ASUS K7V KX133 Slot-A ATX

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.

If you're looking for a new KX133 board and the large PCB doesn't bother you, then the K7V is definitely the board to get. In spite of ABIT's forthcoming KA7 release, it is doubtful that the K7V will be bested anytime soon by upcoming KX133 boards. Remember that there is much more that matters outside of having a huge list of available FSB frequencies. We will be looking at the KA7 shortly and will be able to give the final verdict for sure once we complete our testing.

For current AMD 750 owners, there isn't a real reason to upgrade to the K7V unless you have some cash to kill and are currently having problems with your motherboard. As we illustrated in our KX133 Review, the performance advantage the KX133 chipset holds over the AMD 750 chipset (with SuperBypass enabled) is not noticeable in most situations, although users of high-end 3D applications may find the performance benefits of the KX133 definitely worthy of a quick $150 investment in the board.

The bottom line is this, if you want a KX133 board, the K7V is the one to get. Although we'd like to give ASUS the Editor's Choice Award right now, we're going to hold off on judgement until our next Athlon Motherboard Roundup before giving out any awards.