 x AMR slot, x 1 x ISA slot and 5 PCI slots as well as UDMA66, onboard 3D AC97 audio and all the normal things regularly found on most boards. Where the SY7VCA really shines though is in the overclocking department where it boasts 32 selectable FSB speeds ranging from 66Mhz right upto 166Mhz!! To pair with this the board also accomodates Vcore adjustment upto 10% greater than spec. Memory can also be tweaked by way of A... Read review

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Advantages: good cheap motherboard for your money
Disadvantages: Bit aged now with the release of new processors

...I have had this motherboard for a few months now and i have to say it is really good. I have it with an Athlon 2400+ chip with 2x512 PC3200 DDR memory and it runs like a dream. The features of this motherboard are as follows: Chipset: VIA Apollo KT400 Processor Support: AMD processors Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron 333/266/200 MHz system bus Graphics: AGP 8X/4X Memory: DDR 400/333 MHz SDRAM ATA: ATA 133/100/66 data transfer rate Others: USB 2.0 6 channel AC'97 audio Auto Overclock in Bios When I purchased this motherboard it came with ATA and floppy drive cables although it depends where you buy it and what company made it on weather you get them. Also it comes with a great manual that is easy to follow and the PC can be made and set up with ease using this motherboard. The bios is very good and there is no need to update it as soon... Read review

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Advantages: Helps you to solve problems, latest reviews and news
Disadvantages: Biased towards VIA products, obviously

...questions have been answered for you. Forum Can't find what you want in FAQs? Then post a message in the VIA forum. This is one of the friendliest forums that I have ever visited, with a minimum of 'flamers' unless you post a question that is wildly off-topic. I have had a VIA based motherboard for the three years that I have owned a PC and this has become the site I visit whenever I get some strange problems crop up. For example, when I first re-built my PC, I could never get my motherboard and graphics card to run at AGP 4x, which both were capable of. A quick visit to ViaHardware and lo and behold, one of their articles is entitled 'AGP 4x fix on VIA Apollo Pro / 133 / 133A chipsets'. I read the article, tweaked my BIOS and away we go. Both Sisoft Sandra and Powertweak now show both motherboard and graphics cards running at AGP 4x... Read review

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Advantages: Upgradability and Overclocking
Disadvantages: PCI Slot used up by the extra USB ports, only a problem if you fill up all your slots

...If your looking for a socket A motherboard upgrade then look no further than the Abit KT7 range of motherboards. The Abit KT7 comes in four flavours, the KT7, KT7 Raid and the newer KT7A & KT7A Raid. The main reason for opting for the Abit is its flexibility, They are well built, easy to use and come with a comprehensive instruction manual. The Abit uses the VIA Apollo 133 chipset, supports PC100 & PC133 memory and Ultra DMA 100 technology. CPU's supported are the AMD Duron 600 - 850Mhz and AMD Athlon 700 - 1.2Ghz CPU's, so you can get started with a cheap Duron CPU then install a wicked top of the range Athlon when you can afford it without shelling out for a new motherboard. Future compatability is a must in the fast moving world of computing. The other great asset of the Abit is the Award BIOS it's extensivly configurable which makes... Read review

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Advantages: Very Fast & Stable, Excellent Bonuses
Disadvantages: Not Multiplier Overclockable

...When I first received this parcel and opened the motherboard box, I couldn't believe my eyes, so many extras are included! A great manual was supplied, a massive motherboard spec's booklet, a list of other motherboards manufactured, and 2 CD's including Norton Ghost/Antivirus and the Drivers. The box was packed will and 1 x 80 pin IDE cable, 1 x 40 pin IDE cable and a Thermal probe was included. The board supports some pretty hefty specs, as you can see: AMD Thunderbird & Duron Supported Chipset -VIA APOLLO KT133 -FSB 200 MHz -AGP 4X Memory -3 x 168-pin 3.3v DIMM Sockets -Supports 8MB to 768MB (maximum) DRAM Size -PC 133 compliant Cache Memory -Built-in to AMD Athlon Processor Module On-Board EIDE -2 x PCI Bus Master UATA 33/66 IDE ports (up to 4 ATAPI Devices) -Supports for PIO Mode 3, 4, UATA 33/66 IDE & ATAPI CD-ROM On... Read review

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