Iwill KK266 Socket-A KT133A ATX

Name: Iwill KK266 Socket-A KT133A ATX
Item: Iwill KK266 Socket-A KT133A ATX
Author: Mike Andrawes

by Mike Andrawes on February 22, 2001 2:28 AM EST

Posted in
Motherboards

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Final Words

They always say that hard work pays off and Iwill's KK266 is proof. They've climbed all the way to the top of the pack and shown the world that they are able to produce a motherboard that can satisfy all hardware enthusiasts. There is no doubt that the KK266 is a very impressive KT133A motherboard, even when compared to the other impressive candidates we have looked at so far.

The Iwill, however, simply takes the best of all. It has the clean layout of the ABIT KT7A-RAID, but with the excellent performance and stability figures from the ASUS A7V133. It includes all the necessary overclocking and tweaking options inside the BIOS to make overclocking an ease of job for most people. The inclusion of an ISA slot will definitely help those of you hanging on to that last ISA card.

Nothing is perfect, however. We'd like to see Iwill tweak the BIOS in order to regain the 2% deficit in the Content Creation Winstone 2000 tests. Further, if Iwill would change their mind and start including the USB cable, the KK266 would be an even better value.

On the other hand Iwill doesn't let the quality degrade in any way. The KK266 is one of the best built motherboards we have looked at, and the choice of a highly regarded RAID controller shows Iwill's desire to make the best product possible. Don't forget that the KK266 also has a very attractive price tag on it as well, making it an excellent overall value.

How it Rates

AnandTech Motherboard Rating
	Rating (x/10)
Performance The KK266 performs very well, and competes head to head with the ASUS A7V133 in both SYSMark 2000 and Quake III Arena. Iwill may tweak the BIOS to regain the lead in the Content Creation Winstone 2000 test.	8.0
Price The KK266 is priced at around $130 and the KK266-R is priced at around $150, which are both a little bit below the average. Keep in mind you are dealing with very high quality products here, so these prices are actually quite a steal.	7.0
Stability We were forced to run the MSI K7T Turbo and the ASUS A7V133 for 48 hours in attempt to discover any instability, but none came up. With the KK266, we again had to run the stress tests for 48 hours and the system still didn't crash once. There's no doubt that these boards are very stable.	9.5
Quality As a small manufacturer, Iwill has always focused on quality. The KK266 is no exception.	8.0
Features The KK266 includes all the features that you can find on other KT133A solutions. Multiplier settings, FSB speeds, and CPU core voltages are all implemented in the BIOS. Additionally, full featured RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 0+1 functionality is available on the KK266-R using the highly regarded AMI controller. Last of all, the expansion slot design simply satisfies the needs of all hardware enthusiasts.	8.0
Layout The layout of the board is very similar to that of the ABIT KT7A-RAID, which is the best layout we have seen on a KT133A motherboard. Components are all located in the proper places, except the CPU socket, which makes changing the CPU an exceptionally hard job when the motherboard is mounted in most cases.	6.0
Availability Iwill is one of the smallest motherboard manufacturers in Taiwan, yet their motherboards are sold in a lot of on-line stores as well as local computer stores. You might also be able to find them in larger retail chains such as Fry's Electronics.	7.5
Documentation & Software Bundle The manual is very good, and you can basically find all the information you need. Graphical instructions on the installation of CPU and memory makes things easier for beginners, while information on BIOS settings should help advanced users tweak their systems. The CD bundled with the board includes all the required software and drivers, but little else.	7.5

Overall Rating - not an average Click here to find out why	9.0

Iwill KK266 Socket-A KT133A ATX

Final Words

How it Rates

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