Introduction

When VIA first introduced the KT266 chipset, it was met with harsh criticism and negative media reviews. This is because it touted lackluster performance and had serious USB issues. VIA was quick to remedy these problems, and out came the KT266A chipset. Not only did this chipset fix these issues, but it also featured a whole new memory controller, the same as that seen in the P4X266 chipset. This new memory interface made a significant difference in the chipset’s performance, and raised the bar for its competitors, SiS and ALi. Fortunately, motherboard manufacturers that already had KT266 boards on the market simply needed to “drop in” a new northbridge, as no other architectural changes were made.

Abit, one of the largest motherboard manufacturers in Taiwan have been known to produce high performing motherboards that cater for the enthusiast crowd. Their “soft menu” BIOS has allowed users to easily tweak all of their PC’s settings in order to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of it. After thorough testing, Abit smartly decided to hold off on producing a motherboard based on the KT266 chipset. Finally, after much hype and anticipation, Abit has released their KT266A solution, the KR7A. Can Abit continue their trend of high performance, highly tweakable motherboards? Read on to find out!