Gigabyte GA-7VX Slot-A KX133 ATX

Located between the Slot-A connector and the memory banks is the KX133's North Bridge. The 371 North Bridge brings the main features of the KX133 to the table: 133MHz memory bus and AGP 4X support. The beauty of the 371's memory controller is that it can run your memory at either 133MHz or 100MHz using a multiplier of the FSB frequency. So those users with PC133 SDRAM can take advantage of the increased bandwidth (1.06GB/s vs. 800MB/s) over PC100 SDRAM, while allowing backwards compatibility with older PC100 SDRAM. While the memory controller boasts support for Virtual Channel SDRAM, we have yet to see a real reason for upgrading to VC100/VC133 SDRAM since the performance improvement over regular PC100/PC133 SDRAM is negligible in real world situations, which doesn't justify the price premium that you currently have to pay for it.

The GA-7VX, as is the case with most Athlon motherboards, features 3 DIMM slots capable of accepting PC100/PC133 or VC100/VC133 SDRAM running at either a 3:3 (1:1) ratio with the FSB (by default, 100MHz) or a 4:3 ratio with the FSB (133MHz by default). This is the recommended maximum for PC133 support according to VIA. The GA-7VX also features a universal AGP slot which isn't keyed specifically for AGP 2X or AGP 4X cards, which lets the user install virtually any currently available AGP card in the slot, whether it is an AGP 1X/2X or 4X card. Gigabyte adds a nice little feature to the AGP slot - an AGP retention mechanism. Apparently some OEM's were having trouble with AGP cards coming loose during shipping, so the retention mechanism serves to make sure this doesn't happen.

The VIA 686A Super South Bridge helps reduce costs by integrating a number of features into a single chip. The VIA 686A actually adds a number of features, including support for 4 USB ports, integrated hardware monitoring, and an AMR interface. Two of those USB ports are available via the standard ATX I/O panel, while the other two are only available with an optional cable that can run to the front or back of your case. The Analog Devices 1881 AC97 CODEC provides host-based audio support for those that don't include the optional Creative hardware PCI sound.

Unlike just about every other manufacturer out there, Gigabyte still uses a DIP switch based CPU setup. Four dip switches control the FSB speed, which can be set to 100 / 110 / 115 / 120 / 124 / 129 / 133 / 138 / 143. FSB speeds of 120 MHz or above all include a 1/4 multiplier to the PCI bus to keep it as close to spec as possible. Unfortunately, we've had little success on any motherboard getting the EV6 bus of the Athlon to run stable over about 110 MHz, and the GA-7VX was no exception. We highly recommend using a "Golden Fingers Device" if you choose to overclock your Athlon. In order to supply a stable signal to the Athlon (something that is critical to the stable operation of any Athlon system since the Athlon draws so much power), Gigabyte outfitted the GA-7VX with twelve 1200uF and one 330uF capacitors next to the Slot-A connector.

Although the BIOS is technically the AMI Simple Setup 1.21, it looks exactly like the Award 4.51PG setup that we've come to know and love. All the tweaking options of the Award BIOS are still there, including control of the AGP transfer mode and the status of AGP fast writes, just like other VIA KX133 based boards.

The typical Gigabyte manual ships with the GA-7VX, which means that it lacks details on installing a motherboard, but is otherwise pretty good for the experienced user, and includes information on all connector pin outs as well as the various BIOS settings.