AOpen AK73 Pro Socket-A KT133 (686B) ATX

The Features

The VIA 8363 North Bridge sits to the left of the CPU socket, covered by the typical AOpen gold platted heat sink. It is the core of the KT133 chipset that provides all the major features of the KT133, including the 100 / 133MHz memory bus as well as AGP 4X support. The AGP Slot is a "universal slot," which means it is not keyed specifically for AGP 2X or AGP 4X cards, so you can install almost any current AGP card in the slot. At the end of the AGP slot, AOpen also makes use of a locking mechanism, similar to the one by used by EPoX, that helps hold the AGP card in place. It is a little clip that works similar to that of a DIMM slot clip by clipping into a small tab at the end of the AGP card.

The three DIMM slots on the AK73 Pro support up to a maximum of 1.5GB SDRAM. One main feature of the VIA 8363 North Bridge is that the memory controller allows users to run their memory at either 100MHz or 133MHz. Therefore, users with PC133 SDRAM can take advantage of the increased bandwidth over PC100 SDRAM by going from 800MB/s to 1.06GB/s. This can be done easily in the BIOS by choosing either a 100MHz or a 133MHz memory clock. There is also a setting for CAS latency in the BIOS, so you can push your memory to the limit.

The AK73 Pro also uses the VIA 686B as the South Bridge. The 686B is pin compatible with the 686A, and they have similar features as well. They both have a second USB controller hub and an integrated PCI to ISA bridge. The advantage of the 686B over 686A is that it supports Ultra ATA 100, whereas the 686A only supports Ultra ATA 66. At this point, there is no hard drive out there with a sustained transfer rate of higher than 40MB/sec, so Ultra ATA 100 port is not really necessary. However, with the current pace of technology, we don't think it will be long before that barrier is broken, making it a definite plus for the motherboard to include Ultra ATA 100 support. The Ultra ATA 100 controller provides two IDE channels that support up to 4 IDE devices (two per channel).

Two traditional USB ports are mounted at the back of the motherboard together with the serial / parallel ports, and there are connectors ready for a third and fourth USB port the front of the board. In order to help users take advantage of the extra USB connectors, AOpen includes a set of two USB headers, so that users can setup their third and fourth USB ports easily.

The 5/1/1/0 (PCI/AGP/AMR/ISA) expansion slot configuration on the AK73 Pro should be enough for most users, though it is definitely not the most flexible one. For starters, the AMR slot is probably useless for most AnandTech readers. The 5 PCI slots should be enough, but we have seen motherboards with 6 PCI slots by using a PCI arbiter chip, which gives users more flexibility. Moreover, the lack of an ISA slot also marks eliminates this motherboard from the list of users who still want to retain their old ISA devices.

The AK73 Pro uses the AD 1885 AC 97 CODEC to provide basic on-board sound. This AC'97 audio provides some basic sound functionality for users on a budget, but for those who are serious about sound should definitely go for a true hardware-based PCI solution.

The AK73 Pro also comes with the famous AOpen Die Hard BIOS setup. Basically AOpen puts two BIOS chips on the board. For most of the time, only one of the two BIOS chips is active. If the BIOS chip is corrupted during a BIOS update or a virus attack, the second BIOS will start functioning and allow users to boot up the machine using the second backup BIOS.

AOpen also includes the Dr. Voice and the Dr. LED as optional accessories. Dr. Voice is a diagnostic tool for users to troubleshoot their systems when errors occur during boot up. Dr. LED is also for diagnostic purposes; it is a set of eight LED's, which also try to tell the users which part of the motherboard might be having problems.

For installation, AOpen figured out a way to accommodate users from varying backgrounds. Inside the AK73 Pro, you can find a poster, which contains steps for easy installation and setup of the motherboard. On the other hand, the manual contains all the exact details on the motherboard. The manual is simply excellent. It contains all the information on jumpers, connectors, as well as dipswitches. It also talks about the installation of the board, CPU, and memory. Detailed explanation of each BIOS setting makes this manual a very good read, as it also contains a lot of technical explanation on the design of the motherboard.

There are two CDs bundled with the motherboard. One contains all the drivers and utilities you will need for setting up the motherboard and sound devices. The second CD is the Norton Antivirus 6.0. Some other manufacturers include older versions of this software, but AOpen makes sure they are including a more recent version.