|
We'll wrap it up with a
benchmark round from Unreal Tournament 2003. We
utilized a simple benchmark script that does "Fly By" demos
on the Antalus, the Asbestos and the Citadel levels at low
detail settings putting most of the strain on system
throughput rather than the graphics card itself.
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|
Unreal
Tournament 2003 |
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DirectX 8 Gaming
Performance |
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We see that in
the Antalus and Citadel levels, we can put the KT400A
motherboard on the same pedestal as the nForce2 board.
However, the Asbestos level heavily favors the nForce2
motherboard mainly due to less intensive graphics pipeline
demands, allowing for system bandwidth to truly shine
through. By now, it's fair to say that Gigabyte's
KT400A motherboard is not quite up to par with a competitive
nForce2 solution but does provide a measured level of
performance above and beyond its predecessor the KT400.
Gigabyte
7VAXP-A Ultra Analysis:
After working with the Gigabyte 7VAXP-A Ultra for over two
weeks, we have some mixed feelings. Let's start you
off with the good. When looking at the benchmarks
Gigabyte's 7VAXP-A Ultra motherboard produces, we can easily
say this is a reasonably fast motherboard. Despite
some anomalies between this motherboard and the PC3500
DIMM's, this motherboard has also proven to be reliable and
stable throughout its tests. Although the performance
is not at the level of an nForce2 motherboard, a competitive
system could be configured potentially at a lower cost,
since only one stick of memory is needed with this
motherboard. As a final positive notw, this board is
loaded with extras from USB 2.0 support to PATA and SATA
RAID support and these extra frills definitely earn the
"Ultra" moniker. Now the downside. Why would
anyone bother buying a KT400A motherboard right now?
Not only is this board slower than the nForce2 variety, it
has only just now become mainstream nearly four months after
nForce2 motherboards hit full swing. The sound
solution is not as good as the nForce2's, there is no dual
channel DDR memory, and the nForce2 chipset has the ability
to offer all the same peripheral features as the KT400A
chipset does. We have come to expect good things from
VIA over the last couple of years, since each of their
chipsets has seemed to improve upon the previous chipset
release. While Gigabyte has produced a solid product
here, it would be hard for us to recommend this board to any
type of enthusiast but perhaps it would suit the average
system builder looking to control every cost variable they
can. If what you're looking for is a fast, stable
motherboard with some decent options, then yes, maybe this
board is for you. But when you can get even better
performance from an nForce2 motherboard, albeit it at a
slightly higher price point, we think it would be wiser to
consider something like Gigabyte's
GA-7NNXP instead.
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|
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-
Stable
and Reasonably Fast
-
AGP 8X
-
Supports
333MHz Athlon chips
-
USB 2.0
support
-
IEEE
1394 support
-
PATA and
SATA RAID support
-
Dual
BIOS
- Single Channel DDR
technology
- No support for
400MHz FSB AMD processors
- Mediocre overclocker
- nForce2 motherboards
available with better performance
|
| We're giving the
Gigabyte 7VAXP-A Ultra motherboard a HotHardware Heat Meter
rating of...
Discuss this
or any other Hot Hardware Review in the PC Hardware Forum!
|
